I talked about Sheldon's Body Shapes and Personality.
In one of the first attempts to do psychological profiling of criminals Sheldon
discovered that muscular men committed more crimes. It seems logical, but we can't assume all muscular men will commit crimes. Though it was content from the Kaplin Textbook for the actual research on the correlation between body shape and personality as stated by Sheldon is not seen as credible.
The idea that body shape means something about you,is interesting.
Personality based on Sheldon's Body Shapes
Sheldon Says there are three main body shapes,
"Endomorph | Ectomorph | Mesomorph | So what?
Sheldon noted three personalities based on their physical make-up.
Endomorph
The Endomorph is physically quite 'round', and is typified as the 'barrel of fun' person. They tend to have:
Wide hips and narrow shoulders, which makes them rather pear-shaped.
Quite a lot of fat spread across the body, including upper arms and thighs.
They have quite slim ankles and wrists, which only serves to accentuate the fatter other parts.
Psychologically, the endomorph is:
Sociable
Fun-loving
Love of food
Tolerant
Even-tempered
Good humored
Relaxed
With a love of comfort
And has a need for affection
Ectomorph
The Ectomorph is a form of opposite of the Endomorph. Physically, they tend to have:
Narrow shoulders and hips
A thin and narrow face, with a high forehead
A thin and narrow chest and abdomen
Thin legs and arms
Very little body fat
Even though they may eat as much as the endomorph, they never seem to put on weight (much to the endomorph's chagrin). Psychologically they are:
Self-conscious
Private
Introverted
Inhibited
Socially anxious
Artistic
Intense
Emotionally restrained
Thoughtful
Mesomorph
The mesomorph is somewhere between the round endomorph and the thin ectomorph. Physically, they have the more 'desirable' body, and have:
Large head, broad shoulders and narrow waist (wedge-shaped).
Muscular body, with strong forearms and and thighs
Very little body fat
They are generally considered as 'well-proportioned'. Psychologically, they are:
Adventurous
Courageous
Indifferent to what others think or want
Assertive/bold
Zest for physical activity
Competitive
With a desire for power/dominance
And a love of risk/chance
So what?
Psychological profiling based on anatomical features is generally not considered to be reliable these days. Nevertheless, such patterns do have some level of interest, and old theories are often ingrained in society, as well as being based on some form of observation.
The best approach is to use this as a test. When you meet a person who seems to fit in with the physical characteristics above, be curious to see if they also fit into the psychological profile. If it all works as predicted, then well and good (it may be that they are actually in a self-fulfilling prophesy, where they fit themselves to the appropriate model). Otherwise, look elsewhere for ways to understand the person.
Sheldon's original work included attempts to characterize criminals (in the style of Lombroso's original work in this area). Unsurprisingly, he found that a number were muscular mesomorphs, as violent crimes are likely to be carried out by strong men. The trap beyond this is to assume that all mesomorphs are criminal in nature. This is not unlike the work that 'proved' women to be less intelligent than men because they have smaller brains! "
See also
Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at http://PattiWood.net. Also check out the body language quiz on her YouTube Channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.
