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Narcissism is a personality characteristic where one has an excessive amount of egotism, vanity or selfishness. Narcissists tend to love themselves and are often perceived as overly confident and cocky, which could potentially lead to narcissistic personality disorder. Although narcissists need people to help bring them back to reality, a new study found that in the setting of a dating game, the narcissist had an easier time winning the girl.

"Narcissism is linked to mate appeal in a real-life situation," the lead researcher of the study, Michael Dufner from Humboldt University of Berlin in Germany, said, reported by Medical Xpress. "We focused on narcissism as a personality trait, not the personality disorder. This means that everybody has a certain narcissism level - for some it is higher, for others lower."

The research team recruited 61 German men with the average age of 25. They were all invited to participate in a courtship study and had their levels of narcissism measured and recorded. The men were then sent out to attempt to get contact information, such as phone numbers and emails, from random women on the street. The men knowingly knew that research assistants who monitored and observed the interactions followed them.

The team found that men approached an average of 23 women. The research assistants noted the level of attractiveness and physical attire of each woman to observe whether or not the more narcissistic participants were selective. They found that the narcissists were not particularly more selective. The researchers concluded that men who scored higher on the narcissism spectrum managed to get more contact information than men who were not as narcissistic. The researchers stated that the narcissists had physical attractiveness and social boldness to their favor.

"Narcissists are charming and appealing at first sight, but they are not long-term romantic partners," Dufner said.

"Narcissists are very good at initiating relationships. On first impression, they come across as confident and charming. The problems arise later one, when you realize that he doesn't actually care about you - it's all about him," added Jean Twenge, a psychology professor from the San Diego State University. She was not a part of the study.

The study was published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.