On the significance of stature in human society

Abstract

An analysis was performed on assortment mechanisms and their involvement in the emergence of social differences in stature. This was done by comparing within a number of professional groups the stature of people holding higher posts with the stature of their colleagues in lower positions. It was shown that as a rule people in higher positions were taller than those on lower posts, even after eliminating the influence of social background and formal education. Furthermore, the results of multiple regression analyses demonstrated that when the factors social origin and education were controlled, the variable “professional status” was by far the largest element in explaining the variance in stature. Finally, indications as to possible causal factors on social assortment of stature were provided by the results of an investigation into the stereotypes of tall people and successful people whose polarity profiles revealed a high degree of congruency. The results of these studies are interpreted as an indication that there is a mechanism in our society which permits tall people to rise into higher positions more frequently than smaller people. The theory is put forward that this assortment mechanism is directly connected to stature and is the result of an attributional phenomenon by which tall people are attributed qualities also expected of successful people with a frequency quite out of proportion to probability.