Gold digging is not exclusive to women: New study uncovers common attributes

Phys · May 02, 2026 · 767 words · By Krystal Kasal

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What to know about Gold digging is not exclusive to women: New study uncovers common attributes

The article reports on a study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences regarding the traits associated with 'gold digging' behavior. It details how the behavior is found across different genders, political orientations, and personality types, while noting the study's limitations regarding sample demographics and geographic scope.

Propaganda risk 10%

Claims checked 15

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center67%

Right33%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

May 2, 2026 report Gold digging is not exclusive to women: New study uncovers common attributes Krystal Kasal contributing writer Gaby Clark scientific editor Robert Egan associate editor Gold digging is often seen as a female behavior focused on exploiting…

Why it matters

Past studies have shown both men and women value resources in partners, but not much research has delved into the specifics regarding gold digging versus general resource preference in partners.

Common ground

A new study, published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, helps to clarify if gold digging, in particular, is unique to a specific sex and what personality or social traits are linked to it.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Gold digging is not exclusive to women: New study uncovers common attributes?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that The study was also conducted only in Germany?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-gold-exclusive-women-uncovers-common.html

analyticsAnalysis

10%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 95%

Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 15 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6

schedule Pending 5

info Single Source 4

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Claim 1: “The study was also conducted only in Germany”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 2: “Female students were also more likely to be gold diggers if they were already wealthy”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific detail that female students were more likely to be gold diggers if they were already wealthy is mentioned in one specific source.

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web search NEUTRAL — Female students were also more likely to be gold diggers if they were already wealthy, but wealthy, non-student women were less likely to be gold-diggers than female students or poorer women.
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-gold-exclusive-women-uncovers-…

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web search NEUTRAL — 'This was true for both sexes. 'In addition, gold diggers prefer big cities and were more likely to be students. Female gold diggers are also sadistic and tend towards right-wing ideology.'
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/study-reveals-the-…

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web search NEUTRAL — The song captures three core elements of the public conception of gold diggers. Exploiting others, avoiding poor mates, being female (Thompson, 2019). While selecting partners based on resources is a …
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019188692…

info

Claim 3: “A new study, published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, helps to clarify if gold digging, in particular, is unique to a specific sex and what personality or social traits are linked to it.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided web search results for claim 0 are generic landing pages for Study.com and do not mention the journal 'Personality and Individual Differences' or the specific study on gold digging.

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web search NEUTRAL — Take online courses on Study.com that are fun and engaging. Pass exams to earn real college credit. Research schools and degrees to further your education.
https://study.com/

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web search NEUTRAL — Need a Study.com Account? Simple & engaging videos to help you learn Unlimited access to 88,000+ lessons The lowest-cost way to earn college credit
https://study.com/academy/login.html

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web search NEUTRAL — Study.com's collection of test prep courses will help you feel confident on test day and ace your exams. Our on-demand test prep courses cover a wide-range of exams.
https://study.com/academy/course/index.html

info

Claim 4: “wealthy, non-student women were less likely to be gold-diggers than female students or poorer women.”

SINGLE SOURCE

Although the 'Evidence gathered' section for claim 8 says 'No evidence found', the evidence provided for claim 7 explicitly contains the text: 'wealthy, non-student women were less likely to be gold-diggers than female students or poorer women'.

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Claim 5: “mid-left non-heterosexual women scored higher than heterosexual women”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources (AOL, MSN/Study reports) confirm that mid-left non-heterosexual women scored higher than heterosexual women.

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web search NEUTRAL — Mid-left, non-heterosexual women scored higher than heterosexual women, while non-heterosexual right-wing women scored lower on gold digging.
https://www.aol.com/articles/women-men-more-likely-golddigge…

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web search NEUTRAL — Among the cohort, left-wing men scored highest in gold digging, mid-left non-heterosexual women scored higher than heterosexual women, and non-heterosexual women scored lower than heterosexual women w…
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-gold-exclusive-women-uncovers-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Gold Digging Isn’t Limited to Women, but It Does Attract a Lot of Narcissists. Non-heterosexual, left-leaning men scored the highest on gold-digging across all groups. Among women, mid-left non-hetero…
https://www.vice.com/en/article/are-men-or-women-bigger-gold…

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Claim 6: “The survey showed that right-wing, female students were more likely to be gold diggers, compared to male students or left-wing, female students.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources report that right-wing women and female students showed higher gold digging tendencies compared to other groups.

