Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (R) and Phoenix Sun's guard Steve Nash (L) both reach for a rebound during Game 6 of their NBA Western Conference first round playoff series in Los Angeles, California, in this May 4, 2006 file photo. While researchers have long shown that tall people earn more than their shorter counterparts, it's not only social discrimination that accounts for this inequality -- tall people are just smarter than their height-challenged peers, a new study finds. "As early as age three -- before schooling has had a chance to play a role -- and throughout childhood, taller children perform significantly better on cognitive tests," wrote Anne Case and Christina Paxson of Princeton University in a paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. The findings were based primarily on two British studies that followed children born in 1958 and 1970, respectively, through adulthood and a U.S. study on height and occupational choice. Other studies have pointed to low self-esteem, better health that accompanies greater height, and social discrimination as culprits for lower pay for shorter people. But researchers Case and Paxson believe the height advantage in the job world is more than just a question of image. "As adults, taller individuals are more likely to select into higher paying occupations that require more advanced verbal and numerical skills and greater intelligence, for which they earn handsome returns," they wrote. For both men and women in the United States and the United Kingdom, a height advantage of four inches equated with a 10 percent increase in wages on average. But the researchers said the differences in performance crop up long before the tall people enter the job force. Prenatal care and the time between birth and the age of 3 are critical periods for determining future cognitive ability and height. "Prenatal care and prenatal nutrition are just incredibly important, even more so than we already knew," Case said in an interview. Since the study's data only included populations in the United Kingdom and the United States, the findings could not be applied to other regions, Case said. And how tall are the researchers? They are both about 5 feet 8 inches tall, well above the average height of 5 feet 4 inches for American women.   (Agencies)

一直以來，有調查顯示，個高的人比個矮的人掙錢多，而最新一項研究發現，這種不平等不僅緣于社會歧視--其實，個高的人比個矮的人要聰明。 普林斯頓大學的安妮·凱絲和克里斯蒂娜·帕克森在美國國家經濟研究署刊物上發表文章指出：“個子較高的兒童在接受學校教育之前，甚至從三歲開始一直到整個童年時期，他們在認知測試中的表現都比較突出。” 這些研究結果主要根據英國人所做的兩項研究和一項由美國人做的研究而得來，其中，由英國人所做的兩項研究分別對1958年和1970年出生孩童的成年期進行了追蹤，而美國人的這項研究主要針對的是身高和擇業之間的關系。 另有一些研究表明，個子較高的人自尊心不是很強，身體更好；社會歧視是矮個子收入偏低的罪魁禍首。 而凱絲和帕克森則認為，找工作時，身高優勢并不只是個形象問題。 她們在文中提到：“個子較高的成年人從事高薪職業的可能性更大，由于高薪職業對人的語言、算術能力、以及智力的要求更高，所以他們掙的錢也很多。” 在美國和英國，無論男性還是女性，擁有4英寸的身高優勢就等于薪水平均高10％。 而研究人員稱，這些差別早在他們開始工作前就顯現出來了。產前護理期以及從出生到三歲這段時間是決定孩子日后的認知能力和身高的關鍵時期。 凱絲在一次采訪中說：“產前護理和產前營養相當重要，甚至比我們想象的還要重要。” 凱絲說，由于此項研究的數據主要針對的是英國和美國的人口，所以研究結果在其它地區不一定適用。 你知道這兩位研究人員有多高嗎？ 她們的身高均為1.72米，大大超過美國女性的平均身高1.62米。 (英語點津姍姍編輯)