SHELDONâ€™S SOMATOTYPE THEORY:The Structure of Physique

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Personality Psychology PSY 405

Lesson 18

SHELDON'S SOMATOTYPE THEORY

Constitutional Psychology

Sheldon's Somatotype Theory

Constitutional Psychology

Constitutional psychology looks at the physique or soma or body type as possible explanation of human

behavior.

Sheldon's Somatotype Theory

Sheldon looks at the physique or body type (soma) for the explanation of human behavior.

Sheldon defines:

1- A discrete number of physical and

2-Temperamental variables, he considers of primary importance in representing human behavior.

A complete description of the process of somatotyping the male body is contained in Sheldon's Atlas of

men (1954) which includes representative somatotype photographs of over one thousand men derived

from a total sample of 46,000 photographs.

The physical measurements provide ratings for the five different areas of the body: head-neck, chest-trunk,

arms, stomach-trunk, and legs.

1-The Structure of Physique

Dimensions of Physique

Primary Components of Physique

1- Endomorphy

2- Mesomorphy

3- Ectomorphy

2-The Secondary Components

Dysplasia.

Female Somatotyping

3-The Analysis of Behavior (Personality)

Dimensions of Temperament

1- Primary Components of Temperament

2- The Secondary Components

4-The Relation of Physique to Behavior (Personality )

1-Factors Mediating the Physique- Temperament Association

2-Biological and Genetic Orientation

3-Unconscious Processes

5- Characteristic Research and Research Methods

1-Physique and Mental Disorder

2-Physique and Delinquency

6-Evaluation

We had discussed the following with you

Personality Psychology PSY 405

1-The Structure of Physique

Dimensions of Physique

Primary Components of Physique

1-endomorphy

2-mesomorphy

3-ectomorphy

2-The Secondary Components

Dysplasia.

Female Somatotyping

3- The Analysis of Behavior (Personality)

Dimensions of Temperament

Primary Components of Temperament

So now let us talk about lecture no 18

which begins from the concept of

3-The Analysis of Behavior (Personality)

Given a stable means of assessing the physical aspects of the human build, the constitutional psychologist

must still devise or borrow some method of assessing behavior in order to explore the relation between

physique and personality.

Dimensions of Temperament

Initially the literature of personality, especially that having to do with specifying human traits, was

carefully inspected, and a list of 650 traits was extracted. The list was increased by adding variables derived

from the investigator's own observations and then was sharply reduced through combining overlapping

dimensions and eliminating those that seemed of no significance. In the end Sheldon and his co-workers

had a total of 50 traits that seemed to them to represent all of the specific phenomena that had been dealt

with by the original 650 traits.

Primary Components of Temperament

The results of the correlation analysis revealed three major clusters or groups of traits that included twenty-

two of the original fifty items. The first group included traits of relaxation, love of comfort, pleasure in

digestion, dependence on social approval, deep sleep, and need of people when troubled.

The traits spanned by the second cluster included assertive posture, energetic characteristic, need of

exercise, directness of manner, unrestrained voice, quality of seeming older, need of action when troubled.

Finally, there was a third group of traits, including restraint in posture, overly fast reaction, sociophobia,

inhibited social address, resistance to habit, vocal restraint, poor sleep habits, youthful intentness, need of

solitude when troubled.

4-The Relation of Physique to Behavior (Personality)

We have now seen how Sheldon identified what he considered to be the basic components of physique

(structure) and temperament (function).

Factors Mediating the Physique- Temperament Association

We accept here the existence of a marked relation between measures of physique and measures of

important behavioral attributes, and inquire into what has led to this striking congruence. One may reason

that an individual who is endowed with a particular type of physique is likely to find certain kinds of

responses particularly effective while an individual with another type of physique will find it necessary to

Personality Psychology PSY 405

adopt other modes of response.

The individual with a frail ectomorphic body cannot successfully adopt an aggressive, domineering manner

in relation to most people, whereas it may be perfectly possible for the oversized mesomorph to do so.

