Human height is positively related to interpersonal dominance in dyadic interactions

Growth hormone treatment in children with short stature: impact of the diagnosis on parents

OBJECTIVES

This prospective multicenter study aimed (1) to examine changes in parent-reported health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of children with short stature and the effects of the children's condition on parents themselves within the first year of human growth hormone (hGH) treatment and (2) to predict effects on parents based on main and interaction effects of children's HRQOL and increase in height.

METHODS

A total of 110 parents of children aged 4-18 years, diagnosed with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency, small for gestational age, or idiopathic short stature, were recruited from 11 participating German pediatric endocrinologists and asked to fill out the short stature-specific Quality of Life in Short Stature Youth (QoLISSY) Questionnaire before hGH treatment was initiated and one year later.

RESULTS

Negative effects of the children's short stature on the parents decrease over time, independent of diagnosis and treatment status. Furthermore, treatment status and height increase moderated the links between children's improved HRQOL as perceived by their parents and decreased caregiving burden.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the children's improved HRQOL and the parent's decrease in caregiving burden, patient-reported outcomes that consider parental and child's perspectives should be considered when deciding on hGH treatment for children.

On power and its corrupting effects: the effects of power on human behavior and the limits of accountability systems

Power is an all-pervasive, and fundamental force in human relationships and plays a valuable role in social, political, and economic interactions. Power differences are important in social groups in enhancing group functioning. Most people want to have power and there are many benefits to having power. However, power is a corrupting force and this has been a topic of interest for centuries to scholars from Plato to Lord Acton. Even with increased knowledge of power's corrupting effect and safeguards put in place to counteract such tendencies, power abuse remains rampant in society suggesting that the full extent of this effect is not well understood. In this paper, an effort is made to improve understanding of power's corrupting effects on human behavior through an integrated and comprehensive synthesis of the neurological, sociological, physiological, and psychological literature on power. The structural limits of justice systems' capability to hold powerful people accountable are also discussed.

Feeling Small or Standing Tall? Height Manipulation Affects Speech Anxiety and Arousal in Virtual Reality

Social performance situations often constitute one of the most challenging communication tasks across different cultures. In today's work environments, giving presentations and performing in front of others are often essential and expected. Therefore, public speaking anxiety can have a serious impact on an individual's job performance, career choice, and prospects. Contemporary consumer virtual reality hardware has made it possible to practice public speaking anywhere in a safe and private virtual reality environment (VRE). As VREs offer the means to practice real-life scenarios, they also make it possible to go beyond what is "real"; to replace simulations with more dynamic and innovative training environments. Furthermore, with occupational life undergoing a significant shift toward technology-mediated working conditions, innovative tools and methods could also be used during virtually implemented real-time social interactions. This research aimed to study the ways in which an illusion of height, that is, perceived tallness versus perceived shortness, without any visible virtual body or representation, influences state speech anxiety and emotional responses of participants during simulation of a stressful speech task. The experiment followed a strictly controlled between-subject procedure, and both self-reported and psychophysiological data were collected. Results indicate that participants perceiving the illusion of tallness felt less anxious and had lower self-reported arousal compared with participants with the illusion of shortness. This implies that even simple, visual, first-person perspective manipulation of the VRE could help individuals to reduce their stress responses during a task-oriented situation.

The evolution of personality disorders: A review of proposals

Personality disorders (PDs) are currently considered dysfunctions. However, personality differences are older than humanity and are ubiquitous in nature, from insects to higher primates. This suggests that a number of evolutionary mechanisms-other than dysfunctions-may be able to maintain stable behavioral variation in the gene pool. First of all, apparently maladaptive traits may actually improve fitness by enabling better survival or successful mating or reproduction, as exemplified by neuroticism, psychopathy, and narcissism. Furthermore, some PDs may harm important biological goals while facilitating others, or may be globally beneficial or detrimental depending on environmental circumstances or body condition. Alternatively, certain traits may form part of life history strategies: Coordinated suites of morphological, physiological and behavioral characters that optimize fitness through alternative routes and respond to selection as a whole. Still others may be vestigial adaptations that are no longer beneficial in present times. Finally, variation may be adaptative in and by itself, as it reduces competition for finite resources. These and other evolutionary mechanisms are reviewed and illustrated through human and non-human examples. Evolutionary theory is the best-substantiated explanatory framework across the life sciences, and may shed light on the question of why harmful personalities exist at all.

