[science, psychology] Another Advantage of Height
Perplexing Advantage for Taller Men
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Men who are taller than 6 feet four inches have a real advantage in life: They are more likely than their shorter friends to have a better education.
A better education not only translates into a more challenging and interesting job and higher salary, but also gives these men a social advantage. The opposite is also true and quite troubling. Shorter men could face discrimination as they are expected to be low achievers, Reuters and Sweden's The Local report of research from Sweden's Karolinska Institute.
The study: Led by Finn Rasmussen, the team examined data on 950,000 Swedish men born between 1950 and 1975 who were drafted into the Swedish army. Height measurements were taken at age 18, and the Karolinska team tracked their higher education achievements for 27 years.
The results: Men who were taller than 6 feet four inches at age 18 were two to three times more likely to obtain a higher education than men who were shorter than five feet four inches. Specifically, 43 percent of the tall men had at least one year of college, compared with only 22 percent of the short men. Although such factors as social background and IQ test results did alter the findings slightly, a clear link between height and educational achievement existed. "The probability of achieving higher education in later life increases linearly with height," the researchers wrote in the International Journal of Epidemiology in which the study findings were published.
Why are taller men more likely to be educated? Rasmussen told Reuters he suspects it has something to do with social attitudes. "We do not know if people have negative attitudes to short people," he explained to the news service. "It is possible that there could be something in society about the expectations of people or attitudes to what people can perform.
Rasmussen says that historically there have been very strong differences in height between socio-economic groups. "Poor people have tended to be shorter, rich people have tended to be taller. And over time there is genetic selection as tall people marry tall people and have tall children," he told The Local.
Still, it's important to note there are many exceptions. The study leader Finn Rasmussen is one such example. This associate professor is only five feet eight inches tall.
http://channels.netscape.com/men/package.jsp?name=fte/tallermen/tallermen
Men who are taller than 6 feet four inches have a real advantage in life: They are more likely than their shorter friends to have a better education.
A better education not only translates into a more challenging and interesting job and higher salary, but also gives these men a social advantage. The opposite is also true and quite troubling. Shorter men could face discrimination as they are expected to be low achievers, Reuters and Sweden's The Local report of research from Sweden's Karolinska Institute.
The study: Led by Finn Rasmussen, the team examined data on 950,000 Swedish men born between 1950 and 1975 who were drafted into the Swedish army. Height measurements were taken at age 18, and the Karolinska team tracked their higher education achievements for 27 years.
The results: Men who were taller than 6 feet four inches at age 18 were two to three times more likely to obtain a higher education than men who were shorter than five feet four inches. Specifically, 43 percent of the tall men had at least one year of college, compared with only 22 percent of the short men. Although such factors as social background and IQ test results did alter the findings slightly, a clear link between height and educational achievement existed. "The probability of achieving higher education in later life increases linearly with height," the researchers wrote in the International Journal of Epidemiology in which the study findings were published.
Why are taller men more likely to be educated? Rasmussen told Reuters he suspects it has something to do with social attitudes. "We do not know if people have negative attitudes to short people," he explained to the news service. "It is possible that there could be something in society about the expectations of people or attitudes to what people can perform.
Rasmussen says that historically there have been very strong differences in height between socio-economic groups. "Poor people have tended to be shorter, rich people have tended to be taller. And over time there is genetic selection as tall people marry tall people and have tall children," he told The Local.
Still, it's important to note there are many exceptions. The study leader Finn Rasmussen is one such example. This associate professor is only five feet eight inches tall.