Toronto, Aug 7 (IANS) Are you a selfless personality? If yes, you will have good sexual life as people who help others are more desirable for the opposite gender, have more sexual partners and more frequent sex, a new study has found.
Researchers from the University of Guelph and Nipissing University in Canada interviewed about 800 people regarding their relationships and propensity for helping others.
According to the results, published in the British Journal of Psychology, even after controlling for age and personality, altruists -- people unselfishly concerned for or devoted to the welfare of others -- were found to have greater success at dating and sex.
"This study is the first to show that altruism may translate into real mating success in Western populations, that altruists have more mates than non-altruists," said Pat Barclay, a psychology professor, in a statement.
Lead author of the paper Steven Arnocky from Nipissing University said that altruism evolved in our species, in part, because it serves as a signal of other underlying desirable qualities, which helps individuals reproduce.
"However, it is a more effective signal for men than for women," Barclay noted.
The findings support previous studies on food sharing by hunters, which found that men who hunt and share meat enjoy greater reproductive success.
