Warning for petite women, as tall men are more likely to see them as a one-night stand rather than a partner for everlasting love, research suggests
- In one study, men said that shorter women were their preferred choice for an affair
- Women preferred taller men, regardless of the nature of their relationship
When it comes to choosing the perfect partner, some people have a strong preference for height.
But watch out for petite women, because tall men are more likely to see you as a one-night stand, a study suggests.
Researchers have found that tall men are attracted to shorter women for romantic affairs rather than eternal love.
An international team of researchers recruited more than 500 people from the general population as part of their study.
Female participants were shown two sheets of paper with five different minimalist drawings of men, ranging in height from 1.55 to 1.80 metres.
Watch out for petite women — tall men are more likely to see you as a one-night stand, a study suggests (stock photo)
Men received similar drawings depicting women ranging in height from five feet tall to five feet tall.
When asked about their ideal height in a woman for “no strings attached” short-term relationships, men typically chose women who were shorter than them.
But they tended toward women measuring their own height more accurately for long-term relationships.
The researchers, from universities in Cuba, Canada, Norway and the United States, said their findings are indicative of “assortative mating preference.”
Assortative mating is a form of sexual selection based on certain observable criteria that closely mirror their own, including relative height, social status, personality, and the risk of passing disease to offspring.
This means that tall men are more likely to marry or form committed relationships with taller women, the team said.
Women, meanwhile, preferred men who were taller than them on average, regardless of the nature of their relationship.
The authors of the study, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, said: “Our results further confirm a positive relationship between participants’ own heights and their partner height preferences, that is, positive assortative preferences for height.
Women, meanwhile, preferred men who were taller than them on average, regardless of the nature of their relationship (stock photo)
However, assortative length preferences were qualified by relationship context. Taller men preferred relatively shorter women for short-term relationships than for long-term relationships.’
A separate study published in 2013 in the journal Personality and Individual Differences reported that women care more about having a taller man than men do about dating a shorter woman.
Women preferred and were most satisfied with greater height differences than men, about eight inches, while men were content with only four inches taller.