There's hardly anyone in the world who hasn't heard the well-known adage that a big, fancy or 'sporty' car is usually meant to compensate for a lack of masculinity, to put it mildly – but new research shows the opposite, and women, and even men, judge men's attractiveness by the cars they drive. We turned to Perplexity to steer us to an understanding of the conclusions.
According to a team of behavioral scientists at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte ("Great North River") in Brazil, people see men who drive luxury cars as having a higher relationship value, among other positive traits. The group conducted two surveys involving people driving expensive cars; In the first survey, participants were asked about their opinion of luxury cars and the men who drive them, including their feelings about marital values and male dominance. The team received 171 responses, 93 of them from women. The second survey asked respondents who own only luxury cars how they feel about themselves and their place in society, and whether they think they will be better partners than those who drove a "regular" car. The researchers received 409 responses, 206 of which were from women.
Most respondents – both men and women – viewed men who drive luxury vehicles with higher marital value and social dominance, and were often perceived as more competent in their lives and jobs – and in some cases, even more intelligent. The results of the survey also showed that most respondents believed they would benefit from personal or intimate relationships with such men. The researchers also found that people who drive luxury cars see themselves as having a higher social status, and therefore believe they have more self-confidence than others. Most also rated themselves as having a higher mating value.
The researchers emphasized that the respondents did not know the purpose of the survey, since the questions were presented in a sophisticated manner and using made-up examples.
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