The Interacting Effects of Height and Shoulder-to-Hip Ratio on Perceptions of Attractiveness, Masculinity, and Fighting Ability: Experimental Design and Ecological Validity Considerations

Previous research has shown that men's height and upper body size are both associated with the perception of attractiveness, because they might be cues to men's genetic fitness, fighting ability, and resource holding power. However, the combined effects of men's height and upper body size have not been explored. In this research, across four studies (N = 659 heterosexual women), we systematically explored the perception of men's muscular upper body at different heights on perceptions of attractiveness, masculinity, and fighting ability. Women rated male stimuli with heights ranging from 160 cm (5'3″) to 190 cm (6'3″) and three values of shoulder-to-hip ratio (SHR). In general, results showed that women considered taller men and men with larger SHR as more attractive, masculine, and better in fighting ability. However, a robust interaction between height and SHR was dependent on participants being exposed to variation on both variables and the ecological validity of the stimuli (silhouettes vs. more realistic rendered figures).

Stay away from me: Coughing increases social distance even in a virtual environment

This study investigated whether the coughing behaviors of virtual agents encourage infection avoidance behavior, i.e., distancing behaviors. We hypothesized that the changes in people's lifestyles in physical environments due to COVID-19 probably influence their behaviors, even in virtual environments where no infection risk is present. We focused on different types of virtual agents because non-human agents, such as robot-like agents, cannot spread a virus by coughing. We prepared four kinds of virtual agents (human-like/robot-like and male/female) and coughing behaviors for them and experimentally measured the personal distance maintained by participants toward them. Our experiment results showed that participants chose a greater distance from coughing agents, regardless of the types, and negatively evaluated them. They also chose a greater distance from male agents than from female agents.

Social stratification reflected in bone mineral density and stature: Spectral imaging and osteoarchaeological findings from medieval Norway

This study presents skeletal material from five medieval burial sites in Eastern Norway, confined to one royal burial church, one Dominican monastery, and three burial sites representing parish populations. We combine osteological analysis and Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry, studying the remains of 227 individuals (102 females and 125 males) employing young, middle, and old adult age categories. The aim is to assess bone mineral density as a skeletal indicator of socioeconomic status including stature as a variable. We detected that socioeconomic status significantly affected bone mineral density and stature. Individuals of high status had higher bone mineral density (0.07 g/cm2, p = 0.003) and taller stature (1.85 cm, p = 0.017) than individuals from the parish population. We detected no significant relationship between young adult bone mineral density and socioeconomic status (p = 0.127 and 0.059 for females and males, respectively). For males, high young adult bone mineral density and stature varied concordantly in both status groups. In contrast, females of high status were significantly taller than females in the parish population (p = 0.011). Our findings indicate quite different conditions during growth and puberty for the two groups of females. The age-related pattern of bone variation also portrayed quite different trajectories for the two socioeconomic status groups of both sexes. We discuss sociocultural practices (living conditions during childhood and puberty, as well as nutritional and lifestyle factors in adult life), possibly explaining the differences in bone mineral density between the high-status and parish population groups. The observation of greater differences in bone mineral density and stature for females than males in the medieval society of Norway is also further discussed.

Vocal Cues to Male Physical Formidability

Animal vocalizations convey important information about the emitter, including sex, age, biological quality, and emotional state. Early on, Darwin proposed that sex differences in auditory signals and vocalizations were driven by sexual selection mechanisms. In humans, studies on the association between male voice attributes and physical formidability have thus far reported mixed results. Hence, with a view to furthering our understanding of the role of human voice in advertising physical formidability, we sought to identify acoustic attributes of male voices associated with physical formidability proxies. Mean fundamental frequency (F₀), formant dispersion (D_f), formant position (P_f), and vocal tract length (VTL) data from a sample of 101 male voices was analyzed for potential associations with height, weight, and maximal handgrip strength (HGS). F₀ correlated negatively with HGS; P_f showed negative correlations with HGS, height and weight, whereas VTL positively correlated with HGS, height and weight. All zero-order correlations remained significant after controlling for false discovery rate (FDR) with the Benjamini–Hochberg method. After controlling for height and weight—and controlling for FDR—the correlation between F₀ and HGS remained significant. In addition, to evaluate the ability of human male voices to advertise physical formidability to potential mates, 151 heterosexual female participants rated the voices of the 10 strongest and the 10 weakest males from the original sample for perceived physical strength, and given that physical strength is a desirable attribute in male partners, perceived attractiveness. Generalized linear mixed model analyses—which allow for generalization of inferences to other samples of both raters and targets—failed to support a significant association of perceived strength or attractiveness from voices alone and actual physical strength. These results add to the growing body of work on the role of human voices in conveying relevant biological information.

