Dr. William Sheldon
human personality traits /
human temperament types
Dr. William Sheldon (1898-1977) was an American psychologist
who devoted his professional life to observing the range of human
body types and the associated!!! human personality
traits or temperament types.
We are still attempting to trace reasonably full biographical
details but we do know that he held teaching and research posts
at a number of Universities in the United States.
N.B. Please be advised that we consider the full implications
of this theorising concerning human personality traits and human
temperament types to have some potentially most perplexing
aspects. You have been warned!!!
Through a meticulous examination of the carefully posed (front
view, side view, and back view) photographs of some four
thousand, decently but scantily clothed, college-age, men Sheldon
became persuaded that there were three fundamental elements that,
in various proportions, contributed to each person's actual
physique or somatype.
He conjectured that there might well be some relationship
between these elements and the three layers of the human embryo -
the endoderm, the mesoderm and the ectoderm - and consequently
gave the three elements that he held as contributing to ALL human
physiques the names Endomorphy, Mesomorphy and
Ectomorphy.
He devised ways of standardising the measurement and numerical
expression of the various degrees to which each of the three
element was present in any individual person's physique.
He came to see:-
- Endomorphy
as being focussed on the digestive system, particularly the
stomach.
- Mesomorphy
as being focussed on musculature and the circulatory
system.
- Ectomorphy
as being focussed on the nervous system and the brain.
On this basis He came to recognise that individual human beings
would all possess stomachs, muscles, and nervous systems, but
would also differ, more or less, in the inherent focus of their
bodies towards their stomachs, their muscles, or their nervous
systems.
He accepted that, in any population, there would be a few
extreme Endomorphs, a few extreme Mesomorphs, and a few extreme
Ectomorphs.
He saw extreme Endomorphic physiques as being rounded and
tending towards fleshiness. He discovered that extreme
Endomorphic body types are endowed with a far longer digestive
tract than extreme Ectomorphic body types.
He saw extreme Mesomorphic physiques as being large, bony, and
tending towards a substantial and well-defined musculature.
He saw extreme Ectomorphic body types as being light-boned and
tending towards a slightness of musculature.
He also conducted a large number of surveys directed towards
the investigation of whether there was any identifiable link
between physique and temperament type. Sheldon's surveys led him
consider that there were three basic temperament types or human
personality traits that he labelled Viscerotonia, Somatotonia,
and Cerebrotonia.
He saw extreme Viscerotonia as being associated with a love of
relaxation and of comfort. Extreme Viscerotonics tend to be
sociable "food and people" persons.
He saw extreme Somatonia as being associated with physical
assertiveness. Extreme Somatotonics tend to be very keen on
physical activity. Extreme Somatotonics also tend to be keen on
competition in which they tend to expect to do well.
He saw extreme Cerebrotonia as being associated with a
pronounced need for privacy. Extreme Cerebrotonics tend to be
highly self-aware and socially restrained.
He considered that there was a strong correlation between body
type and temperament type. According to this view human
personality traits are underwritten, as it were, by human
physical types. Extreme Endomorphs tend towards Viscerotonia,
extreme Mesomorphs towards Somatotonia, and extreme Ectomorphs
towards Cerebrotonia.
There may well be an association to be made between Dr.
William Sheldon's work and the work of other psychologists - not
least the work of Stella Chess and Alexander Thomas. Working in
the area of child psychology in New York Chess and Alexander
ultimately went on to classify the temperament types of their
young charges as variously being "easy", "difficult", and "slow
to warm up".
Whilst Sheldon wrote several books on the variety of human
temperament types / human personality traits these seem to be out
of print - a work by Chess and Alexander entitled Temperament:
Theory and Practice is of more recent publication.
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![[William Sheldon, personality, temperament]](psychology.gif)