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Rogues in vogue by Graham Readfearn, Courier Mail
WOMEN flock to them, nice guys are secretly envious of them and the media love them.
They're cads – and it appears that they just can't help themselves.
Despite their well-publicised weaknesses for wine, women and song, the likes of cricket star Shane Warne or Brit-rocker Robbie Williams manage to retain their popularity with women.
Prince William has recently joined their ranks.
Even in movie fiction, cads are portrayed as the loveable rogue – just think of Jude Law in Alfie, Daniel Craig as James Bond, Josh Holloway as bad-boy Sawyer from the TV series Lost or Han Solo in Star Wars.
But like or loathe these hedonistic bounders, some academics believe the human race has depended on them to keep the planet populated. According to experts in evolution, the male of the species tends to employ one of two strategies to attract a mate.
One is to be a law-abiding and faithful father-figure, while the other is to be promiscuous.
In short, they become either a "dad" or a "cad".
The strategies touch on a human being's most basic instincts to reproduce, with men having a need to pass on their genes as liberally as possible.
Evolutionary psychologist Professor Bill von Hippel, at the University of Queensland, says: "Males produce millions of sperm so they should have a more promiscuous approach.
"So those who may have higher social status can take a more promiscuous approach because it gives them more opportunities to mate.
"Some males who are not as high in social status might make themselves more valuable to a female by being a better provider.
"But we know that all males have the propensity to be either of these.
"Men have these two competing strategies and if they can get away with (promiscuous) behaviour they often will. In the past, humankind relied on these strategies. We don't need it any more, but it still drives current behaviour."
So if the caddish male is a throw-back to the times of the hunter-gatherer, why is it that women still go for them?
Research carried out in the US in 2003 tested this question by asking women to read from the novels of a 19th-century writer. They were then asked to describe which male characters they would prefer to have a relationship with.
For long-term relationships, women chose morally strong and heroic characters. For flings, they went for the daring and passionate characters.
Von Hippel says most females prefer a more reliable male, but there are times when women will be instinctively drawn to men behaving badly.
WOMEN flock to them, nice guys are secretly envious of them and the media love them.
They're cads – and it appears that they just can't help themselves.
Despite their well-publicised weaknesses for wine, women and song, the likes of cricket star Shane Warne or Brit-rocker Robbie Williams manage to retain their popularity with women.
Prince William has recently joined their ranks.
Even in movie fiction, cads are portrayed as the loveable rogue – just think of Jude Law in Alfie, Daniel Craig as James Bond, Josh Holloway as bad-boy Sawyer from the TV series Lost or Han Solo in Star Wars.
But like or loathe these hedonistic bounders, some academics believe the human race has depended on them to keep the planet populated. According to experts in evolution, the male of the species tends to employ one of two strategies to attract a mate.
One is to be a law-abiding and faithful father-figure, while the other is to be promiscuous.
In short, they become either a "dad" or a "cad".
The strategies touch on a human being's most basic instincts to reproduce, with men having a need to pass on their genes as liberally as possible.
Evolutionary psychologist Professor Bill von Hippel, at the University of Queensland, says: "Males produce millions of sperm so they should have a more promiscuous approach.
"So those who may have higher social status can take a more promiscuous approach because it gives them more opportunities to mate.
"Some males who are not as high in social status might make themselves more valuable to a female by being a better provider.
"But we know that all males have the propensity to be either of these.
"Men have these two competing strategies and if they can get away with (promiscuous) behaviour they often will. In the past, humankind relied on these strategies. We don't need it any more, but it still drives current behaviour."
So if the caddish male is a throw-back to the times of the hunter-gatherer, why is it that women still go for them?
Research carried out in the US in 2003 tested this question by asking women to read from the novels of a 19th-century writer. They were then asked to describe which male characters they would prefer to have a relationship with.
For long-term relationships, women chose morally strong and heroic characters. For flings, they went for the daring and passionate characters.
Von Hippel says most females prefer a more reliable male, but there are times when women will be instinctively drawn to men behaving badly.