People who score higher on measures of psychopathy and sadism come across as more confident, funny and attractive during brief speed dates, and they are more likely to be asked for a second date, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Alabama.
The study, led by psychology doctoral researcher Braden T. Hall, was published in the Journal of Research in Personality and covered in a report on its findings.
Researchers recruited 129 university students who completed questionnaires measuring their levels of psychopathy and sadism before taking part in a round-robin speed-dating event, resulting in 561 dates and an average of 8.7 dates per participant .
Each participant went on roughly eight separate speed dates as part of the study.
What the researchers found
The researchers found that psychopaths can exhibit desirable characteristics during a romantic outing, including humor, charm and physical attractiveness.
The researchers wrote that global psychopathy, along with several facets, and sadism were positively associated with dating interest, adding to a growing understanding of how people higher in antagonistic traits come across in dating situations .
Notably, raters in the study were not able to pick up on the darker side of those same personalities during the short window of a first encounter.
Hall was quoted as saying that “on a short first date, people seemed generally unable to spot any red flags linked to elevated psychopathy or sadism.”
Those with elevated sadistic traits also fared well when it came to being chosen for further contact, a pattern the Alabama researchers said was consistent with earlier dark-personality dating research.
Why the traits might work in short bursts
Researchers theorized that, along with showcasing appealing characteristics, people with high levels of psychopathy and sadism tend to be less affected by “high-pressure, anxiety-arousing” situations such as speed dating .
“This may allow them to thrive in initial dating encounters as it supports coming across as sociable, carefree, and funny as opposed to fearful, overly cautious, and reticent,” researchers wrote.
That composure, the authors suggest, lets those individuals project ease and humor rather than nervousness, qualities that read as attractive across a string of fast, low-stakes interactions.
The paper also draws on cultural reference points for the phenomenon, citing the case of serial killer Ted Bundy and noting that Rodney Alcala, a serial killer who appeared on and won an episode of the televised show “The Dating Game” in 1978 while in the midst of a murder spree, has been held up in prior commentary as an extreme example of the same dynamic.
Part of a broader pattern in dating research
The findings echo earlier work on the so-called Dark Triad of personality traits. Prior speed-dating research, including a 2016 study published in the European Journal of Personality, found that narcissism (for men and women) and psychopathy (for women) make people more attractive in the mating game, at least in the speed-dating context .
Separately, research on psychopathy and charisma published in the Journal of Research in Personality, led by researchers at Binghamton University, found a positive correlation between charisma and psychopathy, with people who received higher scores for psychopathic traits commonly scoring high for charismatic traits as well .
Together, the studies suggest that the structure of modern dating, whether a short speed round or a brief first date, tends to favor surface-level confidence over longer-term compatibility signals.
That mirrors other recent findings on the mechanics of early dating, including a text sent the morning after and how small cues shape perceived sincerity, as seen in research on texting etiquette.
The Alabama researchers’ sample was limited to university students, and longer interactions or repeated contact may eventually expose traits that a single short date cannot.
For now, the data indicate that the traits people say they want to avoid in a partner are, in practice, difficult to spot across a crowded room of brief speed-dating conversations.