Art and science: impact of semioccluded vocal tract exercises and choral singing on quality of life in subjects with congenital GH deficiency

Objective

Currently, not much is known about the interactions between voice and growth hormone (GH). We have described large kindred with isolated GH deficiency (IGHD) due to a GHRH receptor mutation, resulting in severe short stature and high-pitched voice. These IGHD individuals have little interest in GH treatment, as they consider themselves "short long-lived people", rather than patients. Interestingly, they report normal general quality of life, but they rate their Voice-Related Quality of Life (V-RQOL) as low. Here, we assessed the social and auditory-perceptual impacts of artistic-intervention voice therapy with semioccluded vocal tract exercises (SOVTE) and choral singing, on their voices.

Methods

Seventeen GH-naïve adult IGHD individuals were enrolled in a single-arm interventional pre-post study with 13 weekly sessions of choir singing over 90 days. Outcome measures were V-RQOL scores, self-assessment of voice, and auditory-perceptual analysis (GRBAS scale, G: grade of the severity of dysphonia; R: roughness; B: breathiness; A: asthenia; and S: strain).

Results

Marked improvements in total (p = 0.0001), physical (p = 0.0002), and socioemotional (p = 0.0001) V-RQOL scores and in self-assessment of voice (p = 0.004) were found. The general grades of vocal deviation (p = 0.0001), roughness (p = 0.0001), breathiness (p = 0.0001) and strain (p = 0.0001) exhibited accentuated reductions.

Conclusion

Voice therapy with semioccluded vocal tract exercises and choral training improved social impact and perceptual voice assessments in IGHD subjects and markedly improved their voice-related quality of life. This is particularly important in a setting where GH replacement therapy is not widely accepted.

Volunteers' Demographics That Affect the Human-Dog Interaction During Walks in a Shelter

Different people relate to dogs in different ways. We investigated differences between volunteers in their behavioural interactions with shelter dogs when they were walked on a leash. Cameras were used to record and quantify the behaviour of volunteers and a leash tension metre was used to measure pulling by both volunteers and shelter dogs. Effects of volunteers' age, body height, educational level, marital status, and experiences of living and working with dogs, and living with children, were examined. Older volunteers talked to the dogs more often during the walk than younger ones. Taller volunteers had reduced physical contact with dogs, and dogs pulled more frequently on the leash while walking with them. Volunteers with a postgraduate degree more frequently praised dogs and rewarded dogs with food and used more body language in the form of hand gestures and physical contact. Married and partnered volunteers more often praised dogs, while separated/divorced or widowed volunteers initiated more frequent physical contacts. Dogs pulled less when walking with volunteers who had experience of living with dogs, and these volunteers interacted with dogs using fewer verbal and body languages. Finally, those living with children more frequently communicated with dogs using body language (e.g., hand gestures and physical contact). We conclude that shelters should carefully consider volunteers' demographics when selecting them to walk dogs with various behavioural characteristics.

Social-rank cues: Decoding rank from physical characteristics, behaviors, and possessions

Inferring individuals' social rank-their position within a hierarchy-is central to many interactions. However, how do observers assess actors' social rank? The current article reviews three broad sources of social-rank cues: physical characteristics, behaviors, and possessions. First, observers infer an actor's social rank from ancestral stereotypes tethered to physical characteristics. Second, observers ascribe social rank to an actor from behaviors that range from nonverbal communication to explicit acts.Finally, observers assume social rank from actors' possessions. The present review emphasizes recent developments in these areas and poses question for future research.

Effect of Self-reported Height on Occupational Rank Among Police Officers: Especially for Women it Pays to be Tall

This study among 725 male and 247 female police officers from The Netherlands examined the association between self-reported height and occupational rank from the perspective of sexual selection. Male and female police officers were taller than the average population. A larger percentage of women than of men was found in the lowest ranks, but in the leadership positions, there was a similar percentage of women as of men. Overall, but especially among women, height was linearly associated with occupational rank: the taller one was, the higher one’s rank. These effects were independent of educational level and age. The implications for evolutionary theorizing from the perspective of sexual selection on the effect of tallness on status and dominance among women are discussed.

