The Impact of Height Qualification on the Self-esteem of NEMCO’s Criminology Student

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

This chapter elaborates the background of the study which explains the basis of our

research, the theoretical and conceptual framework which illustrates the plan and the

fundamental structure that would support the research, the research hypothesis that presents our

assumption, statement of the problem, terms to be defined, importance of the study as well as the

scope and limitations of the study.

Background of the Study

Northeastern Mindanao Colleges or NEMCO is one of the colleges and a private non-

sectarian school in Surigao City that offers Bachelor of Science in Criminology course. And one

of the problems of the student there is the minimum height requirement for criminology student.

Criminology course is for students who have an active interest in a multitude of fields, and seek

to develop a critical and focused mind. It requires an interdisciplinary and integrative approach

to questions of individual and societal behaviour. However, when it comes to its physical

requirements like the height, some may not qualified due to its short height or maybe the height

standard is too high for the aspiring students in criminology. As a result, they become self-

conscious and others may look for other course.

According to Judge TA, Cable DM, height may also affect how people perceive

themselves, and so influence behaviour (which as noted, in part reflects how other people treat

them). For instance, taller individuals, particularly taller men, have higher levels of self-esteem

than shorter individuals and are more likely to see themselves as leader, which may result in
The Impact of Height Qualification on the Self-esteem of NEMCO’s Criminology Student

taller individuals displaying more self-confidence in social interactions. Increased self-esteem

may itself be a consequence of experiencing more favourable contest outcomes earlier in life.

Thus, this study will further tackle about the impact of height qualification on the self-

esteem of NEMCO’s criminology student.

Theoretical Framework

Among the aspects of physique, height is particularly important. Our culture values

height. In men, tall stature is associated with strength, machismo, independence, and success.

Stature is particularly important during adolescence. Boys want to be tall for the obvious

advantages of being noticed, being more successful in sports and in social relations with the

opposite sex. On the other hand, for girls, being too tall can be a disadvantage and hinder social

relations due to self-consciousness, since the cultural norm dictates that women be shorter than

men.

The importance of height to one's self-esteem and feelings of attractiveness have not been

fully researched. Little is known about the social role of tallness, or how tall people cope with

reactions to their size. Most research has focused on the problems of shortness. The present study

is concerned with the relationship between stature and self-esteem. It is hypothesized that

individuals that deviate from the norm, in either direction, will have lower self-esteem than those

who are within "normal" limits. The relationship between height and self-esteem will be

curvilinear. In addition, the relationship of height to self-esteem controlling for self-

consciousness (the imaginary audience construct) will be investigated.

The Impact of Height Qualification on the Self-esteem of NEMCO’s Criminology Student

Conceptual Framework

To support the purpose of this study which is to know the impact of height qualification

on the self-esteem of NEMCO’s criminology student. Also, this research aims to identify if there

is really a stereotyping occurs in the said process.

To further get the answer for this study, we will conduct an online survey for our specific

topic in order to verify the connection of self-esteem on the said height standard.

The online survey or the questionnaire will be divided into two categories with the same

number of respondent. The first category is a choices or a multiple choice, this will allow them to

think what best describe their feelings. The topic question is regarding to their self-esteem and

height standard. Second category is a questionnaire that is relatable and answerable by “yes or

no”.

Analyze the data

gathered
Conduct an Online
Survey (Category 1)
and interpret

Topic
Analyzed the data
gathered
Conduct an Online
Survey
(Category 2)
and interpret
The Impact of Height Qualification on the Self-esteem of NEMCO’s Criminology Student

Statement of the Problem

This research is intended to answer the following questions:

1. How the minimum height requirements for criminology in NEMCO will affect the self-

esteem of the aspiring student.

2. What are the possible impacts of decreasing its standard height requirement?

Hypothesis of the Study

 There is no significant difference between the height qualifications to the self-esteem of

criminology student.

 If there is no height standard for criminology in NEMCO students will no longer become

self-conscious.

Significance of the Study

When conducting this study, we will be able to know and aware about our self-esteem, if

height standard will really affect our confidence and why there is a height standard for this

course.

This study will help us identify if who is really affected by the situation, the girls or boys.

Moreover, this study might help us stop the stereotyping not just in school but also in other

places in our society.

