關注大選:美國人更喜歡高個子領導

There may be a reason Mitt Romney is a front-runner in the Republican presidential nomination race that has nothing to do with his stance on immigration or Social Security, according to a study published on Tuesday.

週二發佈的一項研究指出，米特 羅姆尼在美國共和黨總統候選人提名的角逐中領先也許有一個原因，而且這一原因與他在移民或社保問題上的立場毫無關係。

It's his height.

這個原因就是他的身高。

Americans, whether they know it or not, prefer taller leaders, a preference that dates back to the dawn of the human race, said Texas Tech University political science professor Gregg R. Murray.

德州理工大學的政治學教授格雷格·R·穆雷說，不管美國人是否意識到了這一點，但美國人確實更喜歡高個子的領導人，這一喜好可以追溯到早期人類社會。

If Romney, who stands 6-feet 2-inches tall, becomes his party's nominee, he may have a secret advantage over the 6-feet 1-inch Barack Obama going into the 2012 election, just like Obama had over the 5-feet 8-inches John McCain in 2008, Murray said.

穆雷說，如果身高達6英尺2英寸的羅姆尼成爲共和黨的總統候選人，他也許在2012大選中對戰6英尺1英寸的貝拉克 奧巴馬時會有一個祕密優勢，正如奧巴馬2008年對戰5英尺8英寸的約翰 麥凱恩的優勢一樣。

"In evolutionary times, when people traveled in small groups and people competed for resources, the argument was that, when the leader of the other group was a big guy, the feeling of the group was, 'Hey, maybe we don't want to compete with these people for resources," Murray told the reporters on Tuesday.

穆雷週二告訴記者說：“在人類進化時期，當人們以小隊行進、搶奪資源時，如果另一隊的領頭人是一個大個子，這個隊的人就會覺得，‘嘿，也許我們不該和這些人搶奪資源。’這就是人們喜歡高個子領導的理由。”

He said that even though this is an "irrational response" for 21st-century leadership selection, there is a "vestigeof evolutionary history" involved in political decisions.

他說，儘管這在21世紀的領導人選拔中是一個“非理性的反應”，但這是有“進化史遺風”的政治決策。

Recent presidents have been taller than the average American man (now 5-feet 9-inches), according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush are both 6-feet 2-inches, and Ronald Reagan was 6-feet 1-inch. Still, George W. Bush (just under 6-feet) was shorter than his two opponents (Al Gore, 6-feet 1-inch, and John Kerry, 6-feet 4-inches).

近年來的美國總統都比普通的美國男性要高（目前美國男性平均身高5英尺9英寸）。根據美國疾病控制與預防中心的數據，比爾 克林頓和老布什的身高都是6英尺2英寸，羅納德 里根的身高是6英尺1英寸。不過，小布什（不到6英尺）比他的兩個競爭對手（6英尺1英寸的阿爾 戈爾和6英尺4英寸的約翰 克里）都要矮。

For the study, Murray asked nearly 500 students from both public and private universities, male and female, and from the United States and around the world, to draw their concept of a "typical citizen" and an "ideal national leader." Sixty-four percent drew the leader as taller than the citizen.

在研究中，穆雷調查了來自美國和其他國家的公立和私立大學的近500名男女學生，並讓他們描繪出自己心目中的“典型公民”和“理想的國家領導人”形象。64%的人心目中的領導人比公民的個子要高。

"Culture and environment alone cannot explain how a preference for taller leaders is a near-universal trait we see in different cultures today, as well as in societies ranging from ancient Mayans to pre-classical Greeks, and even animals," Murray said.

穆雷說：“對高個子領導的喜好存在於當今的不同文化以及從古瑪雅到前古典時期的希臘的不同社會甚至動物社會中。單從文化和環境無法解釋這一喜好是如何成爲一種近乎普遍的特性的。”

He said a preference for taller leaders reflects an "evolved psychological trait, independent of any cultural conditioning."

他說，對高個子領導的偏愛反映出一種“獨立於任何文化薰陶的進化後的心理特徵”。

Although the preference for taller male leaders is present in both men and women, Murray said, the preference does not enter into subconscious decision-making when both candidates are women, or when a man and a woman are running against each other.

穆雷說，儘管男性和女性都更喜歡高個男性領導人，但如果兩個候選人都爲女性，或當男性和女性之間對決時，這一喜好則不會影響潛意識的決策。