Female emancipation in a male dominant, sexually dimorphic primate under natural conditions

In most group-living animals, a dominance hierarchy reduces the costs of competition for limited resources. Dominance ranks may reflect prior attributes, such as body size, related to fighting ability or reflect the history of self-reinforcing effects of winning and losing a conflict (the winner-loser effect), or both. As to prior attributes, in sexually dimorphic species, where males are larger than females, males are assumed to be dominant over females. As to the winner-loser effect, the computational model DomWorld has shown that despite the female’s lower initial fighting ability, females achieve some degree of dominance of females over males. In the model, this degree of female dominance increases with the proportion of males in a group. This increase was supposed to emerge from the higher fraction of fights of males among themselves. These correlations were confirmed in despotic macaques, vervet monkeys, and in humans. Here, we first investigate this hypothesis in DomWorld and next in long-term data of 9,300 observation hours on six wild groups of robust capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus; S. nigritus, and S. xanthosternos) in three Brazilian sites. We test whether both the proportion of males and degree of female dominance over males are indeed associated with a higher relative frequency of aggression among males and a higher relative frequency of aggression of females to males. We confirm these correlations in DomWorld. Next, we confirm in empirical data of capuchin monkeys that with the proportion of males in the group there is indeed an increase in female dominance over males, and in the relative frequency of both male-male aggression and aggression of females to males and that the female dominance index is significantly positively associated with male male aggression. Our results reveal that adult sex ratio influences the power relation between the sexes beyond predictions from socioecological models.

Growth, body composition, and cardiovascular and nutritional risk of 5- to 10-y-old children consuming vegetarian, vegan, or omnivore diets

BACKGROUND

Plant-based diets (PBDs) are increasingly recommended for human and planetary health. However, comprehensive evidence on the health effects of PBDs in children remains incomplete, particularly in vegans.

OBJECTIVES

To quantify differences in body composition, cardiovascular risk, and micronutrient status of vegetarian and vegan children relative to omnivores and to estimate prevalence of abnormal micronutrient and cholesterol status in each group.

METHODS

In a cross-sectional study, Polish children aged 5-10 y (63 vegetarian, 52 vegan, 72 matched omnivores) were assessed using anthropometry, deuterium dilution, DXA, and carotid ultrasound. Fasting blood samples, dietary intake, and accelerometry data were collected.

RESULTS

All results are reported relative to omnivores. Vegetarians had lower gluteofemoral adiposity but similar total fat and lean mass. Vegans had lower fat indices in all regions but similar lean mass. Both groups had lower bone mineral content (BMC). The difference for vegetarians attenuated after accounting for body size but remained in vegans (total body minus the head: -3.7%; 95% CI: -7.0, -0.4; lumbar spine: -5.6%; 95% CI: -10.6, -0.5). Vegetarians had lower total cholesterol, HDL, and serum B-12 and 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] without supplementation but higher glucose, VLDL, and triglycerides. Vegans were shorter and had lower total LDL (-24 mg/dL; 95% CI: -35.2, -12.9) and HDL (-12.2 mg/dL; 95% CI: -17.3, -7.1), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, iron status, and serum B-12 (-217.6 pmol/L; 95% CI: -305.7, -129.5) and 25(OH)D without supplementation but higher homocysteine and mean corpuscular volume. Vitamin B-12 deficiency, iron-deficiency anemia, low ferritin, and low HDL were more prevalent in vegans, who also had the lowest prevalence of high LDL. Supplementation resolved low B-12 and 25(OH)D concentrations.

CONCLUSIONS

Vegan diets were associated with a healthier cardiovascular risk profile but also with increased risk of nutritional deficiencies and lower BMC and height. Vegetarians showed less pronounced nutritional deficiencies but, unexpectedly, a less favorable cardiometabolic risk profile. Further research may help maximize the benefits of PBDs in children.

Exogenous testosterone decreases men's sensitivity to vocal cues of male dominance

Assessing dominance is important for effective social interactions, and prior research suggests that testosterone is associated with men's dominance perceptions. The present study tested for a causal effect of exogenous testosterone on men's sensitivity to vocal cues of other men's dominance, an important parameter in male-male competition across species. One hundred and thirty-nine Chinese men received a single dose (150 mg) of testosterone or placebo gel in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, between-participant design. Participants reported their own dominance and judged other men's dominance from voices. Men's dominance sensitivity was significantly weaker in the testosterone group compared to those in the placebo group. Moreover, men's dominance sensitivity was negatively associated with their self-reported dominance in our Chinese sample, consistent with findings from Western populations. These results indicate that exogenous testosterone has a causal effect in decreasing men's dominance sensitivity, consistent with the Challenge Hypothesis, suggesting that the fluctuation of testosterone concentration mediates individuals' behaviors. Additionally, the present study could motivate further work on vocal assessment in the context of competition in humans and other species.

