Are you dating a psychopath? People with dark personalities are rated as more attractive, funny and kind on dates, study finds

Published: 06:17 EDT, 3 November 2026 | Updated: 06:17 EDT, 3 November 2026 If you were on a date with a psychopath, would you be able to see through them?According to a new study, the answer is probably no. Scientists from the University of Alabama ran speed-dating events with students who had completed questionnaires to assess their levels of psychopathy and sadism. Amazingly, the results revealed that participants who scored highly for these dark traits were rated as more attractive, funny, and kind. What's more, these people were more likely to be picked for a second date. 'On a short first date, people seemed generally unable to spot any red flags linked to elevated psychopathy or sadism,' said Braden T. Hall, lead author of the study. Ted Bundy, a famous serial killer, was widely noted to use his charm and physical attractiveness to lure victims Few people would actively say that they'd like to date someone known to have sadistic or psychopathic traits. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that people with these traits are often successful in dating. Writing in their study, published in the Journal of Research in Personality, the team explained: 'For example, Ted Bundy, a famous serial killer, was widely noted to use his charm and physical attractiveness to lure victims. 'Rodney Alcala, another infamous serial killer, famously appeared on and won the televised show The Dating Game.'Despite these famous examples, little research has actually examined how psychopathic people are perceived on real-life dates. To get to the bottom of it, the team enlisted 129 heterosexual university students, who were asked to complete questionnaires measuring their levels of psychopathy and sadism. Next, the participants attended a speed dating session, in which they went on a series of eight, three-minute dates. Rodney Alcala, another infamous serial killer, famously appeared on and won the televised show The Dating GameAfter each date, the participants rated their partner on qualities such as attractiveness, humour, and kindness, and said whether they wanted a second date.The results revealed that people of both sexes who scored highly on psychopathy were chosen for a second date 53 per cent of the time, compared with 43 per cent for those below average. For sadisitic traits, it was 54 per cent versus 42 per cent. Over the eight dates, that's roughly one extra person wanting to see them again. 'People higher in psychopathy and sadism manage to come across in ways that are emblematic of agentic boldness (confident, fun, good-looking),' the researchers explained. 'Speed-dating can be a high-pressure, anxiety-arousing situation, and people higher in psychopathy and sadism may function well in these situations due to generally feeling less aroused in fear-inducing situations. '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.'WOULD YOU KNOW HOW TO SPOT A PSYCHOPATH? Psychopaths display different traits depending on their disorder.Common signs include superficial charm, a grandiose notion of self-worth, the need for stimulation and impulsiveness, pathological lying, the ability to manipulate others and a lack of remorse and empathy.But despite the popular association, not all psychopaths become killers.Experts claim people usually find psychopaths intriguing, but can't put their finger on why. This is down to incongruous behaviour because psychopaths tend to do a lot of acting to deceive, or mimic normal reactions, sometimes changing their views and reactions quickly.For example, Self-professed psychopath Jacob Wells said that upon meeting someone, he tries to become 'the most interesting person they know' and presumably adopts suitable interests and responses to do this.His response also gives away another common trait - a grandiose notion of self-worth - in that he can be the most interesting person in the room.Psychopaths occasionally tend to exhibit unconvincing emotional responses, with slip-ups including tone of voice or body language.This may be because they are unable to understand emotions such as fear and love, but can mimic them. Psychopaths display different traits depending on their disorder, but common signs include superficial charm and the ability to manipulate others. Despite the popular association, not all psychopaths become killers (stock image)Generally psychopaths' 'emotions' are shallow and short-lived and there is a manipulative ulterior motive to showing them.For example, Mr Wells said he offers to do favours and tells false secrets to people to gain their complete trust.He also displays insincere charm - another trait associated with psychopaths.He says: 'I keep secrets, and tell them fake secrets to further gain their trust, and once they trust me enough, I ask for favours, reminding them of the favours I did them. I can get literally anything from them, which is incredibly useful.'Psychopaths typically display an incredible ability to manipulate others and sometimes take pleasure in doing so. Psychopaths often have an air of superiority about them, perhaps shown by Mr Wells' belief he can spot other psychopathsEven expert Dr Hare, who came up with the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) used as a diagnostic tool to determine where someone lies on the psychopathy spectrum, warns that anyone can be duped during a short interaction with a psychopath.