Think your thighs are too big and spend way too much time obsessing about B.O. or bad breath? If you're a big ole' bundle of insecurities, there's a pretty good chance you're still the ultimate flirt.  According to an article on NYMagazine.com, insecure people tend to be more engaging while their totally confident (i.e. obnoxious) counterparts are way more focused on themselves during conversations.

In a study conducted by a psychology professor at Queens College in New York, researchers had a group of college students watch videos of attractive people looking to score a lunch date. The attractive people asked questions related to dating, then test subjects were given the opportunity to flirt them up. Results showed subjects who had previously rated themselves as being more insecure tended to ask more questions and come up with engaging topics then those who ranked themselves as being confident. In fact, "confident" test subjects spent more time talking about themselves, and if that didn't grab the attractive people's attention they just gave up without putting out any more effort.

Now the interesting Catch-22 to this study is the idea that while insecure people may GET more dates in the long run, transitioning those dates into a real relationship may be a lot harder since their hangups may preclude them from being a good boyfriend or girlfriend. Meanwhile, confident people may attract less people, but they could also  have an edge on expressing themselves and being able to communicate their thoughts and needs in a healthy way.

So who has the advantage? The girl that secretly obsesses about not having a flat stomach but doesn't let that stop her from donning a bikini and hitting the beach with that totally hot guy she's been crushin' on the past two semesters.