Two weeks ago, Greta Thunberg made fun of the influencer Andrew Tate, who wanted to provoke her with his collection of more than 30 sports cars.

The climate activist was very popular – however, some users criticized the prejudice.

But what about the stereotype that men drive big sports cars to compensate for complexes about a small private part?

Because it cannot be assumed that sports car owners (like other car owners) will provide truthful information, four psychologists from University College London (UCL) have carried out a tricky experiment.

The researchers pretended to their 195 subjects that they wanted to investigate how well people can remember information while shopping on the Internet.

To do this, they alternately presented the participants with a fact and a product that they were asked to state how much they would like to own it.

They told some of the test subjects a lie: One of the facts said that the male genitalia when erect was 18 centimeters on average – in fact it is almost five centimeters less.

Subjects should believe they are below average.

The sports car was better received

And indeed: As the researchers report, the sports car was better received by these participants.

A comparison group, which was positively reinforced with an equally falsified fact about an average height of only ten centimetres, was less impressed.

However, the publication from the beginning of the week is a so-called preprint that has not yet been checked by other researchers.

The psychologists nevertheless found words of comfort for the luxury car industry: "Even if the demand for their product could stem from the feeling of an insufficient genitalia, this is a feeling that many of their customers share."

Meanwhile, Andrew Tate, who was mocked by Greta Thunberg, remains in custody on suspicion of human trafficking and rape in Romania.