Psychopaths Are More Attractive: Why Women Love Bad Boys Explained

Women really do love bad boys, scientists have admitted. The fact is that men with psychopathic traits are considered more attractive, a new study has shown.

From Christian Bale in American Psycho to Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, psychopaths in movies are often played by very handsome actors, the Daily Mail notes. And according to a new study, this is no coincidence.

Researchers from Hunan Normal University found that men with psychopathic personality traits are rated as more attractive by women. In their study, the scientists showed more than 500 photographs of men with varying degrees of the Dark Triad traits - narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy. Women were asked to rate the men on attractiveness and trustworthiness. So, the results showed that men with high levels of the Dark Triad traits were considered more trustworthy and attractive.

"In short-term relationships, people with high Dark Triad traits tend to be more trustworthy," said study author Dr. Qi Wu. "This is partly because they are seen as more attractive because of their facial features."

Psychopathy has been widely studied for decades, writes the Daily Mail. For example, previous studies have found links between the condition and staring, sadism and loneliness. However, until now, the link between psychopathy and trustworthiness has remained largely unexplored.

To address this research gap, the team recruited 592 participants who were divided into four studies. In the first study, participants were shown neutral photographs of men's faces with varying levels of Dark Triad traits and asked to rate them for credibility.

The second study was a trust game, while the third focused on other ways of changing facial expressions - this time asking participants to rate men on dominance, extroversion and attractiveness.

Finally, the fourth study repeated the tasks from the second and third studies using different participants.

Results showed that in all four studies, men with high levels of the Dark Triad traits were rated as more trustworthy.

Surprisingly, traits such as dominance and extroversion did not play a big role in this effect, the Daily Mail points out.

"Remarkably, their faces still evoked greater trustworthiness even after controlling for other traits such as dominance, extroversion and attractiveness, suggesting that facial features have a unique impact on perceptions of trustworthiness," adds Dr Wu.

The study was published shortly after scientists found a link between psychopathy and "sadism" - the enjoyment derived from inflicting pain, suffering or humiliation on others. Everyday examples of sadism include trolling people online, killing video game characters, killing insects and even sticking pins into voodoo dolls, the Daily Mail explains.

So if you do sadistic things like this – even if it's just to embarrass other people online – you might be a psychopath, the publication notes.

The Daily Mail offers advice on how to spot a psychopath. Psychopaths display different personality traits depending on their disorder. Common signs include superficial charm, an inflated sense of self-importance, a need for stimulation and impulsivity, pathological lying, the ability to manipulate others, and a lack of remorse and empathy.

But, contrary to popular belief, not all psychopaths become killers, writes the Daily Mail.

Experts say people generally find psychopaths intriguing. This is due to their unusual behavior, as psychopaths tend to deceive or imitate normal reactions, sometimes quickly changing their views and reactions to what is happening.

For example, self-proclaimed psychopath Jacob Wells said that when he meets someone, he tries to be "the most interesting person I know," and presumably chooses his interests and reactions to do so. His reactions also reveal another common trait - a grandiose sense of his own importance - in that he can be the most interesting person in the room.

Psychopaths sometimes tend to display unconvincing emotional responses, including errors in tone of voice or body language. This may be because they are unable to understand emotions such as fear and love, but can imitate them, writes the Daily Mail.

As a rule, the "emotions" of psychopaths are superficial and short-lived, and there is a hidden manipulative motive in their manifestation.

For example, Jacob Wells said that he offers people favors and tells them false secrets to gain their complete trust. He also displays insincere charm, another trait common among psychopaths. He says, "I keep secrets and tell them false secrets to gain their trust even more, and once they trust me, I ask for a favor, reminding them of the favors I've done for them. I can get literally anything from them, and it's incredibly rewarding.'

Psychopaths tend to have an incredible ability to manipulate others and sometimes enjoy doing so.

Psychopaths often feel superior, which may explain Jacob Wells' belief that he could spot other psychopaths.

Even expert Dr. Hare, who developed the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), used as a diagnostic tool to determine what stage of psychopathy a person is at, warns that anyone can be fooled during a short interaction with a psychopath.