Your physical height can affect your emotional state of mind, according to a new study. We already know that language bestows positive value on people of tall stature: We look up to them rather than down. And various studies have found correlations between being taller and earning more. Now virtual reality is adding to the understanding of the short state of mind. A study conducted at Oxford University and published in December used avatars to let participants go through the virtual experience of riding a subway at their normal height and then at that height reduced by ten inches. For the study, 60 women—none with a history of mental illness, but all of whom had recently reported mistrustful thoughts—donned headsets and viewed monitors as they participated in two 3-D virtual-reality trips on the London subway system. They were able to move and interact with other virtual passengers, exchanging glances or looking away from others, for instance. The virtual train trips journeyed between subway stations, took about six minutes each, and were programmed and animated identically except for one thing: In one ride, the avatar representing the participant was reduced in height by 25 centimeters—a little less than ten inches. That's "approximately the height of a head" in the words of Oxford clinical psychologist and lead researcher Daniel Freeman. The results: Participants reported that during the ride in which they were made to feel shorter, they felt more vulnerable, more negative about themselves, and had a greater sense of paranoia.
Read This Next
Profile Menu
BBC Future combed through the evidence to size up its impact on everything from your sexual allure to your bank account and your lifespan. Money and power At 6ft 4in cm , Abraham Lincoln would tower above Barack Obama — but even he is around 3in 8cm taller than the average American. Confirming the correlation, a recent study found that taller candidates do indeed tend to receive more votes. Beyond the race to the White House, taller men and women are considered to be more dominant, healthy, and intelligent , and are more likely to be chosen for more competitive jobs; they also earn more money. But height also reflects nutrition as a child — so perhaps it simply acts as a more general indicator of your upbringing, which may in turn influence your education and success later in life.
Early Growth Spurts & Precocious Puberty
Some children may be abnormally tall for their age from an early, rapid development of puberty or from an excess production of the growth hormone by the pituitary gland. These and other more rare conditions can stimulate growth, particularly of the jaw and the long bones of the arms and legs. Most of these conditions can be treated. Generally, growth spurts for girls start about two years earlier than growth spurts for boys. Children with precocious puberty experience early growth spurts because of the abnormally early rise in sex hormone levels in their bodies. Initially this causes these children to grow taller than other kids their age, but their skeletons mature more rapidly. Often this causes them to stop growing at an early age, and they end up being average or below average height as adults.
How can you tell if your child is growing properly, and what can you do to encourage healthy growth? If you're the parent of the shortest—or the tallest—kid in the class, you probably understand the fixation about childhood height. Indeed, the emphasis is first placed on size moments after your child is born, when doctors measure his height and weight. From then on, the pediatrician will measure him at every check-up. We spoke with experts about average height and whether it matters in the long run. During his first year of life , your baby grows up to 10 inches in length. However, his early size isn't very predictive of his final height or weight. He'll add about five inches during his second year, and then starting at age 3, he'll grow about 2. Average Female Height: Females reach their adult height around age 15, and the average girl height is 5'4" in America.