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web search NEUTRAL — Higher gold digging tendencies were found among left-wing men, right-wing women, female students, and individuals with high self-rated mate value or urban residence. Wealthy, non-student women were le…
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-gold-exclusive-women-uncovers-…

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web search NEUTRAL — “Gold digging, often stereotyped as female behavior, is in fact not limited to women,” confirmed study authors for the Behavioral and Social Sciences Institute, in Vienna, Austria, in the new report.
https://www.aol.com/articles/women-men-more-likely-golddigge…

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web search NEUTRAL — If you want to see a romantic relationship between a Female Teacher and a Male Student you should definitely watch our picks for the best Female Teacher Male...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un_rSAuB2Dg

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Claim 7: “In both men and women, gold digging was associated with narcissism and psychopathy.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 8: “Among both sexes, the survey showed gold digging was frequently associated with a high self-rated mate value and living in a larger city.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm the association of gold digging with high self-rated mate value and urban residence (large cities).

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Claim 9: “The study included 351 participants, of which around two-thirds were female and one-third was male.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific participant count (351) and the gender split (two-thirds female, one-third male) are mentioned in one specific report titled 'Gold digging is not exclusive to women: New study uncovers...'. Other results are irrelevant.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The study included 351 participants, of which around two-thirds were female and one-third was male.The survey showed that right-wing, female students were more likely to be gold diggers, compared to m…
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-gold-exclusive-women-uncovers-…

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web search NEUTRAL — half of the participants experienced symptoms of depression and anxiety.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle…

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web search NEUTRAL — Смотрите видео онлайн «Dog Mating - Who's gonna stucked 3 male-1 female» на канале «Мастерство и Креатив» в хорошем качестве и бесплатно, опубликованное 21 сентября 2023 года в 23:15, длительностью 00…
https://rutube.ru/video/cdab51d2ef573a0e5aec9758024199ff/

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Claim 10: “The study finds that gold digging... is often found in men with certain traits and backgrounds, as well as women with particular traits and backgrounds.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources (AOL, MSN, and a specific study report) confirm that gold digging is not limited to women and is found in both men and women with specific traits.

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web search NEUTRAL — One study found that women are more selective in their choice of marriage partners than are men.[10][11]. Studies of mate selection in dozens of countries around the world have found men and women rep…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypergamy

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web search NEUTRAL — Both men and women experience intense jealousy when a romantic partner actively gives resources to a stranger.
https://www.psypost.org/both-men-and-women-view-a-partners-f…

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web search NEUTRAL — Analysis shows both women and men disproportionately message prospects with higher stated incomes. This suggests both genders “digitally gold dig” by seeking wealthy prospects online.
https://medium.com/@1kg/recognising-gold-diggers-101-5081ab2…

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Claim 11: “Machiavellianism was not associated with gold-digging.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 12: “Among the cohort, left-wing men scored highest in gold digging”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm that left-wing men scored the highest in gold digging tendencies within the study cohort.

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web search NEUTRAL — Visitar el Centro de aprendizaje ¿Usas productos de Google, como Documentos de Google, en el trabajo o en una institución educativa? Prueba sugerencias, instructivos y plantillas útiles. Aprende a tra…
https://support.google.com/docs/answer/3094079?hl=es-419

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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 29, 2016 · They left before you did. It doesn't matter whether you say "when I left" or "when I was leaving". From the past continuous "was leaving", one might—might—infer that you noticed as you …
https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/88590/i-was-leaving-…

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web search NEUTRAL — 傳回指定字串開頭前幾個字元構成的子字串。使用範本 LEFT(A2,2) LEFT("lorem ipsum") 語法 LEFT(string, [number_of_characters]) 字串系統會傳回此字串的左側部分文字。字元數 - [ OPTIONAL - 1 by default ] - The 從「字串」左邊算起要傳回的字元數。字串 . 附註 0 is a valid inpu…
https://support.google.com/docs/answer/3094079?hl=zh-Hant

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Claim 13: “non-heterosexual women scored lower than heterosexual women when they were right-wing.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm that right-wing non-heterosexual women scored lower than heterosexual women in gold digging.

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web search NEUTRAL — Mid-left, non-heterosexual women scored higher than heterosexual women, while non-heterosexual right-wing women scored lower on gold digging.
https://nypost.com/2026/04/20/lifestyle/study-reveals-how-to…

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web search NEUTRAL — Non-heterosexual Women Report Better Sexual Functioning During Midlife. happy women drinking wine and clinking glasses at bar or restaurant.Non-heterosexual women are twice as likely to remain sexuall…
https://www.healthday.com/health-news/women-health/non-heter…

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Claim 14: “some gold digging women also exhibited sadism.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 15: “Lennart Freyth et al, Mercenary predators: Individual characteristics of gold diggers, Personality and Individual Differences (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2026.113817”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.