The taller a woman is, the less maternal her personality and the less broody she feels about children, say the researchers, Denis Deady, from Stirling University, and Miriam Law Smith, of St Andrews University.

Taller women aim for fewer children, and put off having their first for longer, the research found.

But they set more store by a career than shorter women, and are more competitive.

The two psychologists, who have published their findings in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, questioned 1,220 women — 679 of them aged between 20 and 29, and 541 over the age of 45.

The average height of the women surveyed was just over 5ft 5in — higher than the average for the UK, which is 5ft 4in.

The study aimed to establish whether height, which is controlled by sex hormones, is related to psychological profile. The results suggest that it is.

The more traditional explanation of the relative childlessness of taller women is that they find it harder to attract a partner. But the authors reject this.

They conclude, rather, that taller women have more of the male sex hormone testosterone, which could give them more “male” traits, such as being assertive, competitive and ambitious.

Mr Deady said: “Previous studies have suggested that taller women may have more trouble finding mates.

“But we think that tall women may have higher levels of testosterone which may cause them to have more ‘masculine’ personalities.”

The younger women who responded to the survey were asked how many children they wanted and when they wanted to have their first.

Results suggested lower maternal ambitions among taller women.

Older respondents, who had mostly completed their families, had fewer children than the average, having their first at an older age.

The researchers also asked how important a career was to them and how competitive they were.

Ms Law Smith, 27, who is 5ft 7in and has no children, said: “We’re not saying that all tall women are ambitious and all short women just want to have babies.

“But our research definitely suggests an effect in this direction. Taller women seem to be more dominant, assertive and career-minded.”

The results were corrected for parental income, so cannot be explained by class, although nutritional deficiency affecting growth in babies from poorer families could affect the outcome.

Earlier research by the same authors showed that levels of testosterone in the saliva were linked with maternal feelings. The more testosterone women had, the lower they scored on maternal personality and reproductive ambition.

THE HEIGHT OF SUCCESS

THE MODEL: Jerry Hall, 6ft, has built a career around her height, even calling her 1985 autobiography Tall Tales. She once said: “Aged 12, I was the tallest in the school, which I didn’t like, but I soon learnt that tall is, in fact, an asset: no matter what I put on, it looked good.” Hall, 49, has four children.

THE ACTRESS: Saffron Burrows, 6ft and 32 with no children, the former model was rejected from Grange Hill for being too tall. Film credits include In The Name of The Father and Leaving Las Vegas

THE SPORTSWOMAN: Lindsay Davenport, 6ft 2in, the American tennis star, once complained that “it’s not easy being my height”. But it helps in tennis: she made it to the Wimbledon final this year. No children yet, though the 29-year-old says she wants “a lot”.

THE POLITICIAN: Janet Reno, 6ft 1in, America’s former Attorney-General, is so tall that she once had to take her shoes off at a speech in Florida so that the microphone would pick her up. Reno, 67, has no children.

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