Effects of facial features and styling elements on perceptions of competence, warmth, and hireability of male professionals

Few studies investigated the effects of facial characteristics on stereotyping in the business context. Using a 2 (beard/no beard) x 2 (acne/no acne) x 2 (tie/no tie) x 2 (eyeglasses/no eyeglasses) between subjects' design, two representative samples of 364 and 711 participants rated different stimuli of male subjects on dimensions of competence, warmth and hireability. Based on 4,215 observations, results show acne has a negative and eyeglasses a positive effect on both competence and warmth. Wearing a necktie has a positive effect on competence and a negative effect on warmth. Finally, beardedness has a negative effect on warmth. We also observe that competence has a greater effect on hireability than warmth. We discuss the findings in the context of theoretical and managerial implications for male job applicants as well as HR practices.

Preferences for Sexually Dimorphic Body Characteristics Revealed in a Large Sample of Speed Daters

While hundreds of studies have investigated the indices that make up attractive body shapes, these studies were based on preferences measured in the laboratory using pictorial stimuli. Whether these preferences translate into real-time, face-to-face evaluations of potential partners is unclear. Here, 539 (275 female) participants in 75 laboratory-based sessions had their body dimensions measured before engaging in round-robin speed dates. After each date, they rated each other’s body, face, personality, and overall attractiveness and noted whether they would go on a date with the partner. Women with smaller waists and lower waist-to-hip ratios were found most attractive, and men with broader shoulders and higher shoulder-to-waist (or hips) ratios were found most attractive. Taller individuals were preferred by both sexes. Our results show that body dimensions associated with greater health, reproductive value (in women), and formidability (in men) influence face-to-face evaluations of attractiveness, consistent with a role of intersexual selection in shaping human bodies.

Referee height influences decision making in British football leagues

BACKGROUND

Male height is positively associated with social dominance, and more agonistic/competitive behaviours. However, the 'Napoleon complex' or 'small man syndrome' suggests that smaller males are more assertive and punitive to compensate for lack of height and social dominance. Here, we assess possible relationships between height and punitive behaviours in a real-world setting.

METHODS

Using a non-experimental correlational design, we analysed data on 61 male association football referees from four professional leagues in England, and explored relationships between their height and punitive behaviours in the form of yellow cards, red cards and penalties given during an entire season.

RESULTS

Overall there was no effect of referee height on fouls awarded. However, there was a main effect of height on yellow cards awarded, with shorter referees issuing more yellow cards. The same effect was found for red cards and penalties, though this was moderated by league. In the lower leagues, more red cards and penalties were awarded by relatively shorter referees, but in the higher leagues more red cards and penalties were awarded by relatively taller referees.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings from real-life public dominance encounters show that height is associated with punitive behaviours, but is sensitive to context.

The relationship between height and leadership: Evidence from across Europe

To better explicate the well-researched finding that taller individuals have higher wages on average, potential mechanisms should be studied in detail. The present analysis investigates the relationship between height and the probability of being in a leadership position in the workplace using multinational European Social Survey data from 19 countries. Studying full-time, employed individuals between 20 and 55 years of age reveals considerable country differences which is beneficial for the estimated multilevel models as variation is increased. The results indicate a statistically significant effect whereby women are 0.15 percentage points more likely to be in a leadership position for each additional centimetre of absolute height when controlling for education and occupational position whereas there is no effect for men. In order to study the relevance of absolute vs relative height, which is the difference to the local peer-group, regional data is utilized. The main findings are that there is no effect of relative height for men but a statistically significant effect for women. For them, absolute and relative effects are about equally strong.

Effects of the Size of Mixed-Reality Person Representations on Stress and Presence in Telecommunication

We study how mixed reality (MR) telepresence can enhance long-distance human interaction and how altering 3D representations of a remote person can be used to modulate stress and anxiety during social interactions. To do so, we developed an MR telepresence system employing commodity depth sensors and Microsoft’s Hololens. A textured, polygonal 3D model of a person was reconstructed in real time and transmitted over network for rendering in remote location using HoloLens. In this study, we used mock job interview paradigm to induce stress in human–subjects interacting with an interviewer presented as an MR hologram. Participants were exposed to three different types of real-time reconstructed virtual holograms of the interviewer, a natural-sized 3D reconstruction (NR), a miniature 3D reconstruction (SR) and a 2D-display representation (LCD). Participants reported their subjective experience through questionnaires, while their biophysical responses were recorded. We found that the size of 3D representation of a remote interviewer had a significant effect on participants’ stress levels and their sense of presence. The questionnaire data showed that NR condition induced more stress and presence than SR condition and was significantly different from LCD condition. We also found consistent patterns in the biophysical data.

