The Enduring Appeal Of Constitutional Psychology

Constitutional psychology is a systematic attempt to explain psychological variables, such as temperament and character, in terms of bodily shape and organic function. While it has been criticised and discredited, with the claims of key figures like Ernst Kretschmer and William Herbert Sheldon being dismissed as quackery, the idea that body type and personality are linked continues to influence people's perceptions and assessments of others, potentially compromising scientific data. This paragraph will explore why people still believe in constitutional psychology despite its flaws and discrediting, and the impact this belief can have.

People are unaware of the discredited nature of somatotype

Somatotype, a term used for the classification of human physical types, was developed by American psychologist William Herbert Sheldon. The theory, which categorised all possible body types according to a scale ranging from 1 to 7 for each of the three somatotypes, claimed that an individual's mental characteristics could be predicted from their body type.

Despite the discredited nature of somatotype, people unaware of the theory still judge the personality traits of different body types in a stereotypical manner. Wells and Siegel (1961) found that people tend to develop social stereotypes around physique, and these stereotypes can influence how individuals are treated by others and the traits expected of them. For example, in their study, participants rated endomorphs as fatter, older, shorter, lazier, weaker, less attractive, more talkative, more warm-hearted, and sympathetic, while mesomorphs were rated as stronger, more masculine, better looking, more adventurous, younger, taller, and more self-reliant. Ectomorphs, on the other hand, were perceived as thinner, younger, less masculine, more stubborn, inclined to be difficult, more pessimistic, and quieter.

These findings suggest that people continue to associate different temperaments with different body builds, even if they are unaware of Sheldon's somatotype theory. This implicit personality theory can compromise scientific data when participants in studies are rating the personalities of individuals with different body types.

Furthermore, somatotype studies from Sheldon to the present have been criticised for their substantial flaws, including confounding results, small sample sizes, and inconsistent findings. Despite this, somatotype gained popularity in the 1950s and was even used in attempts to characterise personality as late as the 1980s.

Cultural stereotypes associated with body types

Culture has a significant influence on individuals' perceptions and experiences of their bodies, and this includes the stereotypes associated with different body types. Cultural norms and societal expectations can shape people's body image perceptions and mental health. For example, Western cultures often idealise thinness, which differs from non-Western ideals that value a range of physical attributes, such as facial features or overall proportions.

In some cultures, the "thin ideal" is deeply ingrained, as seen in Chinese culture, where there is a notable desire for slimness among adolescent girls. Similarly, Asian American men and women tend to have lower body satisfaction than their White American counterparts, and Asian adolescents report greater body dissatisfaction than other racial groups. Exposure to Western culture's emphasis on thin female bodies can influence the body image ideals of other cultures. For instance, Black women who initially appreciated curvier bodies began to associate thinness with the "ideal" body type after prolonged exposure to Western cultural influences.

Media depictions of slim, toned, and unrealistic body types contribute to the perpetuation of cultural stereotypes and ideals. These images can lead to psychological, physiological, and interpersonal problems, particularly among young people, who strive to conform to prevailing beauty standards for acceptance. Children as young as three have already internalised the belief that a "thin person" is more attractive than a "fat person", and this attitude tends to intensify with age.

While it is challenging to overcome cultural influences, individuals can resist external cues regarding body shape and size. Instead of focusing solely on physical appearance, prioritising health and well-being can help foster a positive body image. Initiatives like the Health at Every Size movement encourage individuals to concentrate on eating and moving in ways that promote overall health and well-being rather than striving for an unattainable "ideal" body type.

Criminality and physiognomic markers

In the late 19th century, Sir Francis Galton attempted to define physiognomic characteristics of criminality through composite photography. He superimposed two or more faces in multiple exposures, creating composite images of certain 'types' of criminals (such as smugglers, thieves, and arsonists). He found that these composite images appeared more respectable than any of the individual faces comprising them, which was likely due to the irregularities of the skin across the constituent images being averaged out in the final blend.

