Why Psychopaths Likely Get More Second Dates
A speed-dating study found that people with higher psychopathy traits were selected for a second date more often than those with below-average levels…
Researchers at the University of Alabama found that people with higher psychopathy traits were more likely to be selected for a second date in a speed-dating study. The result points to a troubling mismatch: confidence, humor and attractiveness may impress a date before potential red flags become apparent.
The study involved 129 heterosexual university students. Participants completed questionnaires measuring psychopathy and sadism, then took part in eight three-minute dates.
Brief encounters can be hard to read.
After each date, participants rated their partner on qualities including kindness, humor and attractiveness, and said whether they wanted to meet again. People with high psychopathy scores were selected 53 per cent of the time, 10% more than participants with below-average scores.
Participants with sadistic characteristics were selected 54% of the time, compared with 42% for those without those traits, the researchers reported.
Why might people with psychopathic traits get second dates?
The researchers said confidence and social ease could help explain the results. People with higher psychopathy and sadism scores may be less affected by the anxiety of speed dating, allowing them to appear sociable, carefree and funny.
“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,” the researchers wrote.
That first impression can carry a cost: participants generally did not identify warning signs linked to elevated psychopathy or sadism during a short date. Lead author Braden T. Hall, a psychology professor at the University of Alabama, said people seemed unable to spot those red flags in the brief encounters.
The findings do not mean that people with psychopathic traits are necessarily violent. The source text says psychopathy exists on a spectrum and that only people at the extreme high end would be considered to have clinical levels. It also notes that not all psychopaths are violent.
A separate study published in 2025 in Germany found that people with high hookup rates on dating apps were more likely to be psychopaths. Its author, Lennart Freyth, a professor at Hochschule Döpfer University of Applied Sciences in Cologne, said people with traits associated with a fast life history use visual social media platforms more intensely.
The speed-dating results leave a practical challenge for interpreting first impressions: outward charm may not reveal the traits researchers measured. In the study, participants with high psychopathy scores were selected for a second date 53 per cent of the time.
