Napoleon complex
The Napoleon complex, also known as Napoleon syndrome and short man syndrome, is a purported condition normally attributed to people of
Etymology
The Napoleon complex is named after
Other names for the purported condition include Napoleonic complex, Napoleon syndrome and short man syndrome.[7][8][9][6]
Research
Affirmative
Abraham Buunk, a professor at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, found evidence of the Napoleon complex. Researchers at the university found that men who were 1.63 metres (5 ft 4 in) were 50% more likely to show signs of jealousy than men who were 1.98 metres (6 ft 6 in).[7]
In 2018,
Negative
In 2007, a study by the University of Central Lancashire concluded that the Napoleon complex is a myth. The study discovered that short men were less likely to lose their temper than men of average height. The experiment involved subjects dueling each other with sticks, with one subject deliberately rapping the other's knuckles. Heart monitors revealed that the taller men were more likely to lose their tempers and hit back. University of Central Lancashire lecturer Mike Eslea commented that "when people see a short man being aggressive, they are likely to think it is due to his size, simply because that attribute is obvious and grabs their attention".[9]
The Wessex Growth Study is a community-based longitudinal study conducted in the UK that monitored the psychological development of children from school entry to adulthood. The study was controlled for potential effects of gender and socioeconomic status, and found that "no significant differences in personality functioning or aspects of daily living were found which could be attributable to height";[11] this functioning included generalizations associated with the Napoleon complex, such as risk-taking behaviours.[12]
In popular culture
Several politicians have been accused of having a Napoleon complex, such as Joseph Stalin, who was 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) (according to 1902 police records), Harry Binns, who was 4 ft 11 in (1.50m) and Joseph Goebbels, who was 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m).[13]
Singer-songwriter Mariah Carey referenced the Napoleon complex in her 2009 song "Obsessed", accusing someone of being "all fired up with [their] Napoleon complex". The song is believed by some to be a response to rapper Eminem, who had made disparaging remarks about Carey in multiple previous songs.[14]
In the manga Fullmetal Alchemist and its various adaptations, protagonist Edward Elric is shown to have a Napoleon complex. Edward is noticeably short for his age (particularly compared to his younger brother Alphonse, who is a living suit of armor), is extremely sensitive about his short height and has a hair-trigger temper, and is frequently enraged and occasionally driven to violence whenever someone mentions that he's short, even innocently.[citation needed]
See also
References
- PMID 12464228.
- ^ a b https://www.history.com/news/napoleon-complex-short
- ^ "Greatest cartooning coup of all time: The Brit who convinced everyone Napoleon was short". National Post. 28 April 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
- ^ David A. Bell, Napoleon: A Concise Biography (Oxford University Press, 2015), p. 18.
- ^ "An Anthropometric History of Early-Modern France". Faculty of Economics; CESifo. 12 December 2003. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
- ^ ISBN 9780742553187.
- ^ a b Fleming, Nic (13 March 2008). "Short man syndrome is not just a tall story". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ^ Morrison, Richard (10 October 2005). "Heart of the Fifties generation beats once again". The Times. Retrieved 17 January 2008.
- ^ a b "Short men 'not more aggressive'". BBC News. 28 March 2007. Retrieved 17 January 2008.
- ^ Knapen, J. E., Blaker, N. M., Van Vugt, M. (2018). The Napoleon Complex: When Shorter Men Take More. Psychological science, 0956797618772822. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797618772822
- PMID 14709494.
- .
- ^ https://news.softpedia.com/news/Solving-the-Napoleon-Complex-Are-Short-Men-More-Aggressive-Than-Taller-Ones-51292.shtml
- ^ Kreps, Daniel (16 June 2009). "Mariah Carey Fires Back at Eminem in New Single "Obsessed"". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
Further reading
- Blakemore, Erin. "Was Napoleon even short? Inside the history of discrimination against short men: He was a French dictator—the original short king. Napoleon's supposedly short stature made him the mockery of Europe and inspired a stigma that persists today." National Geographic Nov 22, 2023 online
- Hopper, Tristin. "Why people think Napoleon was really short (even though he wasn't): A short-tempered, child-sized Napoleon soon became the accepted standard for caricatures of the Frenchman" National Post (July 13, 2023) online
- Just, Winfried, and Molly R. Morris. "The Napoleon complex—Why smaller males pick fights" Evolutionary ecology, Vol. 17, No. 5–6 (Sept. 2003), pp. 509–522.
- McIlvenna, Una. "Was Napoleon Short? Origins of the ‘Napoleon Complex’: A prominent cartoonist's mocking depiction of the French emperor managed to stick through the centuries" History Nov 13, 2019 online
- van Ginneken, J. "Height & Posture" in The Profile of Political Leaders ( Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2016) pp 19–37 . https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29476-6_2