For years women have talked about the “short man syndrome’ and how some guys make up for being short by imposing themselves in less than commendable ways.

The vertically challenged man has to exude dominance some other way – which more often than not comes down to “I have more money than you” or “I have power over you”.

When you go to the bar, who’s the guy full of it? Yes, you guessed it, some short bloke is the blowhole.

Now, a new study coming out of Poland claims short men display more narcissistic tendencies and look to appear more psychologically formidable.

The study, entitled Personality and Individual Differences, examines the dominant personality trait of short men making up for their lack of height.

One of its authors, Monika Kozlowska, writes: “Shorter people with traits such as psychopathy can use them to demand respect, impose costs on others and impress romantic partners.

“Appearing more powerful may in turn make other people perceive them as taller than they really are.”

Accusations of short man syndrome have been levelled at some Hollywood stars, including Tom Cruise, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Sylvester Stallone and the now-deceased Prince.

Some call it the Napoleon Complex, after the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, who was 5 foot 2 inches and was described as narcissistic and self-centred.

It is said that short and smaller people tend to make up for their lack of physical stature with what is called the ‘dark triad’ – narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism.

In Jamaican parlance, “they too bad mind”.

But, the report didn’t only focus on men.

On women, it noted: “Shorter women can use deception to appear more desirable or to gain protection and resources. Additionally, appearing more powerful may in turn affect others’ perception of one’s estimated height.

There’s dog syndrome which is also real – little dogs like the chihuahua yapping and carrying on – just like some guys we all know!