Are you familiar with short heightened men that are self-conscious about their height, who have an inferiority complex, especially due to lack of height, or relate to certain short men who are always in the persona of an Evil person with an anger issue?
The explanation of this behaviour could be called the short-man syndrome or Napoleon Complex.
The Napoleon Complex is an inferiority complex that is commonly associated with persons who have small stature. Height is used to imply a negative personality characteristic in this case.
It occasionally pushes shorter men to prove that they are just as macho as any tall man. As a result, taller men appear confident in the identical action, but shorter one seems arrogant. The Napoleon complex is seen as a negative social stereotype in psychology.
Even if this is your first time hearing the phrase, you might probably be familiar with symptoms such as aggressive behaviour, mild to severe aversion to circumstances involving their height, and seizing any opportunity to establish their value beyond their physical size.
Why The “Napoleon” Complex?
A Little History
According to popular belief, Napoleon Bonaparte, the first French Emperor, compensated for his lack of height by pursuing power, war, and conquest. This viewpoint was nurtured and promoted by the British. They then conducted a propaganda effort in literature and art to denigrate their adversary during and after his death.
Napoleon was ridiculed in British tabloids in 1803 as a short-tempered little guy. According to some historians, he was 5 feet 2 or 7 inches tall, an inch or two taller than the average height of the males at that time.
Napoleon Bonaparte was frequently seen with his Imperial Guard, which added to the impression that he was small because the Imperial Guards were towering men.
Given that the British impacted about 3/4th of the world, this mentality quickly permeated our collective culture, pointing fingers and making fun of Napoleon. Napoleonic complex, Napoleon syndrome, and Short man syndrome are among other names for the same condition.
Yes, The Short-Man Syndrome Is Real.
The initial scientific investigation on this condition had unfavourable results. The University of Central Lancashire discovered in 2007 that short men were not more likely to lose their temper than tall men. Instead, tall men were more likely to exhibit aggressive behaviour.
Another research published in the Association for Psychological Science discovered evidence that shorter men are more assertive to display Napoleon Complex symptoms when placed in a position of power versus a taller opponent.
They put this to the test by having them play the Dictator Game, in which the goal is to split the money equally between two participants. Researchers discovered that shorter men were more inclined to keep all of the money if they believed the other participant was taller than them.
However, a 2018 research by the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam looked at the topic from an evolutionary viewpoint and discovered that short men might be more violent for psychological rather than social reasons.
The male brain is hard-wired to compete in social situations. Therefore when one man is outperformed in physical qualities, the brain seeks to compensate by adopting other dominance techniques.
Do You Relate To The Short Man Syndrome?
There is no foolproof method to tell if a person has the syndrome without consulting a therapist or a psychiatrist. But the signs of this condition can be looked at themselves.
Symptoms Of The Syndrome
- Dominant social behaviour is one of the Napoleon Complex’s features. These short men may be too aggressive and might seem incapable of dealing with adversity. They may have a solid drive to solve a problem.
- Men who have the short man syndrome will go to any length to obtain what they desire, even if it is incorrect in the first place. Such men may even commit crimes to win or get something they seek.
- They are more concerned with the work of others than with their own. As a result, they become overly involved in other people’s tasks, entirely ignoring or overlooking their own.
- Furthermore, such men are constantly looking for their competition since they do not want to be ranked lower than anybody else. Their success is measured by their ability to outperform everyone they know.
- It is a distinct, destructive behaviour in which they are delighted when others fail and unhappy when others accomplish or succeed. They find satisfaction in the loss of others who have achieved more than they have.
- Most of the time, men with this complex see the people around them as their adversaries, whether family, friends, or relatives. They are constantly striving to outperform everyone they know.
Consequences Of The Short-Man Syndrome
The Napoleon Complex leads to the idea that small men tend to react with violence more than tall men. They may boast about things to demonstrate to others that they, too, are flourishing.
Such individuals are continuously used to comparing themselves to others to demonstrate better themselves.
The most significant impact of the Napoleon complex was the development of nationalism, one reason for the First World War. When the French Empire grew, Napoleon took over numerous nations to discover an overwhelming sense of nationalism.
How to deal with the Napoleon Complex?
Lifting the self-esteem of the individual suffering from the short-man syndrome is a straightforward approach to coping with it. Dealing with painful memories will undoubtedly be beneficial.
Replacing negative memories with joyful ones might assist in boosting a person’s self-esteem. A person’s self-esteem can be increased in a variety of ways.
To be proud of oneself and love anybody you are in life will ultimately assist the person in developing better self-confidence. It’s critical to persuade the person that their height has little bearing on their personality or character strength.
The key to overcoming any mental fight is social acceptance and moral support. This complex is no exception.
The Napoleon Complex frequently takes the name of Alfred Adler, Sigmund Freud’s former colleague and the leading creator of individual psychology. The implication of Adlerian psychology might be seen as unique.
Do All Short Men Have This?
In Hollywood itself, Tom Cruise and Josh Hutcherson are short for leading men and anecdotes of how their filmmakers filmed them to make up for their shortfall in height.
They are exciting and funny. On the other hand, performers like Danny DeVito, Tom Holland, and Kevin Hart all have their disadvantages to their height, which shows that not every small man is taller than anybody else.
While evolution and social convention play a factor, these actors are some of the best examples we have of guys who care not so much – and because of them are far more remarkable than their most perfect counterparts.
While the “small man syndrome” may exist, there is no reason to think that all short men have a scar due to it. The truth is that most men aren’t as concerned about their height as it seems to be.
And the notion that all small people are predisposed to aggression has always been an urban legend—an intergenerational joke concocted by lanky cavemen envious of their pint-sized counterparts’ masculinity.
Takeaway
In short, The Napoleon Complex is nothing but a psychological phase of inferiority complex by men short in height to overcome the dominance or subdue of the tall men around them so that their opinions can be set on the table equally.
Being proud of yourself and loving yourself for whom you are ultimately helps one build more confidence. It is vital to persuade a person that being tall or short does not determine their character or power.
The key to overcoming all mental conflicts is social acceptance and moral support. It’s no different complicated.
