Do you like loud cars? You could be a psychopath! Men who want to modify their vehicles to make them noisier are more likely to have dark personality traits, research shows
- Men who like particularly loud cars are more likely to be psychopaths
- Scientists say they probably get a kick out of seeing people get scared
“Boys and their toys” is a phrase often used to joke about men who are excessively fond of their cars.
But a new study has shed a sinister light on these ‘boys’.
Researchers from the University of Western Ontario have revealed that men who like particularly loud cars are more likely to be psychopaths.
“It seems to be a callous disregard for the feelings and reactions of others,” lead author Julie Aitken Schermer told CBS.
“That’s the psychopathy coming out and it’s also probably that they get a kick out of seeing people get scared.”
“Boys and their toys” is a phrase often used to joke about men who are excessively fond of their cars. But a new study has shed a sinister light on these ‘boys’ (stock image)
In the study, the researchers wanted to understand whether or not there is a link between loud cars and the ‘dark tetrad’ personality traits.
These are Machiavellianism (controlled manipulation), narcissism (self-love) and psychopathy (impulsive cruelty towards others).
The team included 529 participants – 52 percent men and 48 percent women – with an average age of 18 years.
The participants were asked about how they feel about their car, their desire to have a louder car and their willingness to adjust their muffler to get an even louder car.
They also completed a 28-item scale assessment to understand their level of the dark tetrad personality traits.
The results showed that male participants were more likely than women to say they wanted a loud car, and that they would be willing to modify their car to make it louder.
The results showed that male participants were more likely than women to say they wanted a loud car, and that they would be willing to modify their car to make it louder (stock image)
Furthermore, the male participants who said they wanted a loud car scored higher on psychopathy.
‘Adjusting a muffler to make a car louder is disturbing to pedestrians, other drivers and animals at a distance, satisfying the sadism component, but also startling when up close at intersections, satisfying the psychopathy component,’ the researchers wrote in their study. , published in Current issues in personality psychology.
Because car modifications are illegal in some countries, the researchers hope the findings could be useful to authorities trying to stop these activities.
“Besides legally enforcing laws regarding these car modifications, the current results suggest that other tactics, such as information campaigns, may not be helpful,” she added.
“Those who score higher on psychopathy and sadism are unlikely to be influenced by the fact that the modified silencers could be harmful to others.”