4/16/2007

Why girls go out with hot jerks ?

I can tell you few stories of young women more attracted to men who treat them poorly, don't spend money on them, etc., while nice guys finish last.

About 60% of the women said they would prefer to have sex with hot jerks (or cads) when considering a brief affair, according to the study conducted by Dr. Daniel Kruger, a social psychologist at the Univ. of Michigan, Institute for Social Research (ISR). His research paper was published in Current Research in Social Psychology, 11, 39-50, 2005. (Download the PDF here).

From evolutionary psychology point of view, Dr. Kruger believe above number imply that "the cad versus dad distinction is intuitive to women and remains a key element of contemporary mating strategies". Even though cads aren't good bets to stick around and help raise children, the genes that make men successful cads (dominant, brave) will be passed along to their sons, who will "increase their mothers' eventual reproductive success" by providing numerous grandchildren.

Using comman language, I think cad is cad because his genes are so good, so much in demand, that women are willing to mate with him knowing that he might not stick around. Same reason why a Dad is a Dad. He knows if based solely on looks (proxy for gene competition), he will lose to the Cad. So, he must compensate for his 'lower quality' genes by investing more resources in the female and offspring.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hah, hah this questioning has been going on everywhere lately. Two separate forums I visit have been heatedly debating this very issue. Great timing.

Jen said...

So we are perpetuating the jerks? This is just sad.

Bilbo said...

This is very interesting, and I used it as the starting point for my own blog entry this morning. The actual study is only 12 pages long and very interesting as well. I don't know how you find these amazing things, but please keep doing it...your blog is one of the few I read every day!

Anonymous said...

1- one should remember that same goes for the other gender. men of all ages, of all profession, or all shapes and sizes like hot jerk females too - e.g. some pron stars

so men likes to make sure their kids get the 'hot' genes from the mother.

2- i don't think girls everywhere wants to go out with hot jerks. i have visited many countried in asia, experially around india - the girls parents there find a guy who can be a good dad and marry their daughter off. i suppose the nice guys get the priority there even now.

but just thinking about it now, the same preference for good fatherly guys was applicable to the british society before. also, i think i read somewhere that most women still prefers to have a family with the father in it.

so may be we have gone coo coo due to the standards set by media and stars, and hence being all incoherent (want my kid's father in my family, but want to go out with someone who wont stay).

Anonymous said...

who said that a cad is dominant and brave, since when bravery has anything to do with looks? if that was true orientals would be nothing but pussies, yet they are probably more dominant and braver than many "hot cads".

Sicilian said...

Life . . . . I don't know where those women come from, but I vote for a dad over a cad any day. I love it when two hot jerks come together. There are a pair in my home town since high school. They have all the hot toys and one hot kid. . . . and they are still both jerks. I guess there is somebody for everybody.
Ciao

Anonymous said...

A few years ago, a book titled "Nice Guys Don't Get Laid" caused a brief stir in the talk show circuit. Google it. There are used copies for sale.

I'm not much of a woman hater, but there's something indescribably sweet about running into the high school babe that wouldn't give you the time of day and discovering that she's chosen jerk after jerk to share her bed, she's got two or three kids who behave like mini jerks, and that she no longer looks the least bit appealing.

Professor Howdy said...

Hello!
Very good posting.
Thank you - Have a good day!!!

Finlands finest said...

Fascinating, simply fascinating!

Jay said...

I think too many women suffer from insecurity. They look to the jerk to give them the security they crave. "If he [the jerk] wants to be with me, then I must be something special."

It's a shame because so many young women's lives are ruined at such a young age. In fact, some teenaged girls are so emotionally damaged by jerks in their teen years, the future "dads" never have a chance.

Maybe one day we'll get it right.