Tall, dark and handsome might be the most common criteria women list when describing their perfect date, however a new study conducted by PhD student Kristopher Brazil at Brock University in Canada has found that women are actually most attracted to psychopaths. The study was published in the Evolutionary Psychological Science journal in September 2019.
To conduct the study, Kristopher asked 46 men to make a 2-minute video each, explaining what they would do on a first date, and what they are looking for in a relationship. The same men were then tested for psychopathic personality traits.
108 women were then asked to watch the videos and rate how attracted they were to each man. The study found the more psychopathic personality traits a man has, the more attractive the women found him.
The study reported that men with psychopathic tendencies are more likely to be confident, at ease with themselves, and are capable of pretending to be charming and knowing all the right things to say, to make themselves seem more ‘attractive’.
‘Psychopathic individuals may use their charm and exciting personality to elicit trust and desire, but their ultimate goal seems to be selfish pleasure,” Kristopher told PsyPost.
As the old saying goes, never judge a book by it’s (pretty and charming) cover.
This article originally appeared on BHG.