The idea that a person's physical appearance could indicate their criminality was influenced by the work of Johann Kaspar Lavater, a Swiss poet and physiognomist. In 1775, he published a popular book, 'Physiognomische Fragmente zur Beforderung der Menschenkenntnis und Menschenliebe', in which he claimed that a person's facial characteristics reflected their temperament or character. This work influenced early criminological theory and was translated into French and English.

William Herbert Sheldon, an American psychologist, also contributed to the idea of criminality and physiognomic markers with his theory of somatotypes. He categorised the human physique into three somatotypes: ectomorphic, mesomorphic, and endomorphic. He then created a scale ranging from 1 to 7 for each somatotype and claimed that an individual's mental characteristics could be predicted from this. In his 1954 book, 'Atlas of Men', he contended that criminals tended to be 'mesomorphic', further perpetuating the idea that criminality could be recognised through physiognomic markers.

Ernst Kretschmer's influence

Ernst Kretschmer was a German psychiatrist and psychoanalyst born in 1888 and was the first major figure in constitutional psychology. During the First World War, he served as an army psychiatrist in charge of a treatment unit for soldiers suffering from "shell shock". He studied hysteria and developed a treatment in which victims of battle hysteria were kept in dark chambers and treated with electrical impulses. Kretschmer's work in this area led to his development of a theory of hysteria, which he described in a monograph called "Hysteria, Reflex and Instinct". He viewed hysterical behaviour as consisting of primitive reflexes and instinctive reactions, resulting from a regression to a more primitive and immature level of behaviour.

Kretschmer is known for developing a classification system that can be seen as one of the earliest exponents of a constitutional approach. He based his classification system on four main body types: pyknic, leptosomic, athletic, and plastic. He associated each of these body types with certain personality traits and, in a more extreme form, with different mental disorders. Kretschmer believed that pyknic persons were friendly, interpersonally dependent, and gregarious. He associated thin types with introversion and timidity, viewing this as a milder form of the negative symptoms exhibited by people with withdrawn schizophrenia. He also examined various psychological differences between the body types, such as sensitivity to colour and form, “splitting,” concept formation, and psychomotility.

Kretschmer's work has been criticised due to the differences in age between his thinner, schizophrenic patients and his pyknic, manic-depressive subjects, which could explain the differences in body type. Despite this, his ideas entered popular culture and generated further psychological research. Kretschmer's influence can be seen in the work of William Herbert Sheldon, who further developed the idea of somatotypes and their relationship to personality traits.

Early somatic typology

The belief in constitutional psychology and somatotypes, or early somatic typology, has a long history dating back to antiquity. Somatotype, or constitutional type, refers to the body build or physique of a person and how it relates to their temperament or behavioural characteristics.

One of the earliest examples of somatic typology is Hippocrates' theory of the four humours. According to Hippocrates, choleric temperaments were associated with yellow bile from the liver, melancholic temperament with black bile from the kidneys, sanguine temperament with red blood from the heart, and phlegmatic temperament with white phlegm from the lungs. Traditional Eastern ways of classifying people for medical and psychological treatments also exist, such as the Indian physician R. D. Lele's correlation of somatotypes with Prakriti, a system of classifying personality.

In the early 20th century, Ernst Kretschmer, an army psychiatrist during World War I, became a key figure in constitutional psychology. He observed soldiers suffering from "shell shock" and believed their behaviour consisted of primitive reflexes and instinctive reactions due to a regression to a more immature level. Kretschmer focused on the relationship between body type and psychiatric syndromes, classifying physiques into pyknic, leptosomic, and athletic types, with most people having a mixture of these. He associated leptosomic body types with schizoid personality disorder and athletic types with epilepsy.

Following Kretschmer, William Herbert Sheldon in the 1940s further developed the idea of somatotypes, classifying body types into three categories: ectomorphs (slim), mesomorphs (muscular), and endomorphs (smooth). Each type was associated with specific personality traits, with ectomorphs being quiet and restrained, endomorphs being relaxed and sociable, and mesomorphs being active and assertive. While popular in the 1950s, Sheldon's theory has since been criticised for its assumptions and small sample sizes, and is now considered discredited. However, somatotype classifications continue to influence perceptions and are still used in certain fields, such as physical education and anthropometric research.

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