Adult body height as a mediator between early-life conditions and socio-economic status: the case of the Dutch Potato Famine, 1846-1847

Adult body height appears to be a relatively accurate summary variable of early-life exposures' influence on health, and may be a useful indicator of health in populations where more traditional health-related indicators are lacking. In particular, previous studies have shown a strong, positive relationship between environmental conditions in early life (particularly nutritional availability and the disease environment) and adult height. Research has also demonstrated positive associations between height and socioeconomic status. We therefore hypothesize that height mediates the relationship between early-life conditions and later-life socio-economic outcomes. We also hypothesize that the period of exposure in early life matters, and that conditions during pregnancy or the first years of life and/or the years during puberty have the largest effects on height and socio-economic status. To test these relationships, we use a sample of 1817 Dutch military conscripts who were exposed during early life to the Dutch Potato Famine (1846-1847). We conduct mediation analyses using structural equation modelling, and test seven different time periods in early-life. We use potato prices and real wages to proxy early-life environmental conditions, and occupational status (using the HISCAM scale) to proxy socioeconomic status. We find no evidence of mediation, partial or full, in any models. However, there are significant relationships between potato prices in adolescence, height and socio-economic status. To determine causality in these relationships, further research is needed.

A Retrospective Analysis of Patients with Short Stature in the South of China between 2007 and 2015

OBJECTIVE

To describe the demographic features of children with short stature and poor growth in the south of China and provide better guidance on clinical strategy and decisions.

STUDY DESIGN

This retrospective, chart review study analyzed children with short stature and poor growth admitted to the Department of Endocrinology of Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from Jan 2007 to Dec 2015.

RESULTS

The chart review yielded 4142 patients, including 2546 boys and 1596 girls (P < 0.001); the number of patients gradually increased per year from 2007 to 2015. There was an upward trend in the average levels of height standard deviations (SDs) during the study period (P < 0.001), both in males (P < 0.001) and females (P < 0.001). Mean height SDs were smaller in females (-2.42±1.09) than males (-2.33±1.03; P = 0.01). The percentage of females admitted at normal height (33.83%) was lower than that of males (37.20%; P = 0.028). The peak age range of hospitalization in males was 10-12 years of age, while females were generally admitted earlier-8-10 years.

CONCLUSIONS

There was an increasing tendency to focus on children's height. Parents and pediatricians were recommended to pay more attention to the treatment needs of girls while avoiding excessive treatment of those who merely appear not to be tall enough without a clear medical issue related to growth, especially for boys.

Experimentally induced social threat increases paranoid thinking

The ability to attribute intentions to others is a hallmark of human social cognition but is altered in paranoia. Paranoia is the most common positive symptom of psychosis but is also present to varying degrees in the general population. Epidemiological models suggest that psychosis risk is associated with low social rank and minority status, but the causal effects of status and group affiliation on paranoid thinking remain unclear. We examined whether relative social status and perceived group affiliation, respectively, affect live paranoid thinking using two large-N (N = 2030), pre-registered experiments. Interacting with someone from a higher social rank or a political out-group led to an increase in paranoid attributions of harmful intent for ambiguous actions. Pre-existing paranoia predicted a general increase in harmful intent attribution, but there was no interaction with either type of social threat: highly paranoid people showed the same magnitude of increase as non-paranoid people, although from a higher baseline. We conclude social threat in the form of low social status and out-group status affects paranoid attributions, but ongoing paranoia represents a lowered threshold for detecting social threat rather than an impaired reactivity to it.

SELF-RATED HEALTH AND TEENAGE PREGNANCIES IN ROMA WOMEN: INCREASING HEIGHT IS ASSOCIATED WITH BETTER HEALTH OUTCOMES

This paper reports on the association between early marriage, age at first reproduction and height, as an indicator of childhood environment, and maternal health outcomes among traditional Roma women in Serbia. Demographic data, marital and reproductive histories, height, weight and self-rated health were collected from 414 Roma women living in rural settlements in Serbia in 2015-2017. Data analysis showed that higher age and weight were associated with a greater risk of poor health, greater height contributed to reduced risk of poor health while reproductive variables were insignificant. The study provides evidence that the long-term effects of early childbearing may not always be associated with poorer health status. As indicated by the differences in height, it is likely that women who were capable of reproducing very early on and staying healthy in later life were probably very healthy to begin with. The results probably reflect both the biological and social differences of early childhood. Aside from height, the traditional Roma marriage pattern and social benefits may have an additional protective effect on the health of women.

