Short women have complexes. Napoleon complex: a man's character and success depend on his height? How to perceive your height

If your height is meter s
cap, don't despair. Short men have much more
advantages over women than tall ones. Now we will convince you of this.

The first advantage of a short man: high ambitions

What men
short are more ambitious and more likely to achieve success in life, they know
many. But we will confirm this again.

Nicolas Sarkozy, Tom Cruise, Napoleon, Andrei Gagarin with his
157 centimeters tall, Putin, after all, is their short stature and made them strive
prove that they are no worse, and even better than others.

The second advantage of a short man: variety in bed

If you are the same height as your friend, or
a little below, it opens up new perspectives in posture poses. And very rosy. In the “standing” position she will not have to stand on her toes, but in the “doggy style”
- place a pillow under your knees.

If you are not taller than your partner, then your bodies can be
put together like a mosaic. She will definitely like this.

In addition, there is a widespread rumor among women that guys
short- excellent lovers.
Don't make a mistake. About which tricks from your arsenal she definitely won’t like.

The third advantage of short men: they are smarter than tall men

It has been scientifically proven that guys with shorter average, have a higher speed of thinking and more
are fast, while giants are slow and poor
intelligence. Probably because impulses from the brain to the limbs are faster
they reach.

The fourth advantage of a short man: comfortable
family life

You won't have to persuade her to rehang the mirror.
higher up, she won’t ask you to “reach that shelf over there” or get
pots from the refrigerator.

Your girl will definitely not grow up tall, and neither will her wife.
swear at you during childbirth - y men
with short stature and the offspring will most likely be the same.

The fifth advantage of men with short stature: they have a large
manhood

And we're not talking about self-esteem. Scientists have measured that
the largest size goes to men with
short stature, namely 165 centimeters.

Remember the pygmies and other inhabitants of Africa: namely the blacks
There's always something to show off in your pants. Even though they don't wear them.

By the way, among girls there is also a widespread stereotype about
about where all the growth goes short men.

The sixth advantage of a short man: the character of a boss

Exactly men of low
growth due to their innate desire to command and occupy leadership positions in
large companies, and also become the real head of the family.

With all the carefully created image of men as the stronger sex, each of them can be subject to the most unexpected complexes. What exactly they are, and what the specifics of these complexes are - all this will be discussed further.

The essential characteristic of the complex of the strong half is the worry about a certain “weak link” of one’s personality, a pain point - imaginary (imaginary) or real (but perceived exaggeratedly - with exaggeration).

When describing the general psychology of a man with a complex, several features (characteristic symptoms) should be mentioned:

• “distortions” in the sphere of communication in men (extremes can occur - either individuals are too unsociable, or those striving for universal recognition and with increased talkativeness);
• "distortions" in the emotional sphere(excessive sentimentality and emotionality, or shyness and reluctance to show emotions);
• inadequacy in the area of ​​self-esteem(with its low version - seeking approval, focusing on the opinions of others; with high self-esteem - excessive criticism, “destroying” authorities, suspicion and pickiness);
• socialization disorder(the feeling that no one understands you, alienation and uselessness; the feeling that you have not lived up to your expectations, that there are only unfriendly people around).

Complexes of men

It is hardly possible to imagine the life of modern society without complexes. Often it is they who push the male half of humanity to conquer heights, accumulate capital, make discoveries, and benefit society.

But the same complexes can turn a person into a failed, weak personality with a lot of prejudices and misconceptions about his own psyche.

Complexes in men can take on the most unexpected form and are most often caused by:

• peculiarities of upbringing(overly strict or overly loyal);
• defective, broken family(a child who grew up without a mother, deprived of maternal care and cut off from necessary emotions, will be more susceptible to developing complexes; however, this also applies to any boy who grew up without a father and paternal care - then there is no guiding example of male behavior);
• various psychological traumas and shocks (loss of loved ones, failed love or marriage, stressful activities);
• mental characteristics and mental development of a person (specific temperamental traits and character traits of an individual);
• stereotypes imposed by society(who exactly is considered a loser, a failed person, how exactly one should show oneself in a given difficult situation, etc.).

What is my weakness?

In men, an inferiority complex is expressed through a mental and emotional state in which the individual is unconditionally confident in his own inadequacy (defectiveness), along with the groundless belief that all people around him, without exception, are completely superior to him.

The complex is accompanied by low mood, even depression, and a feeling of one’s own insignificance and abnormality.

