Short people more prone to paranoia and mistrust: study

Bad news for shorties. New research suggests your low height is making you less trusting of those around you.

British researchers have found that short people are more prone to feelings of paranoia, inferiority and excessive mistrust in social situations.

"Being tall is associated with greater career and relationship success. Height is taken to convey authority and we feel taller when we feel more powerful," Daniel Freeman, lead author and psychiatrist at Oxford University, tells Reuters.

The study, published in the journal Psychiatry Research, looked at 60 adult women who often had "mistrustful thoughts."

The whole experiment took place through a virtual reality simulation in which the women were placed in an underground subway ride with strangers. The first time they rode the subway they were at their normal height, and the second time they rode the subway their virtual height was reduced by about 25 centimeters.

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The results?

While most of the women did not actually notice the height difference, many of them said they felt incompetent, unlikeable and inferior when they rode the subway as a shorter version of themselves.

The researchers say the participants' poor self-image led them to feel paranoid about other passengers -- believing they had ill-will towards them or they were trying to upset them.

"It provides a key insight into paranoia, showing that people's excessive mistrust of others directly builds upon their own negative feelings about themselves," says Freeman. "The important treatment implication... is that if we help people to feel more self-confident then they will be less mistrustful."

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Past research suggests that greater self-confidence might be one of the reasons why taller people typically earn more money. Researchers say tall people are perceived to be more intelligent and powerful, which might help explain their increased earning power.

Other studies also indicate that tall people report higher levels of happiness.

What are your thoughts on the connection between height and mistrust? Do you think it has any merit? Sound off in the comments below.