The Napoleon Complex: When Shorter Men Take More

Inspired by an evolutionary psychological perspective on the Napoleon complex, we hypothesized that shorter males are more likely to show indirect aggression in resource competitions with taller males. Three studies provide support for our interpretation of the Napoleon complex. Our pilot study shows that men (but not women) keep more resources for themselves when they feel small. When paired with a taller male opponent (Study 1), shorter men keep more resources to themselves in a game in which they have all the power (dictator game) versus a game in which the opponent also has some power (ultimatum game). Furthermore, shorter men are not more likely to show direct, physical aggression toward a taller opponent (Study 2). As predicted by the Napoleon complex, we conclude that (relatively) shorter men show greater behavioral flexibility in securing resources when presented with cues that they are physically less competitive. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Neural networks supporting social evaluation of bodies based on body shape

Body shape cues inferences regarding personality and health, but the neural processes underpinning such inferences remain poorly understood. Across two fMRI experiments, we test the extent to which neural networks associated with body perception and theory-of-mind (ToM) support social inferences based on body shape. Participants observed obese, muscular, and slim bodies that cued distinct social inferences as revealed in behavioural pilot experiments. To investigate judgment intentionality, the first fMRI experiment required participants to detect repeat presentations of bodies, whereas in fMRI Experiment 2 participants intentionally formed an impression. Body and ToM networks were localized using independent functional localisers. Experiment 1 revealed no differential network engagement for muscular or obese compared to slim bodies. By contrast, in Experiment 2, compared to slim bodies, forming impressions of muscular bodies engaged the body-network more, whereas the ToM-network was engaged more when forming impressions of obese bodies. These results demonstrate that social judgments based on body shape do not rely on a single neural mechanism, but rather on multiple mechanisms that are separately sensitive to body fat and muscularity. Moreover, dissociable responses are only apparent when intentionally forming an impression. Thus, these experiments show how segregated networks operate to extract socially-relevant information cued by body shape.

The effect of height and shoulder-to-hip ratio on interpersonal space in virtual environment

Previous research has associated men's physical features such as height and Shoulder-to-Hip Ratio (SHR) with dominance. Proxemics literature has suggested that the interpersonal space (comfort distance) increases in threatening and uncomfortable situations and decreases in unthreatening and comfortable situations. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the effect of different heights and SHRs on comfortable interpersonal distance by systematic manipulation of virtual confederates bodily features. More specifically, participants determined their comfort distances from virtual male confederates with different heights and SHRs in a virtual environment. We hypothesized that a virtual confederate's height and SHR influences the perception of interpersonal dominance; and consequently interpersonal space increases for taller and broader confederates as a result of increased interpersonal dominance. Results showed that comfortable interpersonal distance was positively associated with height for male participants, but not for female participants. No effect was found for shoulder width, neither for male nor female participants. Results were discussed in terms of the importance of height as a signal of dominance and fighting ability.

Intrasexual Competition and Height in Adolescents and Adults

Intrasexual competition can be defined as the struggle between members of one sex to increase their access to members of the other sex as sexual partners. In our species, height is a sexually dimorphic trait probably involved in both intrasexual and intersexual selective processes. In the present research, we examined the relationship between height and individual differences in intrasexual competitiveness (i.e., the tendency to view same-sex interactions in general in competitive terms) in two populations of adolescents and adults of both sexes in Chile. According to our first prediction, among both adolescent and adult men, height was negatively associated with intrasexual competitiveness. In contrast, among women, height was not linearly nor quadratically related with intrasexual competitiveness as previously reported. Finally, adolescent men and women showed increased levels of intrasexual competitiveness compared to adult same-sex counterparts. Our results suggest that height is a relevant trait in mating competition among men. The lack of relationship between height and intrasexual competitiveness in women may suggest that the role of height in women mating competition may be more complex and mediated by other variables.

Increasing gap in human height between rich and poor countries associated to their different intakes of N and P

We analyzed mean height of men born in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s in 80 countries. Both height and the change in height during the last decades were correlated with N and P intake, as well as the N:P intake ratio. Rich countries had higher per capita N and P intake than poor countries (on average 19.5 ± 0.3 versus 9.66 ± 0.18 kg N y-1 and 2.17 ± 0.04 versus 1.35 ± 0.02 kg P y-1), and also larger increases in per capita N intake (12.1 ± 2.0% vs. 7.0 ± 2.1%) and P intake (7.6 ± 1.0% vs 6.01 ± 0.7%), during the period 1961-2009. The increasing gap in height trends between rich and poor countries is associated with an increasing gap in nutrition, so a more varied diet with higher N, P, and N:P intake is a key factor to improve food intake quality in poor countries and thus shorten the gap with rich countries. More N and P are needed with the consequent requirements for a better management of the socioeconomic and environmental associated problems.

