It's widely believed that shorter men may act in more exaggerated ways to "compensate" for their lack of height. And while there has been research in this area that both contradicts and affirms this claim, a new study has added to the latter.
Researchers at Holland's Vrije University in the Netherlands gathered men of different heights and entered them into a money-sharing test called the Dictator Game. After being split into pairs and allowed to briefly meet with their opponents, each of the men was given a small amount of cash, in the form of eighteen tokens, before being led into separate rooms.
According to game rules, while the person with the cash is obligated to share some of the loot with other player that portion can be as small as zero.
The Dutch scientists found that shorter men, at around 1.7m acted more aggressively as long as there was no threat of repercussions, reported the New Scientist. They kept most of the loot for themselves, at around 14 of the 18 tokens, while the tallest men, around 2m kept just nine.
But when they were faced with the threat of repercussion, they did not display aggressive behaviour and were more willing to share with their opponents.
Experts believe this proves that short man syndrome, also known as Napoleon Complex, is real, and factors into the everyday lives of shorter men.
"It's probably smart for short men to be like this because they have less opportunities to get resources," lead researcher Jill Knapen told New Scientist.
And whether you believe in the short man syndrome or not, if social media is anything to go by, the struggle is real for our short brothers.