In adolescence and young adulthood, men tend to mask feelings of inferiority with:

• increased aggression;
• consumption of alcoholic beverages;
• status symbols (expensive car, smartphone, fashionable clothes and accessories);
• arrogance (with an internal feeling of oneself as an unworthy person);
• jealousy in love and marriage relationships.

Short person complex

Another name for this complex is Napoleon. It manifests itself through a man’s inflated ambition, exaggerated level of aspiration and global goals.

People of short stature - or rather men who consider themselves short - strive with all their might to realize their own ambitions in life. They display a biased, extremely negative attitude towards taller people.

Followers of Alexander the Great

Owners of this complex painfully experience possible situations of looking unmanly in the eyes of other people - or simply, homosexuals.

It was the ancient king from Macedonia (Alexander) who had a penchant for sexual relations with other men - hence the name.

Men with this complex strive to demonstrate their “masculinity” through rudeness and aggression, bragging and humiliation of others.

King Oedipus and the complex named after him

This type of male deviation takes its content from the myth of the ancient king from Greece - Oedipus, who unwittingly kills his own father and marries his mother.
It is the fixation on the mother as an object of desire and rivalry with other men that distinguishes the Oedipus complex from the rest.

Some of its manifestations:

• avoidance of any sexual relations for a long time (the mother is unconsciously perceived as the main object of love, communication with other women loses its meaning);
• building a relationship with a woman(often older in age), reminiscent of the mother;
• ambivalent, contradictory feelings towards parents: towards the mother (as an object of love) - attraction, towards the father (as a competitor) - rejection.

Zealous Othello

Jealousy complex (Othello): develops in men as exaggerated attention to comparing oneself with other men and the expectation of betrayal from a partner.

The feelings are very negative:

• inferiority (“what can I say, I’m worse than others, that’s why they cheat on me!”);
• sacrificial pursuit (a man is a hunter and a hare “in one package”);
• dominion and possession as an end in itself (“if it’s not mine, then it’s nobody’s!”);
• feeling abandoned, abandoned (as in childhood - a kind of betrayal when the mother left him alone and did not come for a long time).

Complex of retirement (pensioner)

With a pensioner complex - and it forms long before a man actually retires - the individual experiences a discrepancy between the desire to “not slow down” and a growing feeling of fatigue.

He can no longer cope with the volume of load that a man shouldered “on his shoulders” at a young age (up to 35-38 years), but psychologically he strives to realize everything, even though little is achieved.

Complexes in the field of sexual life

This type of complex manifests itself either directly in bed, or in a sexual or similar situation.

The most common complexes are:

1. "Wrong size". A man is worried about the physical size of his own genital organ. The foundations of the complex are laid in childhood, when a boy accidentally compares his own organ with his father’s, or with older children. A man is overwhelmed by the idea that “with this” there can be no success with women.
2. “How does everything work there for her?!”. Men may be especially worried about satisfying a woman during sex. Not bringing her to orgasm is not only a frightening fact, but sometimes forces her to refuse sexual intercourse. Or the other extreme is avoiding even attempts to carry out the necessary foreplay - even if, they say, I myself am not “mindful” of this.
3. "Animal Instinct". The complex appears in men suffering from lack of attention. With unbridled (= rude and aggressive) sexual temperament and behavior, such an individual seeks to achieve self-affirmation - after all, he is, quite undeservedly and unfairly, underestimated (in the team, among friends, in the family).
4. “Loud means high quality”. This complex manifests itself in a man’s dependence on the reverse audio reaction of a woman during sexual intercourse (the reason is the influence of stereotypes from porn films) - loud screams and moans, praise and activating phrases. If they are absent, it means that everything is being done “wrong” and the man feels himself thrown into the abyss of uncertainty and insolvency.

"Physiological" complexes

People who are unsure of themselves may suffer due to their own physiological characteristics, forming their own inadequate attitude towards them and negativism.

Among the multiplicity of such complexes, we can consider their main varieties:

1. Shaggyness or complex of increased hairiness. A man is forced to refuse to visit resorts, recreation areas and beaches - he is afraid of being the center of the negative attention of others, of comparison with an animal. Although it is unlikely that in modern society so many people will pay attention to this.
2. Complex of a balding (or bald) person– Kotovsky complex. Although there is nothing special about a bald man, many individuals are genuinely horrified by hair loss or “sparseness” on their heads. This is due to the stereotype of inferiority - it seems that you are missing something, very important and integral.
3. A complex of crooked or uneven teeth. It forces men to avoid situations in every possible way where they must show a smile or involuntarily open their mouths, and behave in an extremely unnatural manner. This only aggravates the situation - but relaxed, friendly and natural behavior, a pleasant manner of communication, can completely distract the attention of others from exaggerated “ugliness”.
4. Lack of appearance complex(in the scientific community - dysmorphophobia). More often it occurs as a rejection of any sign or detail of one’s own appearance (asymmetry of the face, long nose, protruding ears, etc.). The man imagines that he only causes disgust among the people around him, that his “defect” is global and insurmountable.