There is more: Intrasexual competitiveness, physical dominance, and intrasexual collaboration

It is emphasized that in organizational settings, the responses to same-sex attractive others are enhanced among individuals high in intrasexual competitiveness; that especially attractive rivals who are perceived as unfriendly will induce competition; that among males, physical dominance may induce more competition than physical attractiveness; and that especially males may prefer to associate with attractive same-sex others for intrasexual collaboration.

The effect of foot posture on capacity to apply free moments to the ground: implications for fighting performance in great apes

In contrast to most other primates, great apes have feet in which the heel supports body weight during standing, walking and running. One possible advantage of this plantigrade foot posture is that it may enhance fighting performance by increasing the ability to apply free moments (i.e. force couples) to the ground. We tested this possibility by measuring performance of human subjects when performing from plantigrade and digitigrade (standing on the ball of the foot and toes) postures. We found that plantigrade posture substantially increased the capacity to apply free moments to the ground and to perform a variety of behaviors that are likely to be important to fighting performance in great apes. As predicted, performance in maximal effort lateral striking and pushing was strongly correlated with free moment magnitude. All else being equal, these results suggest species that can adopt plantigrade posture will be able to apply larger free moments to the ground than species restricted to digitigrade or unguligrade foot posture. Additionally, these results are consistent with the suggestion that selection for physical competition may have been one of the factors that led to the evolution of the derived plantigrade foot posture of great apes.

Micromégas: Altered Body-Environment Scaling in Literary Fiction

Architectonic embodiment postulates a bidirectional link between bodily awareness and the architectural environment. The standard size and features of the human body, for instance, are thought to influence the structure of interiors and buildings, as well as their perception and appreciation. Whereas architectural practice and theory, the visual arts and more recently the cognitive sciences have explored this relationship of humans with their crafted environments, many fictional literary works have long experimented with alterations of body–environment scaling. This so-called Gulliver theme – popular in the science-fiction genre but also in children’s literature and philosophical satire – reveals, as a recurrent thought-experiment, our preoccupation with proportions and our fascination for the infinitely small and large. Here I provide an overview of the altered scaling theme in literature, including classics such as Voltaire’s Micromégas, Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, Caroll’s Alice, and Matheson’s The Shrinking man, closely examining issues relevant to architectonic embodiment such as: bodily, perceptual, cognitive, affective, and social changes related to alterations in body size relative to people, objects and architectural environments. I next provide a taxonomy of the Gulliver theme and highlight its main psychological features, and then proceed to review relevant work from cognitive science. Although fictional alterations of body-environment scaling far outreach current possibilities in experimental research, I argue that the peripetiae and morals outlined in the literary realm, as products of the human imagination, provide a unique window into the folk-psychology of body and space.

Adult height, nutrition, and population health

In this review, the potential causes and consequences of adult height, a measure of cumulative net nutrition, in modern populations are summarized. The mechanisms linking adult height and health are examined, with a focus on the role of potential confounders. Evidence across studies indicates that short adult height (reflecting growth retardation) in low- and middle-income countries is driven by environmental conditions, especially net nutrition during early years. Some of the associations of height with health and social outcomes potentially reflect the association between these environmental factors and such outcomes. These conditions are manifested in the substantial differences in adult height that exist between and within countries and over time. This review suggests that adult height is a useful marker of variation in cumulative net nutrition, biological deprivation, and standard of living between and within populations and should be routinely measured. Linkages between adult height and health, within and across generations, suggest that adult height may be a potential tool for monitoring health conditions and that programs focused on offspring outcomes may consider maternal height as a potentially important influence.

Height and Body Mass on the Mating Market : Associations With Number of Sex Partners and Extra-Pair Sex Among Heterosexual Men and Women Aged 18-65

People with traits that are attractive on the mating market are better able to pursue their preferred mating strategy. Men who are relatively tall may be preferred by women because taller height is a cue to dominance, social status, access to resources, and heritable fitness, leading them to have more mating opportunities and sex partners. We examined height, education, age, ethnicity, and body mass index (BMI) as predictors of sexual history among heterosexual men and women (N = 60,058). The linear and curvilinear associations between self-reported height and sex partner number were small for men when controlling for education, BMI, and ethnicity (linear β = .05; curvilinear β = -.03). The mean and median number of sex partners for men of different heights were: very short (9.4; 5), short (11.0; 7), average (11.7; 7), tall (12.0; 7), very tall (12.1; 7), and extremely tall (12.3; 7). Men who were "overweight" reported a higher mean and median number of sex partners than men with other body masses. The results for men suggested limited variation in reported sex partner number across most of the height continuum, but that very short men report fewer partners than other men.