> The finding that less kind individuals were more likely to be scammed by romance scams was less easy to explain. My hypothesis would be this: - There are tw

> The finding that less kind individuals were more likely to be scammed by romance scams was less easy to explain. My hypothesis would be this: - There are two things which encourage the average human being to form relationships: 1. the pleasure of doing good to other people / seeing other people happy 2. the pain of being lonely. - "Kindness" is essentially a measure of #1. People who are naturally more kind have more friends, and thus are less at risk of experiencing loneliness. People who are less naturally kind, but still find loneliness painful, are more driven by #2 to act somewhat against their inclinations in order to maintain relationships. They thus have fewer relationships, those relationships are perceived as requiring more effort, and they are more at risk of experiencing loneliness. - The "romance" scam involves someone treating someone well almost no matter how they act. The relationship is maintained whether the victim is kind or not; and thus the victim gets their need for a relationship fulfilled without the extra effort required from other relationships. - So a person who is less kind has much more to lose from losing their relationship than a kind person. A kind person is much less at risk of being lonely, and is more likely to feel like they can create other relationships if the "scam" one fails. An unkind person is much more at a risk of being lonely, and much more likely to feel like replacing the "scam" relationship will be difficult. - This drives an unkind person to be more desperate to maintain the "scam" relationship than a a kind person