Avoid or get rid of?

Possessing a complex, every man is free to choose:

1. Find a strategy for peaceful coexistence with him, which leads to stagnation of the psyche, even to the degradation of a man, psychological disorder.
2. Try to cope with a psychological problem, preventing development - and sometimes simply corroding the personality. This creates favorable conditions for the destruction of psychological stereotypes and expansion of the consciousness of a man’s personality.

Several consecutive procedures will help turn the energy of the complex in a positive direction.

1. Let's try to understand the features of our own complex

The purpose of the procedure should end with one result - awareness of the problem situation. Each person with the complex finds their own approaches:

• question-answer technique(questions about the complex are consistently asked - what exactly is happening, how it is happening, when, what is the danger, what is the result - and detailed answers are given to each);
• “own limitations” technique– the boundaries of comfort and discomfort of the man’s personality are determined (a circle is drawn that includes two nested ones: in the center there is a zone of ease and comfort, it is surrounded by a zone of surmountable difficulties, then there is a zone of the insurmountable, where the complex is located).

2. We identify key areas of the complex

Here it is important for a man to monitor the emotional load of his own behavior in different life events - what exactly causes the greatest anxieties, concerns and fears. Connecting a chain of components will help: “sphere of life” – “obstacle” – “fear”.

For example: financial sector - poverty and uncertainty - I’m afraid of instability, afraid of going broke, afraid of taking risks.

3. We are trying to apply an “outside view”

It is necessary to achieve the separation of oneself and fear: it is, as it were, cut out from the man’s personality, observation is carried out - separately on him and on one’s own behavior.

You need to implement steps to overcome fear:

• we focus on the opinions (condemnation) of the people around us - we do those things that are important to us, although they are perceived with censure by others;
• We are afraid to get acquainted - we go and get acquainted.

Another procedure is to simply sit in a crowded place and try to feel the “taste of life” by observing people and events, noting every detail and feature of the environment.

4. Recording positives and achievements

It is important to always remember that the main thing in defeating complexes is to act. This is the only way to see the result - for some it will take a couple of attempts, for others - countless of them.

• You need to gradually “catch on” to positive changes and base further actions on them.
• Leaving the comfort zone, a man should not give in to the fear that arises - it is important to accustom himself to being in discomfort, it will gradually disappear.
• Physical activity will help you take your mind off psychological stress - you can run or go to the gym.

Whatever the complexes that men have, the real indicator of a strong man will not be their careful concealment or disguise behind defiant behavior, aggression and pickiness towards others, but the constructive overcoming of complexes (sometimes existing since childhood and continuing to torment a person even in adulthood).

Video: TOP 5

In search engines there are many answers to the question of what the “Napoleon complex” is. Basically, historical data is provided related to short people who reached the top in politics, sports or on the stage.

However, this question is revealed more from the historical side than from human psychology. Napoleon syndrome is a personality defect that prevents a person from enjoying life.

More often, this quality is inherent in men, and it begins in childhood. Then, when a guy suffers ridicule at school or other educational institutions and loses faith in himself. In every school class there was a little boy who was teased.

Example:

Girls choose strong and handsome candidates for gentlemen, but it is more difficult for a small and frail guy to create a relationship.

Having accumulated severe pain and streaks of failure, the “Napoleonic man” makes a promise to himself to grow, become better than everyone else and achieve maximum heights in life, which he strives for in the future.

Wanting to stand out in all situations, he studies diligently, follows the assigned instructions of his superiors, but his soul is filled with revenge and awaits the hour of reckoning. Such people strive to have a car and housing, a lot of money and a high position in society.

Having received the position of boss, their hidden resentment breaks out. Now they prove to others and subordinates their height and advantage. Consequently, these people humiliate others and try to subjugate others for self-satisfaction.

