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1.4 MORPHOLOGICAL THEORIES OF PERSONALITY 19

When reading the descriptions of the body types, we get a sense of the use of language of that day that would not be accepted today—if nothing else, it had the merit of being direct, albeit at the expense of appearing to be judgemental and even rude. Sheldon proposed that ‘body type’ could reliably be related to personality. As body shape to some ex tent reflects lifestyle, itself related to drives, appetites, and motivation, this is not an altogether far-fetched notion. Sheldon claimed that a fat person with a large bone structure tends to be outgoing, having a more relaxed personality. In contrast, a more muscular body-typed person is assumed to be more active and aggressive. A slim or lean person with thin muscles

was thought to be quiet or ‘fragile’. Sheldon catego rized body/personality types into three somatotypes, depicted in Figure 1.4. The endomorphic somatotype, also known as viscerotonic (calm mood), is said to have personal ity traits relating to being relaxed, tolerant, comfort able, and sociable. They are also said to be fun loving, good humoured, even tempered, and they love food and affection—in many respects they resemble the extravert. As shown in Figure 1.4, the endomorph is physically ‘round’—that is, they have wide hips and narrow shoulders that lean to what people have called a ‘pear shape’. They have extra fat on their body, arms, and thighs, with skinny ankles and wrists.

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Ectomorph

Mesomorph

Endomorph

FIGURE 1.4 Three body types within Sheldon’s constitutional theory of personality.

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