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Volume 29, Issue 2, Pages 133-139 (March 2008)


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Height predicts jealousy differently for men and women

Abraham P. BuunkabCorresponding Author Informationemail address, Justin H. Parka, Rosario Zurriagac, Liga Klavinaa, Karlijn Massara

Received 28 March 2007; accepted 17 November 2007.

Abstract 

Because male height is associated with attractiveness, dominance, and reproductive success, taller men may be less jealous. And because female height has a curvilinear relationship with health and reproductive success (with average-height females having the advantages), female height may have a curvilinear relationship with jealousy. In Study 1, male height was found to be negatively correlated with self-reported global jealousy, whereas female height was curvilinearly related to jealousy, with average-height women reporting the lowest levels of jealousy. In Study 2, male height was found to be negatively correlated with jealousy in response to socially influential, physically dominant, and physically attractive rivals. Female height was negatively correlated with jealousy in response to physically attractive, physically dominant, and high-social-status rivals; in addition, quadratic effects revealed that approximately average-height women tend to be less jealous of physically attractive rivals but more jealous of rivals with “masculine” characteristics of physical dominance and social status.

a University of Groningen

b Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences

c University of Valencia

Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Social and Organizational Psychology, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands. Tel.: +31 503636380.

PII: S1090-5138(07)00120-1

doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2007.11.006


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