Jealovers: Jealous People - Are Tall Men Less or More Jealous Lovers?

Are Shorter Men more Attentive to Their Partners?

Height may determine more than just the physical characteristics of a male. How tall men are seems to affect how they treat their wife or girlfriend and how jealous they are in the relationship.

In this article find out about:

• · Men’s height and happiness in the relationship
• · Tall men and trust
• · Shorter men and how they treat their lovers
• · Jealousy
• · Evolution, Dominance and Superiority

In an article I read going back to Sept 2009, from The Journal of Evolutionary Psychology, they reported on a study that wanted to know if tall and short men reacted to jealous feelings differently. The article, I think brings up some interesting discussion points, and I am hoping you will give me your feedback and opinions on the results the survey presented. This study is the most recent one of many that has been done on height and jealousy. Basically, the study asked 98 men from the age of 19 to 72 years old, and from varying heights of 5’1’’ to 6’5’’, questions about their satisfaction level of their relationship. All the men were in heterosexual romantic relationships.

The men answered questions that were designed to measure their tendency toward suspicious thinking. They were asked questions to think of how they would feel if their mate is outwardly affectionate towards someone of the opposite sex. How would they react to their mate flirting with someone else? How often do they call their partner unexpectedly to check on them? They were asked if they performed sexual favors just to keep their lover around. Tall men reported less jealous feelings and used different behavior techniques than shorter men in dealing with the jealousy. The study was saying that tallness is a superior and dominant trait, just like bigger creatures are dominant in the animal kingdom. This makes these males more desirable by females. It was deducted that because tall men are more desirable, women look to keep themselves more attractive in order to keep the men from straying. This leads to more male satisfaction in the relationship, and greater trust in the partnership. In addition, the study says that short men worked harder a showing care and affection to their partners in an attempt to keep them from finding a taller male. Because tall men know they are more desirable, they take a more casual approach in the relationship. When they did react to jealousy it was with more negative, controlling and possessive, and watchful behavior than shorter men. Overall, tall men, the study showed are less jealous than short men.

There are several issues that arise from this study.  One is that all the answers were self reported, so we don’t if the men answered completely objectively.  The study did not factor in the height of their mate’s height or attractiveness.  The number of males surveyed is small and may not necessarily lead to accurate conclusions. The application of the research can only be applied to Western cultures. What we do know pretty conclusively is, the majority of women prefer tall men. It has been shown that tall men get more responses to dating ads.  Tall men get twice the amount of dates of short men, and height is one of the first features noticed by people.   So, is the study saying  tall men just more satisfied because they can “get the girl easier”?

Jealous feelings can be good and can be bad.  Jealousy is good when it creates a bond and appreciation between the couples.  Jealousy is bad when it interferes with the trust the individuals  and as a couple need to have in the relationship.  Jealousy is a strong emotion and can cause issues in marital and dating relationships.  Jealousy can lead to negative behaviors that can sometimes further deteriorate a relationship, even to the point of domestic violence. There are many other issues that may cause people to be jealous. Jealousy it is believed, is a hard wired emotion from evolutionary times, designed to protect our love interest and investment in genetic heirs. Until genetic testing, men couldn’t be sure if the child they were raising was really theirs. From the dawn of time, men wanted to be sure they are raising the children they sired.  Women needed the man to provide food and shelter so that their children could survive and reproduce. Tall, superior, dominant men probably survived better than the less dominant male, shorter males.   And taller men may be better at intimidating other men and keeping rivals away.  Evolutionary psychologists believe tall males may have better genes and therefore make them more desirable to females.   

The purpose of jealousy is to protect and lessen infidelity.  People who believe their partner is desired by others will have a more intense jealous reaction. Shorter men, the study concluded, are more aware of this, and it raises their “mate value awareness”,  increasing their attraction to their partner, and making them more attentive and loving towards them.  So, is this study saying shorter men may feel inferior to taller men, and work at showing love and caring more than taller men do?   

The consensus among evolutionary psychologists is that there may be emotional advantages to tallness.  These “advantages” may make taller men less sensitive to jealous thoughts and jealous actions.  Regarding the survey question to men about their reaction to seeing their lover hug and kiss someone of the opposite sex, there was equal feelings of jealousy among tall and short men.   The study suggests tall men may have less “cognitive and behavioral” jealousy, yet they experienced “emotional jealousy” with equally, height was not a factor in this feeling.  It may seem jealousy is an inborn emotion, and is automatically triggered.  Short men, the study concludes use different behavior and techniques to keep their mate in the relationship.  Through love, caring and more affection, they may be attempting to build a greater trust and investment in the relationship.  Does this mean tall men feel more confident in a relationship?

So what do you think?  In your experience, do tall men treat their lovers differently?  Do short, or tall men trust differently? Do you think height is really a factor in jealousy?

Let me know what you think.