Are short people more likely to be psychopaths? Study reveals: Short stature is strongly related to "three types of negative personality"
Are relatively short ethnic groups not only disadvantaged in terms of stature, but also more likely to have distorted personalities? According to a recent study published in “Personality and Individual Differences”, people who are relatively short, or those who want to be taller, may be more likely to have “The Dark Triad” related to psychopathy and narcissism. personality traits).
Is being short actually related to psychopathy? Research: Short people have strong “dark triangle personality” traits
The three malicious traits of the dark triangle personality, which means “narcissism”, “Machievillianism (meaning indifference to society and abandonment of morality)” and “psychosis”, are often used in psychological research. Of these, psychopathy is characterized by a lack of empathy and remorse, impulsivity, and a disregard for social norms and rules. Narcissism is characterized by an inflated sense of self-importance, power, and need for admiration. Machiavellianism refers to a tendency to be manipulative, cynical, and immoral.
A multinational team from Australia, Poland and Italy recruited 367 adults (233 men, 134 women) from the United States; in order to accurately test individual differences in dark triangle personality, the research team used 12 surveys about dark triangle personality A questionnaire measuring the degree of psychopathic or narcissistic behavior for each subject.
Furthermore, the research team further used two methods to collect the height differences of the subjects, namely actual height and satisfaction with height. The results showed that subjects who were shorter or wanted to grow taller were more strongly associated with dark triangle personality than subjects who were of normal height or taller. Short people in the study appeared to be more likely to show off, be aggressive, and be more interested in power struggles.
Study author Peter K. Jonason said the negative correlation between height and narcissism was more pronounced among short men. But psychopathy and Machiavellianism appear to be no different between men and women, suggesting that women’s personality traits also appear to be affected by height. “We expected that all three traits would be more pronounced in men, but there was little evidence that the correlation results differed by gender.”
Short people need more respect from others. Expert: Psychological quality is stronger than that of ordinary people.
Why do shorter people have stronger dark personality traits in this study? Jonason pointed out that such results can be understood from the human evolutionary framework. When individuals do not have physical advantages or are not so strong, they may become stronger than ordinary people at the psychological level.
These relationships may be best understood from an evolutionary framework, which suggests that when people are not physically strong, they may become psychologically strong. “For example, short men may need to earn the respect of others to gain resources and use their personality traits to impress romantic partners; short women may lie or conceal facts to make themselves more popular or gain strength. protector.”
Jonason shows that these psychological strategies give short people survival and mating advantages and may offset size disadvantages. However, the study still has limitations. For example, the average height of local residents in the United States is higher, and the subjects may not meet the definition of being lower than the global average male height. In addition, height may also change an individual’s lifestyle, and the lifestyle is uncertain. Does it interact with subject personality?
Are short people more likely to have a “Napoleon complex”? Do both Putin and Hitler have this tendency?
In addition, study co-author Monika Kozłowska said that the research results may be related to a psychological phenomenon: “Napoleon complex” (Napoleon complex, also known as dwarf syndrome). The Napoleon Complex is a condition in which men who are short in stature attempt to compensate for their short stature through aggressive behavior. And despite their limited height, this group tends to believe they are capable of great things.
“Historical figures such as Napoleon, Putin, the leader of the Ukraine-Russia War, and Hitler, the German strategist who initiated World War II, are all less than 175 centimeters tall. Many psychologists believe that their powerlessness and anger about height are transferred to their personalities.” Kozłowska said that clinically, there are also many modern men who develop aggressive behaviors due to low self-esteem about their height. At this time, professional psychologists may need to intervene to help them change their thinking patterns.
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