Napoleon complex in short women

Now let's look at the Napoleonic complex in women. On the one hand, it’s good to be small: a neat figure, you can wear high heels. Short stature gives a person mobility and dexterity. In some sports it is encouraged. But for some reason, more and more often, short girls strive to be taller. Growth is a major challenge for some of us.

If men behave aggressively with this syndrome, girls restrain their emotions within themselves. They are less susceptible to frustration and emphasize invented flaws only with high shoes.

It is possible that the lady will set a goal and begin to strive for it. Yes, that's actually good. A person who wants to make a career, gain status in society and be independent becomes a source of envy for other ladies, which will help the sufferer regain the missing confidence.

Having proven her importance and supremacy, a woman will find peace and get rid of mental trauma.

The Napoleon complex in popular psychology gives the following advice to those who are ridiculed:

Psychologists advise making a list for yourself. Divide a piece of paper into 2 columns. In one column, write a description for tall people. On the other half for yourself. To increase your confidence, take as an example a friend or acquaintance who is taller than you. Describe the pros and cons of both of you. Every person deep down loves himself, so your cup of advantages will outweigh your opponent's cup.

Are generally accepted beliefs true or are they just misconceptions and prejudices? Whether there is a Napoleon complex and how height affects a man’s character is discussed in an excerpt from Jeff Rolls’ book “Women Can’t Park and Men Can’t Pack! Psychology of stereotypes".

Psychologist Alfred Adler (1870-1937) was the first to use the term “Napoleon complex” to describe the inferiority complex that is believed to affect short men, causing them to exhibit increased activity in various areas of human activity. However, in the case of Napoleon, there was a misinterpretation of the facts: a height of 5 feet 6 inches was not considered so small in his era - Napoleon simply looked short in comparison with the soldiers of the French Imperial Guard, who were taller than average.

This fact, along with many more general studies in this area, suggests that the “short man syndrome” is a fiction. Nevertheless, this stereotype is firmly rooted in our minds.

With the increasing availability of plastic surgery and numerous other treatments designed to enhance our appearance, our height remains perhaps one of the last aspects of our appearance that we cannot change. Our interest in human height develops into an obsession - this is illustrated by the general public's attention to the height of Tom Cruise, whose photograph you can see here. But why does such an obsession arise at all? Let's first look at the benefits that high growth seems to provide.

Level of self-esteem

Many studies suggest that taller people tend to earn more money - look no further than professional American basketball players. However, even in the “real world”, every extra inch of height can generate an additional £500 per year in income (Heineck, 2004). This pattern appears to be true for both men and women. It often turns out that when two twin sisters are of different heights, the taller one earns more. What is the psychological basis of this pattern? Can we explain these results? Does being taller increase a person's self-esteem, or is the success of tall people a consequence of how we treat them?

A team of economists from the universities of Pennsylvania and Michigan found that tall men who were relatively short in high school earned as much as short men, while short men who were relatively tall in high school earned as much. the same as tall men (Persico et al. 2003). This result suggests that the level of self-esteem corresponding to the level of wages cannot be considered a consequence of growth discrimination in the present time; Apparently, it is more associated with a person’s height during adolescence. The researchers concluded that high-achieving students considered themselves leaders and achieved much greater success in extracurricular activities. Since success breeds success, tall students continued to stride confidently through life, despite the fact that their shorter comrades over time caught up with them in height.

Further support for this stereotype came from Anna Case and Christina Paxson, economists at the Center for Health and Social Welfare at Princeton University, who published a paper containing the striking conclusion: “On average, taller people earn more because they are smarter.” 2006). Their study was based on data from the US and UK, and supported the findings of other researchers that tall men and women earn 10% more than their counterparts who hold similar positions but are 4 inches shorter.

Additionally, charts based on census results suggest that Americans who are 6 feet 2 inches tall are 3% more likely to hold leadership positions than Americans who are taller.

5 feet 10 inches. Once again, explanations for this pattern must be sought in earlier years and in the social position that today's men, while in adolescence, may or may not have acquired due to confidence or uncertainty in their abilities. A child who grows rapidly during adolescence is more likely to gain self-confidence and develop greater cognitive ability than a child who begins to grow later or less noticeably. Researchers say that “as early as age three—before school begins to play a role—and throughout childhood, taller children perform significantly better on cognitive tests.” Case and Paxson conclude:

Tall children are more likely to become tall adults. Taller adults are more likely to choose higher-paying occupations that require better language and numeracy skills and higher intelligence, and it is the development of these qualities that ensures decent rewards. In addition, we show that taller adults choose occupations that have higher cognitive skill demands and lower physical skill demands.

