Do you like loud cars? You might be a psychopath! Men who want to modify their vehicles to make them noisier are more likely to have dark personality traits, study finds

'Boys and their toys' is a phrase often used to joke about men who dote excessively on their cars.

But a new study has shed a more sinister light on these 'boys'. 

Researchers from the University of Western Ontario have revealed that men who like particularly noisy cars are more likely to be psychopaths. 

'It seems to be this callous disregard for other people's feelings and their reactions,' said lead author, Julie Aitken Schermer, speaking to CBS.

'That's the psychopathy coming out and it's also they probably get a kick out of enjoying watching people get startled.'

'Boys and their toys' is a phrase often used to joke about men who dote excessively on their cars. But a new study has shed a more sinister light on these 'boys' (stock image)

In the study, the researchers set out to understand whether or not there is a link between loud automobiles and the 'dark tetrad' personality traits. 

These are Machiavellianism (controlled manipulation), narcissism (self-love), and psychopathy (impulsive cruelty to others).  

The team enlisted 529 participants - 52 per cent men, and 48 per cent female - with an average age of 18 years.

The participants were surveyed about how they feel about their car, their desire to have a loud car, and their willingness to modify their muffler to have an even louder car.

They also completed a 28-items scale assessment to understand their levels of the dark tetrad personality traits. 

The results revealed that male participants were more likely than females to say that they had a desire to have a loud car, and that they'd be willing to modify their car to make it louder. 

The results revealed that male participants were more likely than females to say that they had a desire to have a loud car, and that they'd be willing to modify their car to make it louder (stock image) 

What's more, the male participants who said they wanted a loud car scored more highly for psychopathy.  

'Modifying a muffler to make a car louder is disturbing to pedestrians, other drivers, and animals at a distance, meeting the sadism component, as well as startling when up close at intersections, meeting the psychopathy component,' the researchers wrote in their study, published in Current Issues in Personality Psychology. 

With car modifications illegal in some countries, the researchers hope the findings could prove useful for authorities trying to halt these activities. 

'Other than legally enforcing laws with respect to these automobile modifications, the present results suggest that other tactics, such as information campaigns, may not be useful,' they added.

'It is unlikely that those scoring higher on psychopathy and sadism would be swayed by the fact that the modified mufflers may be damaging to others.'