The secret of James Bond`s womanising unlocked

A "dark triad" of unpleasant personality traits lie behind James Bond's success as a womaniser, say researchers.

Two studies suggest that men who are narcissistic, psychopathic and Machiavellian tend to have large numbers of sexual conquests - reports the Press Association.

The traits are said to be epitomised in Ian Fleming's fictional secret agent with a licence to kill, 007.

Scientists believe the reproductive success of "dark triad" men explains why the traits persist in the human population, despite the harm they can cause.

Narcissists are self obsessed and manipulative, psychopaths are impulsive, thrill-seeking and callous, and people with a Machiavellian nature are deceitful and exploitative. There is evidence that the traits have an up-side - they lead to men having a prolific sex life and fathering more offspring. As a result, they have not been "weeded out" by natural selection.

A team of US scientists led by Dr Peter Jonason, from New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, conducted personality tests on 200 college students designed to rank them for each of the "dark triad" traits.

The students were also questioned about their attitudes to sexual relationships and their sex lives. They were asked how many partners they had had, and whether they were seeking brief affairs.

Those who scored higher on the "dark triad" personality traits tended to have more partners and more desire for short flings. But this pattern only held true for males - no link between promiscuity and the traits was seen in female students.

Dr Jonason, who reported the findings at the annual meeting of the Human Behaviour and Evolution Society in Kyoto, Japan, said James Bond encapsulated the "dark triad" traits. He told New Scientist magazine: "He's clearly disagreeable, very extroverted, and likes trying new things - killing people, new women."

Men with "dark triad" personalities adopted a "shot-gun" approach to reproduction that mirrored the way James Bond seduced woman after woman. They were likely to have more babies, even though they may not hang around to help raise them.

Discuss this news here...