Parental Height as Perceived by Men and Women of an Entire Community

Abstract

580 adult men and 616 adult women from an entire community were asked to estimate the heights of both of their parents. Estimations by the men were consistently greater at all ages and for both parents than the equivalent estimations by the women. The men's estimation of their mothers' heights was on average four centimetres greater than that of the women's estimations, but their estimations of their fathers' heights was only on average about one centimetre greater. Actual measurement of parental heights (for 180 subjects) showed that these differences were perceptual and not factual. It is shown that the men consistently overestimated the heights of their parents, the mothers' more than the fathers'. In both sexes overestimation increased after middle age. It is argued that overestimation of parents' heights is an indication of perceived parental importance.