Somatotype and constitutional

psychology

Somatotype is a taxonomy developed in the 1940s by American

psychologist William Herbert Sheldon to categorize the human
physique according to the relative contribution of three fundamental
elements which he termed "somatotypes". He named these after the
three germ layers of embryonic development: the endoderm, (which
develops into the digestive tract), the mesoderm, (which becomes
muscle, heart and blood vessels) and the ectoderm (which forms
the skin and nervous system).[1] His initial visual methodology has
been discounted as subjective and largely discredited, but later
formulaic variations of the methodology, developed by his original
research assistant Barbara Heath, and later Lindsay Carter and Rob
Rempel are still in academic use.[2][3][4]

Constitutional psychology is a now neglected theory, also developed

by Sheldon in the 1940s, which attempted to associate his
somatotype classifications with human temperament types.[5][6] The
foundation of these ideas originated with Francis Galton and
eugenics.[2] Sheldon and Earnest Hooton were seen as leaders of a
school of thought, popular in anthropology at the time, which held
that the size and shape of a person's body indicated intelligence,
moral worth and future achievement.[2]

In his 1954 book, Atlas of Men, Sheldon categorized all possible

body types according to a scale ranging from 1 to 7 for each of the
three "somatotypes", where the pure "endomorph" is 7–1–1, the pure
"mesomorph" 1–7–1 and the pure "ectomorph" scores 1–1–7.[7][8][9]
From type number, an individual's mental characteristics could
supposedly be predicted.[8] Barbara Honeyman Heath, who was
Sheldon's main assistant in compiling Atlas of Men, accused him of
falsifying the data he used in writing the book.[2]

The three types

Sheldon's "somatotypes" and their associated physical and
psychological traits were characterized as follows:[3][9]

Comparison of body types

 Ectomorphic: characterized as skinny, thin, slender, slim, lithe,
lanky, neotenous, flat-chested, lightly muscled, weak, fragile,
delicate, and usually tall; described as intelligent, contemplative,
melancholic, industrious, effeminate, submissive, inferior,
perfectionist, quirky, idiosyncratic, sensitive to pain, soft, gentle,
loving, helpful, placatory, calm, peaceful, vulnerable, humble, self-
deprecatory, socially awkward, solitary, secretive, concealing, self-
conscious, introverted, shy, reserved, defensive, uncomfortable,
tense, and anxious.[3][7][9][10]
Mesomorphic: characterized as hard, rugged, triangular, muscular,
thick-skinned, and with good posture; described as athletic, eager,
adventurous, willing to take risks, competitive, extroverted,
aggressive, masculine, macho, authoritative, strong, assertive,
direct, forthright, blustering, dominant, tough, strict, fortunate,
vigorous, energetic, determined, courageous, and ambitious.[3][7][9]
Endomorphic: characterized as fat, round, heavy, usually short,
and having difficulty losing weight; described as open, outgoing,
sociable, amiable, friendly, affectionate, accepting, happy, pleased,
satisfied, laid-back, easily complacent, lazy, ungenerous, selfish,
greedy, well-endowed, and slow to react.[3][7][9]

Stereotyping

There is evidence that different physiques carry cultural stereotypes.

For example, one study found that endomorphs are likely to be
perceived as slow, sloppy, and lazy. Mesomorphs, in contrast, are
typically stereotyped as popular and hardworking, whereas
ectomorphs are often viewed as intelligent, yet fearful.[11]

Heath-Carter Formula
Though the psychological bindings have largely been neglected,
Sheldon's physical taxonomy has persisted, particularly the Heath-
Carter variant of the methodology.[12] This formulaic approach
utilises an individual's weight (kg), height (cm), upper arm
circumference (cm), maximal calf circumference (cm), femur
breadth (cm), humerus breadth (cm), triceps skinfold (mm),
subscapular skinfold (mm), supraspinal skinfold (mm), and medial
calf skinfold (mm), and remains popular in anthropomorphic
research, as to quote Rob Rempel "With modifications by Parnell in
the late 1950s, and by Heath and Carter in the mid 1960s
somatotype has continued to be the best single qualifier of total
body shape".[13]

This variant utilizes the following series of equations to assess a

subject's traits against each of the three somatotypes, each
assessed on a seven-point scale, with 0 indicating no correlation
and a 7 a very strong:
 Endomorphy: =
 
where:
 

Mesomorphy: =
 
Ectomorphy : Calculate the subjects Ponderal Index:
 

