Bumper Stickers = Road Rage ??
Go ahead, admit it.
You’ve always secretly suspected that there was a correlation between bumper stickers and road rage, yes?
Well, you may be right.
As reported at the Research Digest Blog of the British Psychological Society earlier this week:
Drivers with more stickers and other forms of personalisation tended to be more attached to their cars, confirming the researchers’ suspicion that vehicular adornment is a sign of territoriality. Crucially, drivers with more personalised cars also admitted to driving more aggressively, including tailgating and ramming. Sticker lovers also admitted that they were less likely to respond constructively to frustration on the road, for example by trying to drive more safely. Perhaps surprisingly, the content of stickers made no difference to these associations.
Of course, many questions have been raised about the details of this study…how they gathered data, how they define the “attachment” in their conclusion, and lastly, how they even received a grant to study this topic.
All good questions, but I’m still not chancing it. Starting today, no more ramming those cars that brag “My Kid Was Student of the Month”. You never know what could happen.