Canadian research points out that drivers with modified exhaust have a greater tendency to sadism and lack of empathy
New research suggests that the desire to modify the car to make it noisier may go beyond a simple aesthetic or performance preference. According to a pilot study conducted by Western University in Canada, this attitude is strongly correlated with dark personality traits, specifically psychopathy and sadism.
The study, led by Professor Julie Aitken Schermer and published in the scientific journal Current Issues in Personality Psychology, interviewed 529 business students. The researchers analyzed the relationship between interest in noisy vehicles and the so-called “Dark Tetrad” of personality: narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy and sadism.
The results showed that young men with higher scores on psychopathy (characterized by a lack of empathy and coldness) and sadism (pleasure in causing distress or discomfort) were the most likely to want to modify their outlets. Surprisingly, narcissism—often associated with attention-seeking—was not a significant predictor.
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“The data suggest that these individuals have a cruel disregard for others and may even take pleasure in upsetting people,” Schermer told Psypost. According to the researcher, the noisy car would work not only as a display tool, but as a means of imposing presence in an aggressive way, comparable to a dog that barks to intimidate.
The research concluded that sadism was the strongest predictor for the intention to modify the vehicle’s silencer. Although the study focused on cars, the authors plan to expand the investigation to include owners of motorcycles and pickup trucks with sound modifications.
