8 Scientific Reason Why People Are The Worst

2. Nice Guys Really Do Finish Last

You know that whole "women only go for jerks" stereotype? Well there's probably a kernel of truth in it. Before you blokes get on your high horses, this is a trait shared by both men and women.

When looking for short-term partners, men and women tend to favour looks over personality (shocker). Whilst ovulating, women will tend to seek out the men who display the characteristics that we're evolutionarily programmed to associated with good genes - chiseled jaw, big muscles, symmetrical face - and men are more likely to overlook personality flaws in women if they think they're attractive enough.

So, people like to date hot people. Not exactly groundbreaking.

However, there have been actual links made between being physically attractive and a bit of a douchebag (that's the technical term). A study in the Journal of Research in Personality found a positive correlation between socially averse behaviour and symmetry of the body. We're programmed to find bilateral symmetry attractive as it is an indicator of good genes. The researchers found that people who were more symmetrical were more likely to be aggressive and neurotic, whereas less symmetrical people were more prone to traits of empathy and agreeableness.

Whether or not this is a result of less-attractive people having to "compensate" (and more attractive people not having to bother to develop a nice personality), or whether there is some intrinsic biological link between attractiveness and being a jerk, remains to be seen, but it turns out that nice guys (and girls) really do finish last.*

*within the context of partner selection for short term relationships, before anyone gets all butthurt. The effect is reversed for long-term relationships, but we're talking about character flaws at the moment so sit down.