Wellnews by Scott LaFee

For a while in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the French general Napoleon Bonaparte ruled vast armies and much of Europe. He was just under 5 feet 7 inches, but stood much taller. Odds are, he thought so, too.

A new study out of Washington University in St. Louis reports that as people acquire power, they gain an exaggerated sense of their physical height.

"Height is often used as a metaphor for power," said Michelle M. Duguid, an assistant professor of organizational behavior and the study's author. Powerful people "feel like the big man on campus, and people 'look up to them.' We find that the psychological experience of power may cause individuals to feel taller than objective measurement indicates they really are."

Duguid and colleagues conducted a series of experiments to test their hypothesis.

In the first experiment, some participants were asked to recall an incident in which they had power over another individual, while others were asked to recall an incident in which someone else had power over them. They were then asked to estimate their size in relation to a pole that had been set precisely 20 inches taller than their actual heights.

Participants who had been conditioned to feel "empowered" thought the pole was nearer in height to them than those who'd been made to feel subordinate.

In the second experiment, two pairs of volunteers were asked to role-play a scenario in which one was a manager and the other an ordinary worker. They were then asked to give their exact heights in a questionnaire, and those who had played the role of manager supplied exaggerated figures.

Finally, in the third experiment, participants were conditioned in the same way as they were in the first, then asked to choose an avatar in a second-life game that they thought best represented them.

The researchers suggested that future studies might want to examine whether employers should consider placing diminutive workers in higher offices to raise their psychological sense of power.

It worked for Napoleon, at least until Wellington cut him back down to size.

BODY OF KNOWLEDGE

In 1985, the most common waist size for men's pants was 32 inches. Now, it's 36.

LIFE IN BIG MACS

One hour of moderate ice skating burns 476 calories (based on a 150-pound person) or the equivalent of 0.7 Big Macs.

DOC TALK

Paresis — partial or slight paralysis

PHOBIA OF THE WEEK

Tokophobia — fear of childbirth or pregnancy

NEVER SAY DIET

The world's speed-eating record for shrimp wontons is 380 in 8 minutes, held by Joey Chestnut.

BEST MEDICINE

These calories don't count:

— Foods with uneven edges. If after slicing, the edges of a pie or cake are irregular, these can be "straightened up" and the irregularities consumed with no caloric consequence.

— Food that doesn't taste good. If it lacks flavor, it must surely lack calories.

— Custom-made food. Any comestible that's prepared especially for you must be eaten regardless of caloric content. To refrain is simply uncaring and insensitive.

OBSERVATION

"If you trust Google more than your own doctor, maybe it?s time to switch doctors."

— Jadelr and Cristina Cordova in "Chasing Windmills"

EPITAPHS

Here lies Anne Mann; she live an

Old maid and died an old Mann.

— On a tombstone at Bath Abbey in England

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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