If   , Ectomorphy =  
If   , Ectomorphy =
 
If   , Ectomorphy =  

This numerical approach has gone on to be incorporated in the

current sports science and physical education curriculums of
numerous institutions, ranging from the UK's secondary level GCSE
curriculums (14- to 16-year-olds), the Indian UPSC Civil Service
exams, to MSc programs worldwide, and has been utilized in
numerous academic papers, including:

Rowing athletes[14]
Tennis athletes[15]
 Judo athletes[16]
Volleyball athletes[17]
Gymnasts[18][19]
Soccer athletes[20][21]
Triathletes[22]
Han people[23]
Persons with diabetes[24][25]
Taekwondo athletes[26]
Persons with eating disorders[27]
Dragon boat participants[28]

Criticism
Sheldon's ideas that body type was an indicator of temperament,
moral character or potential—while popular in an atmosphere
accepting of the theories of eugenics—were soon widely vilified.[2][29]

The principal criticism of Sheldon's constitutional theory was that it

was not a theory at all but one general assumption, continuity
between structure and behavior, and a set of descriptive concepts to
measure physique and behavior in a scaled manner.[3]

His use of thousands of photographs of naked Ivy League

undergraduates, obtained without explicit consent, from a pre-
existing program evaluating student posture, has been described as
scandalous, and perverted ("the study of nude people by lewd
people").[2][30]

His original visual assessment methodology, based on the

photographs, has also been criticized as subjective.[2][3][4]

His original thesis has also been described as fraudulent for

knowingly failing to acknowledge/account for body shape changing
with age.[2]

His suggestion of a genetic link to both body shape and personality

traits has also been described as objectional.[4]

Sheldon's work has also been criticized as being heavily burdened by

his own stereotypical and discriminatory views.[2][5]

While popular in the 1950s,[30] Sheldon's claims have been

dismissed by modern scientists, calling them "outdated" or
"quackery".[3][4][5][31][32][33]

See also
Biological anthropology
Body mass index
Body shape
 Eugenics in the United States
Female body shape
Kinanthropometry
Neurobiological effects of physical exercise
Physiognomy
The Bell Curve

