Hot Cars and Hot Heads

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Research shows that folks—particularly males—who purchase high-end vehicles are more likely to exhibit rude or even dangerous behavior while driving. This includes failing to yield to pedestrians, not using turn signals, running red lights and speeding.

What’s more, one study found that men who purchase flashy, expensive cars are more likely to show a cluster of not-so-nice personality traits, including being stubborn, argumentative, disagreeable and lacking in empathy. For sure, not all people behind the wheels of BMWs, Corvettes, Mercedes, monster pick-ups and the like are ill-tempered, nor do they have a monopoly on reckless driving. Nonetheless, they are at greater risk for bad road behavior than your average Joe or Jane tooling around in a simple sedan, smaller SUV or minivan.

So, what gives? Are folks with speedy cars or trucks just full of themselves, insensitive and elitist by nature? Some are, but there’s more of a back story here than meets the eye. Other research suggests the underlying culprit is not simply one’s vehicle choice, but the impact of that choice on one’s sense of personal power.

Empathy Impaired

At UC-Berkeley, neuroscientists found that when people feel powerful, they are at risk of developing something called “acquired sociopathy.” In fact, they exhibit attitudes and behaviors similar to those seen in individuals who, through head trauma, damage parts of the brain known as the “empathy network.” Whether caused by brain damage of simply a heightened sense of personal power, diminished empathy increases the likelihood one will feel more entitlement, less concern for others and a “me, myself and I” mindset.

Often, when certain people (again, particularly males) operate a mode of transport like a turbocharged car, jet ski, snowmobile, motorcycle and the like, they feel an emotional power surge. While at the controls, some start behaving more like a machine and less like a person. If you’re a “Star Trek” fan, it’s as if their mind and the vehicle meld into one, sort of like the Borg; entities that are part biological and part machine. In other words, when operating a pricey set of wheels, one may become more like a thing and less like one’s human self.

This power trip is not lost on those advertising automobiles. Flashy, compelling visual images of turbocharged cars screeching from zero to 60, manly pickup trucks towing monster loads and rugged off-road SUVs tearing up pristine landscapes all scream one overriding message: If you want to feel powerful, buy this set of wheels. Once one gets this power surge, rude and insensitive behaviors become more likely.

Too Much Horsepower?

Now, there are many exceptions. I recall when a friend test-drove a ridiculously expensive and brawny sports car. Rather than walk away with a power hit, he exited the car trembling. “Too much horsepower,” he told me. So, in order for power-induced, acquired sociopathy to kick in, there must be a connection between the vehicle’s robust capabilities and something in the driver’s personality that relishes the sense of power it conveys.

This is nothing new. In my youth, there were so-called hot rods and muscle cars. I owned one while in college; a ragtop with a manual four on the floor, a turbocharged engine and high-performance tires. With the top down, it was like driving a squall line, and the sense of power was palpable and seductive. A defensive driver by nature, I found myself increasingly tempted to burn rubber and speed. So, the more one identifies with this thing, pretty and potent as it may be, the more likely one will become like it—indifferent to others, powerful and potentially dangerous.

Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, “Mastering yourself is true power.”

We don’t achieve true power by mastering the road at the expense of others. Instead, it comes from making sure we are less like the vehicle we inhabit and more like a kind and considerate human being.

For more, visit philipchard.com.