Futurepundit:

Why do psychopaths exist? The ladies help the psychopaths reproduce by going to bed with them. Men who are narcissistic, self-obsessed, liars, psychopaths, Machiavellian, and thrill-seekers get laid more.

Bad boys, it seems, really do get all the girls. Women might claim they want caring, thoughtful types but scientists have discovered what they really want – self-obsessed, lying psychopaths.

OK this isn’t really news to most people.  But still it raises a basic question.  The basic fact of mate selection is that men are collectively greatly responsible for which female traits win in competition for male attention, while women are collectively greatly responsible for which male traits win in competition for female attention.  Accepting this, here are some possible responses to the above results:

• The result is just wrong, such men do not get more women

• The result is correct, such men do get more women

  • This is good, these are just the sort of men we want more of

    • Such men are good for each woman they are with

    • Such men are bad for each women, but good for women overall

    • Such men are bad for women overall, but still good overall

  • This is bad, these are not the sort of men we want more of

    • Such behavior results from an inefficient signaling game

    • By choosing such men, women help themselves but hurt other women

    • This is a gender power struggle, where such men are overall good for men but bad for women

What say ye?  And why so little discussion on the gender reversed questions – do we want more of the kinds of women who win when competing to attract men?