Case and Paxson, 2006

Both growth and cognitive (thinking) skills are influenced by the most obvious and most controllable of all variables: nutrition. It is possible that proper care of a child at an early age, including the perinatal period, can increase his future growth and provide him with higher cognitive abilities. Apart from proper nutrition, during childhood we have few other options to control a child's growth. But with the release of a new study showing tall people are wealthier and happier - and even, some believe, smarter - some parents in the US are demanding growth hormones for their children.

Nicola Persico and colleagues conducted a cost-benefit analysis showing that such expensive treatment was well worth the money in terms of generating higher incomes (Persico et al., 2003). It may soon be that growth hormone injections will be seen as an acceptable medical intervention, similar to Botox®. But as Persico points out, if everyone increases their height, we will continually have to go to greater lengths to ensure that we are taller than average—literally “raising the bar.”

But it's not just wages that increase with growth. There is also a relationship between height and the ability to play a leadership role - although since the leadership role began to provide higher rewards, these two indicators appear to be closely related. Many books note that taller US presidential candidates always win - this is not entirely true, although since 1928 only four out of 21 election campaigns have been won by a shorter candidate (Richard Nixon in 1972, Jimmy Carter in 1976). and George Bush in 2000 and 2004). Perhaps because American politicians are aware of the importance of the Presidential Height Index (which predicts election results based on the height of the challenger), many candidates are believed to exaggerate their actual height. It might be interesting to find out the height of the heels of their shoes, and how misleading they might be to the electorate! It was not surprising to political observers, considering the size of the contenders, that Barack Obama, who stands 6 feet 1 inch tall, won such a landslide victory in 2008 over the diminutive John McCain, who stood just 5 feet 6 inches tall.

So far we have talked about how high growth is an indicator of leadership potential.

However, Daniel Nettle of the Open University (2002) found that taller men are considered more attractive and, as a result, are more likely to have children. His analysis of 10,000 people born in Britain during one week in March 1958 found that a man above average height (6ft) was more likely to have children than a man of average height (5ft 10in). Women, on the other hand, were more likely to get married and have children if they were less than the average height of 5 feet 3 inches.

Are short men more aggressive than tall men?

Thus, being tall appears to provide men with an advantage in many ways. But what about the stereotype that short men are more aggressive than tall men? The aggression research group at the University of Central Lancashire, led by Mike Easlea and Dominic Ritter, conducted a remarkable experiment to investigate this stereotype (Easlea and Ritter, 2007). Ten men under 5 feet 5 inches and ten men above average height participated in a study that tested their physical abilities such as hand-eye coordination, reaction time, and several others. In reality, they were taking part in a game designed to test their aggressiveness. To begin with, they were seated in pairs and connected to a monitor that monitored the work of the heart. They were then asked to play a game with chopsticks. According to its rules, each player had to try to strike as quickly as possible with his chopstick the stick of his opponent, who had to dodge the attacker's blows and try to preserve his “weapon”: in fact, they were fencing with chopsticks.

Unbeknownst to one member of the pair, his opponent was asked to specifically strike his opponent's knuckles. The experimenters measured physiological parameters of the participants' reactions to such provocation. The results showed that short participants were less likely to become aggressive than tall participants. These results refuted the validity of the Napoleon stereotype.

Mike Esley concluded that short men are not more aggressive - in fact, the opposite was true. However, when people see aggressive behavior from a short man, they attribute it to the man's height, since this physical characteristic is the most obvious.

The underlying causes of aggression in taller men have been attributed to the influence of many other situation-specific factors.

"Short Man Syndrome"

We can say with confidence that the existence of “short man syndrome”, which causes short men to be stereotyped as aggressive, is not supported by research. As you know, Gandhi was only 5 feet and 3 inches tall, and it would be difficult to find a less aggressive person in the world than him.

For every Hitler there is a Saddam Hussein (6 feet 2 inches), for every Napoleon there is Idi Amin (6 feet 4 inches), and for every Stalin there is an Osama bin Laden (6 feet 4 inches), all of whom are tall men with equally aggressive tendencies. Think also of such cute shorties as Ronnie Corbett, Mickey Rooney and Ernie Weiss, whom we can hardly call dictators. Short men sometimes actually have less chance of success - and, from their point of view, much less.

But in reality they are no more aggressive than their taller counterparts. Perhaps it's time to give shorties a chance - and provide a special platform for climbing the career ladder.