People who feel powerful tend to overestimate their own height, new research shows.
Photo: ALAMYThe US investigation into whether a physical experience accompanies being powerful was sparked after BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg outraged the victims of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico by referring to them as the “small people.”
Professor Jack Goncalo, of Cornell University, New York, and Dr Michelle Duguid, of Washington University, St. Louis, decided to find out and published their findings in Psychological Science.
Prof Goncalo said: “Plenty of research has shown taller people are more likely to acquire power, make more money on average and are more likely to be promoted.
“But our research is the first to show the reverse may also be true. Power also makes people feel taller.”
In one experiment, 266 subjects came to the lab in pairs and had their heights measured before being given a leadership aptitude test.
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Cyber Stalking