The Impact of Height Qualification on the Self-esteem of NEMCO’s Criminology Student

Scope and Limitations of the Study

Scope:

 The study aims to focus only on the impact of height qualification on the self-esteem of

the criminology student in Northeastern Mindanao Colleges (NEMCO).

 There are only 40 respondents from the college of criminology in NEMCO.

Limitation:

 Upon conducting this research it only covers the height physique of the person.

 Self-esteem will be the only focus of this study.

 All respondents are from Northeastern Mindanao Colleges.

The Impact of Height Qualification on the Self-esteem of NEMCO’s Criminology Student

Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature

This chapter discusses some studies related to the impact of height standard qualification

to the self-esteem of the criminology student. This chapter also includes other literature related to

relationship of height and self-esteem, theories of self-esteem, standard qualification for

criminology student and its impact to the persona of the student.

Relationship of self-esteem to the height size

If our personal style is a product of our body image, part of that style certainly has to be

affected by our physical size. But size is only relative to another contrasting body. Perhaps one's

height, relative to another's at any early, impressionable time of life influences our adult style

more than the height we ultimately achieve.

Size is associated with value and tallness correlates with power. In fact, size is commonly

used as visual shorthand for authority. "So thoroughly is it assumed that differences in size will

correlate with differences in social weight that relative size can be routinely used as a means of

ensuring that the picture's story will be understandable at a glance" (Goffman, 1976, p.87). The

smaller figure will be the subordinate, the larger the dominant.

For instance, when a cartoonist wants to suggest a henpecked husband, the shorthand is to

make the husband smaller than the wife. Lower self-esteem due to heightened self-consciousness

could lead an individual to be more of a follower, and more likely to conform.

The few pieces of research investigating the relationship of height to self-esteem

(Coopersmith, 1967; Frazier, 1950; Lerner et al., 1973; Prieto & Robbins, 1975) have concluded
The Impact of Height Qualification on the Self-esteem of NEMCO’s Criminology Student

that actual height does not seem to be a significant predictor of self-esteem, that a person's actual

physique is not related to self-concept, but that physical characteristics as perceived by others

had more to do with their evaluations of themselves than the subjects' own sense of their height.

"This suggests that others may somehow be communicating their perceptions of a person's

physical characteristics to him and this in turn is related to his feelings of self-esteem" (Prieto &

Robbins, 1975, p. 397).

The Prieto et al. (1975) study used multiple regression analysis; a statistic used for linear

relationships, and concluded that there was no relationship between actual height and self-

esteem. Gunderson (1964) found a curvilinear relationship between actual height and satisfaction

with height, indicating dissatisfaction with height whenever there was deviation from the

generally preferred height of 72 inches. Perhaps by using a measure of association appropriate

for curvilinear relationships, an association could be found between actual height and selfesteem

which might parallel the curvilinear relationship between actual height and satisfaction with

height, since dissatisfaction with height could lead to lower self-esteem.

Self-esteem

Many early theories suggested that self-esteem is a basic human need or

motivation. American psychologist Abraham Maslow, for example, included self-esteem in his

hierarchy of need. He described two different forms of esteem: the need for respect from others

and the need for self-respect, or inner self-esteem (Maslow, 1987). Respect from others entails

recognition, acceptance, status, and appreciation, and was believed to be more fragile and easily

lost than inner self-esteem. According to Maslow, without the fulfilment of the self-esteem need,

individuals will be drawn to seek it and unable to grow and obtain self-actualization.
The Impact of Height Qualification on the Self-esteem of NEMCO’s Criminology Student

One study has shown that inflating self-esteem by itself can actually decrease grades

(Baumeister, Jennifer, Joachim, & Kathleem, 2005). The relationship involving self-esteem and

academic results does not signify that high self-esteem contributes to high academic results. It

simply means that high self-esteem may be accomplished due to high academic performance

(Baumeister, Campbell & Krueger, 2003). High self-esteem correlates highly with self-reported

happiness. However, it is clear, which if necessarily may lead to other human subjective

thinking. (Baumeister, Jennifer, Joachim & Kathleem, 2005). Additionally, self-esteem has been

found to be related to forgiveness in close relationship, in that people with high self-esteem will

be more forgiving than people with low self-esteem (Eaton, Wardstruthers & Santelli, 2006).