References
1. Hollin, Clive R. (2012). Psychology and Crime: An Introduction to
Criminological Psychology. Routledge. p. 59. ISBN 0415497035.
2. Vertinsky, P (2007). "Physique as destiny: William H. Sheldon,
Barbara Honeyman Heath and the struggle for hegemony in the
science of somatotyping" . Canadian Bulletin of Medical History. 24
(2): 291–316. PMID 18447308 . Archived from the original on 2015-
09-11.
3. Roeckelein, Jon E. (1998). "Sheldon's Type Theory". Dictionary of
Theories, Laws, and Concepts in Psychology . Greenwood. pp. 427–8.
ISBN 9780313304606.
4. Genovese, JEC (2008). "Physique correlates with reproductive
success in an archival sample of delinquent youth" (PDF).
Evolutionary Psychology. 6 (3): 369–85.
doi:10.1177/147470490800600301 .
14. Kerr, D; Ross, WD; Norton, K; Hume, P; Kagawa, Masaharu (2007).
"Olympic Lightweight and Open Rowers possess distinctive physical
and proportionality characteristics for selecting elite athletes". Journal
of Sports Sciences. 25 (1): 43–53.
doi:10.1080/02640410600812179 .
15. Sánchez‐Muñoz, C; Sanz, D; Mikel Zabala, M (November 2007).
"Anthropometric characteristics, body composition and somatotype of
elite junior tennis players" . Br J Sports Med. 41 (11): 793–799.
doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.037119 . PMC 2465306 .
16. Lewandowska, J; Buśko, K; Pastuszak, A; Boguszewska, K (2011).
"Somatotype Variables Related to Muscle Torque and Power in
Judoists". Journal of Human Kinetics. 30: 21–28.
doi:10.2478/v10078-011-0069-y .
17. Papadopoulou, S (January 2003). de Ridder, H.; Olds, T. (eds.).
"Anthropometric characteristics and body composition of Greek elite
women volleyball players". Kinanthropometry VII (7 ed.).
Pochefstroom University for CHE: 93–110.
18. Purenović-Ivanović, T; Popović, R (April 2014). "Somatotype of Top-
Level Serbian Rhythmic Gymnasts". Journal of Human Kinetics. 40 (1):
181–187. doi:10.2478/hukin-2014-0020 . ISSN 1899-7562 .
19. Irurtia Amigó, Alfredo (2009). "Height, weight, somatotype and
body composition in elite Spanish gymnasts from childhood to
adulthood". Apunts Med Esport. 61: 18–28.
20. Adhikari, A; Nugent, J (2014). "Anthropometric characteristic, body
composition and somatotype of Canadian female soccer players".
American Journal of Sports Science. 2 (6–1): 14–18.
21. Petroski (2013). "Anthropometric, morphological and somatotype
characteristics of athletes of the Brazilian Men's volleyball team: an
11-year descriptive study". Brazilian Journal of Kineanthropometry &
Human Performance. 15 (2): 184.
22. Leake, Christopher N.; Carter, JE (1991). "Comparison of body
composition and somatotype of trained female triathletes". Journal of
Sports Sciences. 9 (2): 125–135. doi:10.1080/02640419108729874 .
23. Yang, LT (2015). "Study on the adult physique with the Heath-
Carter anthropometric somatotype in the Han of Xi'an, China". Anat Sci
Int. 91: 180–7. doi:10.1007/s12565-015-0283-0 . PMID 25940679 .
24. Baltadjiev, AG (2013). "Somatotype characteristics of female
patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus". Folia Med (Plovdiv). 55: 64–9.
doi:10.2478/folmed-2013-0007 . PMID 23905489 .
25. Baltadjiev, AG (2012). "Somatotype characteristics of male
patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus". Folia Med (Plovdiv). 54: 40–5.
doi:10.2478/v10153-011-0087-5 . PMID 23101284 .
26. Noh; et al. (2013). "Somatotype analysis of elite Taekwondo
athletes compared to non-athletes for sports health sciences".
Toxicology and Environmental Health Sciences. 5 (4): 189–196.
doi:10.1007/s13530-013-0178-1 .
27. Stewarta; et al. (2014). "Somatotype: a more sophisticated
approach to body image work with eating disorder sufferers".
Advances in Eating Disorders: Theory, Research and Practice. 2 (2):
125–135. doi:10.1080/21662630.2013.874665 .
28. Pourbehzadi; et al. (2012). "The Relationship between Posture and
Somatotype and Certain Biomechanical Parameters of Iran Women's
National Dragon Boat Team". Annals of Biological Research. 3 (7):
3657–3662.
29. "Body Type" . Encyclopedia of Special Education: A Reference for
the Education of Children, Adolescents, and Adults with Disabilities
and Other Exceptional Individuals. Wiley. 2007. ISBN 9780471678021.
Retrieved 2014-11-20 – via Credo Reference. (Subscription required
(help)). Cite uses deprecated parameter |subscription= (help)

30. Rosenbaum, Ron (January 15, 1995). "The great ivy league nude
posture photo scandal" . The New York Times. Retrieved December 2,
2011.
31. Zentner, Marcel; Shiner, Rebecca L. (2012). Handbook of
Tempermaent. Guilford. p. 6 . ISBN 9781462506514.
32. Ryckman, Richard M. (2007). Theories of Personality (9th ed.).
Cengage Learning. pp. 260–1 . ISBN 9780495099086.
33. "Nude photos are sealed at Smithsonian" . The New York Times.
January 21, 1995. Retrieved December 1, 2011.

Sources
Sources
Gerrig, Richard; Zimbardo, Phillip G. (2002). Psychology and Life
(16th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. ISBN 0-205-33511-X.
Hartl, Emil M.; Monnelly, Edward P.; Elderkin, Roland D. (1982).
Physique and Delinquent Behavior (A Thirty-year Follow-up of
William H. Sheldon’s Varieties of Delinquent Youth). New York:
Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-328480-5.

Further reading
Sheldon, William H. (1942). The Varieties of Temperament . New
York; London: Harper & Brothers. Archived from the original on
2012-02-24 – via University of Delhi.
Carter, J.E. Lindsay; Heath, Barbara Honeyman (1990).
Somatotyping-development and Applications. Cambridge University
Press. ISBN 0521351170.
Arraj, Tyra; Arraj, James. "Ch. 4:William Sheldon's Body and
Temperament Types". Tracking the Elusive Human . Vol. I. Midland,
OR: Inner Growth. ISBN 0914073168 – via innerexplorations.com.
Coughlan, Robert (June 25, 1951). "What manner of morph are
you?" . Life. 30 (26). pp. 65–79 – via Google Books.

External links
"Ectomorph" . Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
 Somatotype and Sport
The Heath-Carter Anthropometric Somatotype
Sheldon's Body Personality
What Is Your Body Type? Take Our Test!

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