Studies find James Bond is 'œdark triad' prince of skirt chasers

William Atkins
Friday, 20 June 2008 01:59

Science - Biology

Johason and his colleagues gave two hundred college students personality tests designed to rank them according to the “dark triad” characteristics.

The same subjects were also asked their attitudes on sex, sexual relationships, and the number of sexual partners they have had and whether the sexual partners entailed long or short-term relationships.

The study concluded that the male college students who scored higher on having the “dark triad” traits had more sexual partners and had more short-term (over long-term) relationships.

This conclusion only held for the men within the study, not the women.

The study was reported at the Human Behavior and Evolution Society meeting, held in Kyoto, Japan, in June 2008.

Johason compares these “dark triad” traits with the fictional British secret agent James Bond. He says, "He's clearly disagreeable, very extroverted and likes trying new things - killing people, new women." [New Scientist]

Another study, headed by American social psychologist David P. Schmitt (Department of Psychology, Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois, U.S.A.) also presented similar results at the same Human Behavior and Evolution Society meeting in Kyoto.
 
His study, however, was international in nature and involved many more subjects, with over thirty-five thousand participants from fifty-seven countries.

Schmitt found a similar direct relationship between the “dark triad” characteristics and sexual prowess of his male subjects.

He stated, "It is universal across cultures for high dark triad scorers to be more active in short-term mating. They are more likely to try and poach other people's partners for a brief affair." [New Scientist]

Although nice guys usually finish last, they don’t always. History has shown that not all men are like:

"Bond ... James Bond".

For some reason, the “dark triad” characteristic has not evolved into all men--no doubt because it has some negatives associated with it with respect to proper society, etc.
 
Many women may want to have a quick affair with James Bond but will eventually settle down in a long-term relationship with, say, a biologist like Dr. James Watson (a molecular biologist who co-discover the structure of DNA) or a doctor like Thomas Bond (a colonial physician in Pennsylvania (U.S.A.) who founded the Philadelphia Hospital).