Tallest US president Lyndon B. Johnson (left) meets with Senator Richard Russell, 1963
The election of president Barack Obama can partially be explained by evolutionary psychology, say researchers at Tech University (USA).
The reseachers conducted the study in order to find an explanation for the fact that most presidents of the United States are taller than the average American man. In order to do so, they used a theory proposed by evolutionairy psychologists. According to this theory, our ancestors had a preference for physically strong leaders because they were better at protecting the village against neighboring tribes.
To test this hypothesis, the researchers asked 467 subjects to sketch a “typical citizen” on a piece paper. Afterwards the same people were asked to draw a “strong leader”. In 64 percent of the cases the second figure was significantly taller than the first. These results were consistent with the aforementioned theory.
These results could explain why Barack Obama (1.86 meters) beat John McCain (1.77 meters) three years ago. For the 2012 elections, Republican Rick Perry seems to have the best chances in being elected – he is 1,89 meters tall.
Gregg R. Murray,, & J. David Schmitz (2011). Caveman Politics: Evolutionary Leadership Preferences and Physical Stature Social Science Quaterly : 10.1111/j.1540-6237.2011.00815.x
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