Abstract
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 159-171 |
| Journal | The Leadership Quarterly |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2013 |
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Tall claims? Sense and nonsense about the importance of height of US presidents. / Stulp, G.; Buunk, A.P.; Verhulst, S.; Pollet, T.V.
In: The Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 1, 2013, p. 159-171.Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - Tall claims? Sense and nonsense about the importance of height of US presidents
AU - Stulp, G.
AU - Buunk, A.P.
AU - Verhulst, S.
AU - Pollet, T.V.
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - According to both the scientific literature and popular media, all one needs to win a US presidential election is to be taller than one's opponent. Yet, such claims are often based on an arbitrary selection of elections, and inadequate statistical analysis. Using data on all presidential elections, we show that height is indeed an important factor in the US presidential elections. Candidates that were taller than their opponents received more popular votes, although they were not significantly more likely to win the actual election. Taller presidents were also more likely to be reelected. In addition, presidents were, on average, much taller than men from the same birth cohort. The advantage of taller candidates is potentially explained by perceptions associated with height: taller presidents are rated by experts as 'greater', and having more leadership and communication skills. We conclude that height is an important characteristic in choosing and evaluating political leaders. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.
AB - According to both the scientific literature and popular media, all one needs to win a US presidential election is to be taller than one's opponent. Yet, such claims are often based on an arbitrary selection of elections, and inadequate statistical analysis. Using data on all presidential elections, we show that height is indeed an important factor in the US presidential elections. Candidates that were taller than their opponents received more popular votes, although they were not significantly more likely to win the actual election. Taller presidents were also more likely to be reelected. In addition, presidents were, on average, much taller than men from the same birth cohort. The advantage of taller candidates is potentially explained by perceptions associated with height: taller presidents are rated by experts as 'greater', and having more leadership and communication skills. We conclude that height is an important characteristic in choosing and evaluating political leaders. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.
U2 - 10.1016/j.leaqua.2012.09.002
DO - 10.1016/j.leaqua.2012.09.002
M3 - Article
VL - 24
SP - 159
EP - 171
JO - The Leadership Quarterly
JF - The Leadership Quarterly
SN - 1048-9843
IS - 1
ER -