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Jealousy, Prejudice, and Short People
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- Parent Category: Advanced News Lessons
- Category: Culture Lessons
- Written by Chris Cotter
Short people tend to be more prone to feelings of inferiority and jealousy, a recent study concluded. The researchers polled more than 500 Dutch and Spanish of both sexes in an effort to determine which characteristics made people uneasy with romantic competitors. They discovered a number of universalities, realizing that men and women viewed money, strength, looks, and charm as threatening. However, feelings of unease and nervousness diminished the taller a person's stature. Jealousy was exacerbated in short people.
In terms of evolution, this makes sense, because women of at least medium height enjoy the best health, popularity, and fertility with men. What's more, taller men more often find success with women, while taller women are more dominant, or so the study said. Yet it's interesting to note that pangs of jealousy still occurred if the perceived rival were taller.
The most recent findings supported similar studies on height and modern culture conducted elsewhere. For example, it's been proven that tall men more quickly climb the rungs of power. In another study, a look at Fortune 500 companies revealed that 58% of the CEOs stood over six feet (169 centimeters), but only 14.5% of the US population was of the same height - a disproportionate number. What's more, taller people received better pay packets than their shorter counterparts, as an inch of height added more than $750 to a person's salary each year. Compounded over a person's lifetime, this would add hundreds of thousands of dollars in earnings.
The prejudice towards shorter people isn't deliberate. The unconscious bias extends to all areas of life, though.
Preview some of the lesson material:
Warm Up: Do you agree or disagree? Why?
- Tall people are more successful.
- Short people are more jealous.
- Tall women generally aren't attracted to short men.
- Men generally aren't attracted to tall women.
- I'm a jealous person.
True or False?: Guess (before the article) or answer (after the article) whether the sentence is true or false. If false, correct the sentence.
- The researchers polled only men about romance.
- Tall men are healthier, more popular, and more fertile.
- A person could still be jealous if his/her rival were taller.
- According to the article, tall men are more successful in the business world.
- The prejudice against short people is often deliberate.
post-Comprehension: Talk about the following questions in pairs/groups. Remember to support your answers!
- If the researchers interviewed people from your country, would the results be the same? Why/not?
- What makes you feel inferior? Why
- Do you have any prejudices towards short people? Please explain.
- Do you have any prejudices? Please explain.
- Have you ever felt discriminated against? If so, when did it happen?
Google Search: Type "jealousy" into Google. Look at the websites, and/or read additional articles on this topic. Discuss or write an essay about your findings.
