Bad guys do get the girls

A ‘dark triad’ of personality traits makes men more successful with women, scientists have claimed.

US researchers have found that men who are narcissistic, psychopathic and Machiavellian still manage to sleep with the most women.

College students were questioned by a team of US scientists, led by Dr Peter Jonason, about their attitude to sex and their sex lives. Men who displayed traits including self-obsession and deceitfulness, and who tended to be manipulative and callous were likely to have had more partners and more desire for short term relationships.

These trends are epitomised by the character of James Bond, according to the researchers. Dr Jonason told The New Scientist: "He's clearly disagreeable, very extroverted, and likes trying new things - killing people, new women."

This sexual and reproductive success may explain why the ‘dark triad’ of personality traits still exists, according to scientists, despite the harm they can cause. Dr Jonason said it could be a ‘successful evolutionary strategy’.

Interestingly, the same traits did not correlate to sexual success among women. Proof, perhaps, that some girls just can’t resist a bastard.