Further, the child with a small stomach, or low thresholds for pain, may be exposed to characteristic

experiences that are strikingly different from those typical for individuals of different physical

characteristics. Given a particular physique and a normal environment, the individual finds certain kinds of

responses are relatively often rewarded and certain other kinds of responses are usually punished. This

implies that the individual will develop patterns of behavior that will show similarity to the behavior of

other people, who because of sharing the same kind of physiques have had similar sets of experiences.

Another possibility is that the relation between physique and temperament is mediated by commonly

accepted stereotypes or the social-stimulus value within the culture in regard to the sort of behavior to be

expected of individuals with different kinds of physique.

Biological and Genetic Orientation

Many personality theorists have chosen to place a heavy emphasis upon the psychobiological nature of

human behavior (Murray, Murphy, and Freud)

In many respects the details of Sheldon's position may be considered to stem from a conviction that

biological factors are of overwhelming importance in accounting for human behavior and his consequent

decision to attempt the measurement of important elements of this biological foundation of behavior. As we

have seen from his distinction between the somatotype and the morphogenotype, the measurement of

physique is merely a means of estimating the underlying biological factors that have such a heavy influence

upon the course of life. All things considered, it seems safe to say that Sheldon's position revolves more

closely about biological determinants of behavior than does that of any other contemporary personality

theorist.

Unconscious Processes

The importance of unconscious determinants of behavior is accepted by Sheldon but he is inclined to

equate these determinants to underlying biological factors. Presumably if the individual knew more about

the structure of his body and the biological factors at work within it, he would be more conscious of the

forces that impel his behavior.

5-Characteristic Research and Research Methods

More than most personality theorists Sheldon's formulations are embedded in empirical studies. We have

already gained a rather representative view of his investigations in the process of noting how he set about

the formulation and measurement of physique and temperament.

Let us deal briefly with two further studies in which he investigated mental disorder and delinquency

against the background offered by somatotype measurement.

1-Physique and Mental Disorder

Constitutional psychology not only gives promise of providing new vistas of understanding in the study of

normal human behavior; it also offers the possibility of understanding better, and perhaps alleviating or

preventing, various psychological and social abnormalities.

After examining the state of psychiatric diagnosis he concluded that it would not be possible to approach

the study of physique in relation to mental disorder.

2-Physique and Delinquency

Sheldon's eight-year study of delinquent youth was conducted to provide a kind of background against

which to compare his findings from the study of normal college youth. The investigation was carried out at

the Hayden Goodwill Inn, a resident rehabilitation home for boys in Boston, Massachusetts. During the

three years from 1939 to 1942 approximately four hundred young men were studied by Sheldon and his

collaborators and, from this sample, two hundred were selected for a follow-up study after the war on the

basis of completeness of information and clear evidence of delinquency. All of the subjects were examined

by means of the Somatotype Performance Test and assigned somatotype ratings as well as ratings on the

Personality Psychology PSY 405

secondary components of physique.

Even though some personality theorists have chosen to dwell upon these factors, they have, in general,

shown little inclination to implement the crucial biological factors. Thus we may largely credit Sheldon

with reminding psychologists that the behaving human has physique, and further that this physique

provides valuable clues to an underlying set of determinants, which in the end may prove quite as

collaboration between biological and behavioral scientists and the growing awareness on the part of

psychologists of the importance of biological factors has served to make Sheldon's position far more

acceptable today than it was a decade or so ago.

6-Evaluation

we may largely credit Sheldon with reminding psychologists that the behaving human has

physique, and this physique provides valuable clues to an underlying set of determinants, which

may prove quite as collaboration between biological and behavioral scientists and the growing

awareness on the part of psychologists of the importance of biological factors has served to make

Sheldon's position far more acceptable today than it was a decade or so ago.

In any final evaluation of Sheldon's theory it is important to consider the wealth of empirical

studies that have been conducted by Sheldon and stimulated by his writings.

Ultimately the value of a theory can best be measured by its empirical impact and no one can deny

that Sheldon's findings and formulations have provoked dozens or perhaps hundreds of related

studies.

Sheldon's work is of assured interest to psychologists whatever its shortcomings may be it has led

to findings with which the future must reckon.

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