As the token short guy in most social settings, I seem to have a hard time getting women to notice me when I’m surrounded by guys that are at lest 6 feet tall. So the question remains, does height affect your attractiveness? The null hypothesis in this situation is that height has no effect on attractiveness. And the alternative hypothesis is that height, wither positive or negative, has an effect on how attractive you are.
In a team up between Rice University and the University of North Texas, researchers conducted a two part study on different genders preferences in relation to partners. The first section of the study was data taken from different dating profiles around the us, average male height was 5 feet 8 inches and female was 5 feet 4 inches. After compiling data from 455 males and 470 females, they found that only 13.5% of men wanted to date only women that were shorter than they are, but almost half of the women wanted to date only men that were taller than they were. The second part of the study was an online survey at the two universities where the study was taking place. In this portion of the study, 37% of men that participated wanted to date only women shorter than they are, a significant increase from the previous study. There was also an increase in women who wanted to date only men taller than they are, going from 48.9% in the first part to 55% in the second trial.
In another study, it was found that there is a point in which people view the opposite gender as too tall or too short. The findings show that on average, people look for the male to be no more than 17% taller than the female. They also found a correlation between the height of the person and their preference of height, with tall women and short men looking for less of a height difference with their partner than either taller men and shorter women.
With these findings, as well as personal experience, we are able to reject the null hypothesis. this means that height actually does have an effect on a persons attractiveness no matter what their gender. And unfortunately that means for guys like me, we are goig to have to start buying platform shoes.
Sources:
http://jfi.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/01/12/0192513X13519256.abstract
http://www.medicaldaily.com/short-women-still-prefer-taller-men-how-height-preferences-havent-changed-search-love-269037
New Research Analyzes Height, Weight, Income and More In Regards to Sex and Dating
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/10941259/Are-women-more-attracted-to-tall-men.html
From the female perspective, I do not particularly find it attractive when a guy is taller, but it definitely is a plus (since you don’t have to worry about how high your heels are for prom). I guess everyone’s preferences vary though! My ex boyfriend was extremely tall, and every time we went somewhere the first thing people would comment on was his height and would assume he played basketball.
Ask any girl, if there 2 identical males, one being 5’5″, and one being 6’0″. The women is going to pick the taller one every time. This is because they want someone more dominant, and height gives you a more dominant look.
Interesting post. I often hear friends of mine say, “oh, he’s too short.” I am not sure if height is something I actually don’t care about in gaging the attractiveness of a person or if I have just trained myself to not care. As a female who is about 5’5″, I am of about average height, probably considered more short than tall. I, like many other females, wish I was taller like the models we see in magazines, but at the same time I often hear that shorter females are seen as more attractive than taller females. Personally, I think that men do not find taller girls as attractive because they feel more emasculated in their presence, just as I probably do not mind men shorter than me because I feel as though we are more equal.
It’s obvious our guest lecturer gave you this idea. That was one of the only topics he discussed that I found to be of particular interest. What evolutionary reason could women have for being attracted to taller men? Is it because they feel safer and more secure? Also, why do men find shorter women more attractive? is it so they can feel strong and powerful? The studies you found point to these attractions due to height being the case, but I cannot help but wonder why I am attracted to shorter women more than woman taller than me. At the same time I do not believe a taller girl would bother me as long as she is not too much taller, which was shown in one of your studies. This I can understand because the logistics of being with someone far shorter or taller than you can become complicated. Interesting post.
Myself being a taller guy, I love this post. It is interesting to actually see data that supports the idea that women like taller guys, but I would still love to know the mechanism for it. My first thought would be that it’s evolutionary, that women find stronger and taller men more attractive because hundreds of thousands of years ago, they needed a mate who could protect them and provide them with food. I may be way off, but I just thought I would share my thoughts on it.