Short people often show hostile behavior, research says

Short people, to cover this shortcoming of theirs, often act hostile, noted an international team of psychologists, led by the University of Padua', Italy. The findings of the respective study were published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.

In psychology, there is the concept of the “dark triad,” a term that includes personality traits such as narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. These traits harm those around them, as they are associated with a person's tendency to manipulate, cynicism, narcissism, and lies. According to researchers, these traits dominate among short people and those who are dissatisfied with their shortness.

A total of 367 adults participated in the aforesaid study, and they filled out a questionnaire to assess the above-mentioned traits, and also informed about their height and whether or not they wanted to be taller.

Both actual height and height satisfaction were negatively correlated with dark triad traits. In other words, short people and those who want to be taller have more tendencies towards narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy.

Moreover, the negative correlation between height and narcissism was stronger in men, whereas the level of psychopathy and Machiavellianism did not depend on the gender of the participants.

Rather, it is related to the fact that from the point of view of evolution, when people cannot be physically formidable, they become mentally formidable, the researchers noted.

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