Shutterstock
There are no rules for dating. There are different places to meet people – like airports – and various types of relationships. It’s all open to interpretation.
There are also no rules to breaking up. Except maybe one. Don’t be friends with an ex. It might mean one of you is a psychopath, according to a new study published in the Journal For Personality and Individual Differences.
It’s important to note from the start that every human exhibits some signs of dark personality traits. These traits include psychopathy, narcissism, sadism, and Machiavellianism. But what sets regular people apart from serial killers and the criminally insane is empathy. True psychopaths don’t give a wet fart about the well being of others.
The study conducted by Oakland University analyzed the personality traits of 861 subjects about their romantic histories.
Participants were asked about current partners and whether they remained friends with exes. The focus group then completed a questionnaire to determine narcissistic and psychopathic qualities.The overall conclusion from these questions found that those with the darkest personality traits were more likely to stay in contact with former lovers.
Now, you’re probably getting super defensive right now, especially if you’re ready to send this article to a friendly ex to say “can you believe this crap?!?”. The important detail to keep in mind is the reasoning some participants gave for staying in touch with former girlfriends, boyfriends, husbands and wives.
“Having exes around provides the opportunity for the psychopaths to still get access to certain resources, such as information, money, or sex. By collecting bonds with ex-partners that can’t stay away, psychopaths reported their ‘strategic’ motivations, such as the ‘practicality and the chance of hooking up’.”
Basically, they want to screw with people. See? Zero empathy.
Now, if you or your current girlfriend is friends with one or two exes, that’s fine. If either of you speaks to numerous past lovers on a daily basis, one of you is a psycho. So just how many people did you forward this article to?
[via Business Insider]