Does Using Your Smartphone While Driving Make You a Psychopath ?

© Unsplash/Damir Kopezhanov

The dangers of using a smartphone while driving are well known (increased risk of accidents and endangering the lives of others in particular), and the Highway Code severely punishes this practice. This does not prevent many drivers from checking their phones while driving. Researchers have tried to find out the causes in a study published in the scientific journal Plos One.

Fear of missing out on interesting content

The participants in this research included 989 German drivers with an average age of 26. They answered a questionnaire that attempted to establish their psychological profile and link it to their behavior while driving.

The results confirmed the scientists' hypotheses. Thus, people who are afraid of missing out are much more likely to use their smartphone. This is because they are convinced that they are missing out on an experience and interesting content, which pushes them to act in this way.

Similarly, the so-called dark triad personality traits, well known in psychology, are singled out. These are narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy. The latter were all more likely to use phones while driving compared to individuals with lower levels of these traits.

Quoted by PsyPost, the study authors conclude:

Overall, problematic smartphone use is a strong predictor, regardless of Dark Triad personality traits. Since this factor can be more easily modified than personality, problematic smartphone use should be targeted in public safety interventions, driver training, and court-ordered medical-psychological assessment of fitness to drive.

They add: “This could be a good strategy to help people reduce their problematic smartphone use in everyday life, which should indirectly decrease the chances of using their phone on the road and prevent accidents and fatalities.”.

A trend global

As a reminder, this is a massive and worrying phenomenon. To cite just one example, according to a survey conducted in the United Kingdom by the Carmats.co.uk website, more than a quarter of Generation Z (people born between 1997 and 2012) indicated that they felt the urge to check their phone after less than 15 minutes of driving.

All drivers are concerned, and more than a third of respondents said they regularly think about checking their smartphones while behind the wheel. More information on the dangers of this practice in our previous article here.

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