Curtin University Homepage
  • Library
  • Help
    • Admin

    espace - Curtin’s institutional repository

    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
    View Item 
    • espace Home
    • espace
    • Curtin Research Publications
    • View Item
    • espace Home
    • espace
    • Curtin Research Publications
    • View Item

    The male-taller norm: Lack of evidence from a developing country

    Access Status
    Fulltext not available
    Authors
    Sohn, Kitae
    Date
    2015
    Type
    Journal Article
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Citation
    Sohn, K. 2015. The male-taller norm: Lack of evidence from a developing country. HOMO - Journal of Comparative Human Biology. 66 (4): pp. 369-378.
    Source Title
    HOMO - Journal of Comparative Human Biology
    DOI
    10.1016/j.jchb.2015.02.006
    ISSN
    0018-442X
    School
    Department of Economics & Property
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/62666
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    Abstract

    © 2015 Elsevier GmbH.In general, women prefer men taller than themselves; this is referred to as the male-taller norm. However, since women are shorter than men on average, it is difficult to determine whether the fact that married women are on average shorter than their husbands results from the norm or is a simple artifact generated by the shorter stature of women. This study addresses the question by comparing the rate of adherence to the male-taller norm between actual mating and hypothetical random mating. A total of 7954 actually married couples are drawn from the last follow-up of the Indonesian Family Life Survey, a nationally representative survey. Their heights were measured by trained nurses. About 10,000 individuals are randomly sampled from the actual couples and randomly matched. An alternative random mating of about 100,000 couples is also performed, taking into account an age difference of 5 years within a couple. The rate of adherence to the male-taller norm is 93.4% for actual couples and 88.8% for random couples. The difference between the two figures is statistically significant, but it is emphasized that it is very small. The alternative random mating produces a rate of 91.4%. The male-taller norm exists in Indonesia, but only in a statistical sense. The small difference suggests that the norm is mostly explained by the fact that women are shorter than men on average.

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Relationship power, communication, and violence among couples: Results of a cluster-randomized HIV prevention study in a South African township
      Minnis, A.M.; Doherty, I.A.; Kline, T.L.; Zule, W.A.; Myers-Franchi, Bronwyn ; Carney, T.; Wechsberg, W.M. (2015)
      Background: Inequitable gender-based power in relationships and intimate partner violence contribute to persistently high rates of HIV infection among South African women. We examined the effects of two group-based HIV ...
    • Does a taller husband make his wife happier?
      Sohn, Kitae (2016)
      © 2015 Elsevier Ltd.Although it has been known that women prefer tall men in mating for evolutionary reasons, no study has investigated whether a taller husband makes his wife happier. We analyzed two datasets (N. =. 7850) ...
    • Morphological characteristics of Olympic slalom canoe and kayak paddlers
      Ridge, B.; Broad, E.; Kerr, Deborah; Ackland, T. (2007)
      Sidney and Shephard (1973) were the first to report on the morphology of slalom paddlers and characterized them as having “a substantial standing height and lean body mass, good general muscle development with particular ...
    Advanced search

    Browse

    Communities & CollectionsIssue DateAuthorTitleSubjectDocument TypeThis CollectionIssue DateAuthorTitleSubjectDocument Type

    My Account

    Admin

    Statistics

    Most Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors

    Follow Curtin

    • 
    • 
    • 
    • 
    • 

    CRICOS Provider Code: 00301JABN: 99 143 842 569TEQSA: PRV12158

    Copyright | Disclaimer | Privacy statement | Accessibility

    Curtin would like to pay respect to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members of our community by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which the Perth campus is located, the Whadjuk people of the Nyungar Nation; and on our Kalgoorlie campus, the Wongutha people of the North-Eastern Goldfields.