You know, I’ve always suspected that it wasn’t just that most “nice guys” are insecure, codependent cases. And science has vindicated my suspicion:
New Scientist: Bad guys really do get the most girls
NICE guys knew it, now two studies have confirmed it: bad boys get the most girls. The finding may help explain why a nasty suite of antisocial personality traits known as the “dark triad” persists in the human population, despite their potentially grave cultural costs.The traits are the self-obsession of narcissism; the impulsive, thrill-seeking and callous behaviour of psychopaths; and the deceitful and exploitative nature of Machiavellianism. At their extreme, these traits would be highly detrimental for life in traditional human societies. People with these personalities risk being shunned by others and shut out of relationships, leaving them without a mate, hungry and vulnerable to predators.
But being just slightly evil could have an upside: a prolific sex life, says Peter Jonason at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. “We have some evidence that the three traits are really the same thing and may represent a successful evolutionary strategy.”
(Lots more great detail in the link).
I should note that the piece goes on to reference James Bond. And the fact that the results seem to hold across cultures. It also references the notion that some strategies (and, one would assume, mutations) are only viable if they are adopted by a relatively small percentage of the total population. I’ve always liked that idea–and in this case it has some interesting interactions with the notion that altruism is just another strategy for getting laid. Game theory crashes into evolutionary biology and human reproduction studies! There should be some really fun experiments and papers coming down the pike.
