Dating can be kind of a pain. From awkward initial interactions — does she always smack her gum like that? — to unpleasant surprises farther down the road — didn’t know he had a pet tarantula! — navigating the world of romance takes effort and patience. We’ve come up with a few ways to try and make the whole process easier, including the often mocked speed dating party. But how do you make others want to go out with you in only a few minutes? According to a new study from the European Journal of Personality, try coming off narcissistic and psychopathic.

A European team of researchers crashed a few speed dating parties, hoping to come out with a better understanding of how dark triad traits affect desirability. The triad consists of narcissism, a grandiose sense of self paired with a desire for attention; manipulative, coldly practical, and power-hungry Machiavellianism; and psychopathy, a lack of empathy with a side of antisocial behaviors. Despite our conscious rejection of these qualities in others, those who possess them often exhibit a superficial charm and succeed in the business world.

The study involved 90 participants between the ages of 18 and 32 who completed questionnaires to measure dark triad characteristics and big five personality traits, which are extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism. Later, they tracked them during a speed dating event, which left the researchers with 691 total mini dates to analyze. After each one, participants ranked the potential match on things like attractiveness and personality, and in response to several statements, including comments like, “I would like this person for a one-night stand.”

Turns out that having a dark personality is a win — but only some of the time. In both women and men, narcissism and psychopathy increased the chances of being chosen by a partner for a short-term dating scenario such as a one-night stand or a casual friends with benefits situation.

“Dark triad traits are linked to the pursuit of short-term mating strategies, but they may have differential effects on actual mating success in naturalistic scenarios,” Emanuel Jauk, corresponding author of the study, told PsyPost.

Women with narcissistic personalities, however, had higher chances of being chosen as a potential long-term partner as well as a short-term one. Naturally, those who were rated the most physically attractive had high chances of being chosen as well, and the researchers found that good looks and narcissism in women were strongly correlated. Even when the team controlled for physical attractiveness, however, the link between narcissism and match success for women remained strong.

The team found the results enlightening, but say there is still work to be done — namely, an experiment with a larger sample set.

Source: Jauk E, Neubauer A, Mairunteregger T, Pemp S, Sieber K, Rauthman J. How Alluring Are Dark Personalities? The Dark Triad and Attractiveness in Speed Dating. European Journal of Personality. 2016.