Trying to get some more action? Instead of hitting your favorite bar, try doing a good deed. When you help others, you seem more desirable to women, say researchers from the University of Guelph and Nipissing University. Bottom line: Altruistic guys have more sex partners and have sex more often within relationships.
In the study, published in the British Journal of Psychology, researchers questioned about 800 people on their relationships and propensity for helping others, which included giving to charity, donating blood, helping strangers cross the street, donating winnings, and more.
After controlling for age and personality traits like narcissism, and overly-inflating ones positive attributes, researchers found people who scored higher on the self-reported altruism test were deemed most desirable and had more sex.
“It appears that altruism evolved in our species, in part, because it serves as a signal of other underlying desirable qualities, which helps individuals reproduce,” study lead author Steven Arnocky said in a press release. But, “it’s a more effective signal for men than for women,” co-author Pat Barclay adds. Take note, gentlemen: Being charitable and giving most affects your dating and sex life; but the researchers believe it expands to a wider array of variables such as relationship length and partner quality.
“Also, given the importance we place on attractiveness, resources and intelligence, it would be worthwhile to explore how individuals ‘trade-off’ altruism against other desirable qualities,” Arnocky said.
Actually, another team of researchers did just that. They found physically attractive men are rated higher than the less handsome guys; but charitable guys were consistently rated as more desirable for long-term relationships—regardless of how good looking they were. Read more about it here.
