xkcd' #513 Friends by Randall Munroe
You might think this is something men parrot to justify their lack of luck with the ladies, but ask any androphile and we'll tell you there's just something about 'bad boys' that drives us wild.
Apparently, there might be some scientific basis for this. ABC News reports:
Researchers at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces gave 200 college students personality tests to see how many of what psychologists call 'dark triad traits' they possessed. These traits include callousness, impulsive behavior, extroversion, narcissism and various other anti-social traits for which 'bad boys' are known.
[...]
'We would traditionally consider these dark triad traits to be adverse personality traits, and we think women would avoid these kinds of men, but what we show is counterintuitive -- that women are attracted to these bad boys and they do pretty well in terms of sheer numbers of sexual partners,' Jonason explained. 'They're taking quantity over quality as their sexual agenda, being serially monogamous and having multiple partners or one-night stands.'
Yet, they say that doesn't translate into success with long-term relationships:
'The manipulative 'It's all about me, so tell 'em anything to get sex' behavior is likely to have more short-term sexual success,' Worthington said. 'A strategy of building trust and intimacy and commitment is, by nature, going to take longer. Thus, the payoffs are likely to be greater in the short term. However, long-term relationship survival is likely to be strongly disadvantaged in people with dark triad traits.'
Unfortunately, the study only covers college students, so there's a possibility people 'grow up' and start seeking better traits in their partners. A widespread study would be more convincing.
At any rate, the problem with 'nice guys' might be their other traits, as Wikipedia indicates in a quote from an insufficiently cited study on the subject:
'Some women offered flattering interpretations of the 'nice guy', characterizing him as committed, caring, and respectful of women. Some women, however, emphasized more negative aspects, considering the 'nice guy' to be boring, lacking confidence, and unattractive.'
Is there a negative correlation between how kind one is and one's ability to find a partner? If so, could that be caused by factors other than their kindness?
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