Another variable that is of interest to the present study is body image. Body image refers

to a person‟s perception of the aesthetics and sexual attractiveness of their own body. Human

society has all times placed great value on beauty of the human body, but a person‟s perception

of their own body may not correspond to society‟s standards.

Standard qualification for BS-Criminology student

The Bachelor of Science in Criminology or Criminal Justice is a four-year degree

program intended for individuals who wish to have a career in the fields of law enforcement,

security administration, crime detection, and prevention of correctional administration. The

program teaches students the various theories, policies, practices, and laws associated with

criminal behavior and the methods applied to manage deviant activities. 

According to FindUniversity site, students who want to pursue a degree in BS in

Criminology are encouraged to take the Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS) strand under

the Academic track. The curriculum focuses on human behavior, literature, education, politics,
The Impact of Height Qualification on the Self-esteem of NEMCO’s Criminology Student

liberal arts, and society. The HUMSS strand will cover relevant topics that may be further

discussed in their college lectures.

There are several requirements for criminology but in this study or case we will focus on

the height since this is the main topic of the study.

The height requirement is listed among the "minimum qualifications" for admission in

the PNP in Section 30 of RA 6975 - men and women need to be at least 1.62 meters (5'4") and

1.57 meters (5'2") tall, respectively.

The proposal to lower the height requirement was almost achieved in 2013 when

members of the Senate and the House of Representatives during the 16th Congress agreed to

lower the requirement of uniformed personnel to 1.57 meters for men and 1.42 for women.

According to the study, some of the student have been boost their confidence to enter or

enrolled in BS-Criminology due to low minimum height size requirements.

The Impact of Height Qualification on the Self-esteem of NEMCO’s Criminology Student

Chapter 3

Research Methodology

This chapter describes the methodology of research study, supervision of interviewers,

and data analysis techniques, including collection of data, study design, sampling frame and

procedure of respondent’s selection. In this study methodologies have been used to diagnose and

examine the purpose of this study.

Research Design

In order to find out the impact of height qualification on the self-esteem of NEMCO’s

criminology student, this study will utilized the mixed-research types which are the quantitative

and qualitative method of research.

Moreover, researcher will going to apply survey research design in which it is the best

way to answer the questions of the study. The used of this research instrument will gather and

analyze data from the selected group of people that considered as the respondents of our study.

Respondent of the study

This study was conducted in order to determine and prove the stated assertion in Chapter

1. To gather the necessary data, 40 respondents of the chosen program or course which is BS-

Criminology from any year will be our target population of this study. Specifically, respondents

should be those who have problem entering the program because of the height requirements of

the school.
The Impact of Height Qualification on the Self-esteem of NEMCO’s Criminology Student

Research Instrument

The study will used Simple Random Sampling in determining the samples with

qualitative and quantitative approaches. Upon representing the results we will used word excel in

order to execute the data we gathered.

In this portion we will be presenting methods in collecting data through the application of

quantitative and qualitative. We will also elaborate the procedure on how we were going to

conduct a survey to gain and evaluate greater understanding of the topic.

In interpreting the qualitative data, the researchers are going to use discourse analysis to

find out the concise responses of the respondents. This method of data analysis will correlate to

the tables obtained and data collection that the researcher will perform. Upon performing this

method it will use survey questions or any tools that will help in gathering the data and the

researcher will collect information.

Research Procedure

On our proper procedure in collecting the data, first thing that we are going to do is to

conduct an online interview to our chosen respondent. This interview will be regarding to their

experience entering the course and their performance throughout their journey and this will serve

as data for qualitative research.

Second, we were going to ask 40 respondents which is experiencing self-esteem change

or struggle to answer ten questions for our quantitative, five questions will pertains to height

perception aspects and the remaining five question will be answerable by yes or no. These data

we gathered became the bases of analysis and interpretation of the study.

The Impact of Height Qualification on the Self-esteem of NEMCO’s Criminology Student

Statistical Treatment of Data

In quantitative research to analyze the data we will be using statistical tool particularly

frequency table and histograms. This tool will shows the number of times each value or group of

values occurs in the data set. Upon using this kind of treatment of data we will be calculating

first the mean, standard deviation, and variance because it will organize and used for creating the

histograms that presents frequency of the number or answer. It is appropriate for quantitative

research data.