Psychology is probably one of the most interesting and mysterious sciences. It is very helpful for those who want to know people’s nature and character. Like every branch of science, it is presented by a great number of outstanding persons who made a big contribution to its development. William Sheldon was regarded as one of the most famous and honorable representatives of psychology. His works are very interesting and useful for both, those who deal with this science professionally, and simple amateurs. Sheldon did not belong to the so-called pseudo-scientists, as he put the ancient points of view of the affiliation between the type of body and temperament on sheltered basics.
To start discussing the theories and methods of Sheldon, it is necessary to say a few words about his biography. William Sheldon received education at the University of Chicago. In 1926 he got a Ph.D. in psychology and an M.D. in 1933. After graduation, Sheldon started his activity working at different universities and in 1951 he joined the Medical School of the University of Oregon, where he was a notable professor of medicine and executive of the foundation clinic. This clinic was specialized in studying the relationships between physical distinguishes and sickness. It was the favorite subject of his activity, to which Sheldon devoted the greatest part of his life.
Sheldon along with those who supported his work during the 1930s and
The 1940s believed that his morphological findings comprised a breakthrough
discovery of great relevance to fields such as medicine, nutrition, and physical
education, not to mention eugenics and criminology (Griffith 133).
He gained recognition as a very successful and talented doctor and unusual person. He maintained technological and methodical managers with a sturdy grab of different issues which had an impact on qualified staffing – reimbursement and remuneration, managerial relationships, stag relocation, and career organization. Moreover, Sheldon obtained a B.S. degree at New York State University and an M.S. degree at Albany State University.
The greatest part of Sheldon’s life was devoted to studying the theory of personality. There were a lot of attempts to develop and examine the theory of personality: “A central, key concept to what The Class System is all about is that it is a personality theory that examines and delineates many psychological elements syndromes within our large middle-class culture” ( Orr 119). Needless to say that the theory of temperaments is one of the most popular that describes personality and divides it into several types. Sheldon’s theory can be regarded as unusual and very interesting at the same time. According to his theory, the character types are divided into three classes by the body type: the endomorph (grave and even-tempered), mesomorph (well-built and hostile), and ectomorph (slim and rational or artistic).
Sheldon stated that type of character is closely connected with the person’s body type that is predetermined during the development of embryonic (Willingham 342). Now, it is necessary to say about each type of personality in detail. The first type is endomorph. People of such type possess soft and slack bodies. They can be described as lazy and looking for pleasure. Sheldon considered endomorphy as being concentrated on the nutrition system, in particular on the stomach. Another personality type is mesomorph. The representatives of such type have a solid and muscular body, they are self-confident and ambitious.
Mesomorphy is discussed by Sheldon as being concentrated on muscles and the blood circulatory system. The last type of body and personality is ectomorph. Such people have slim and fragile body complexion, they tend to be shy, modest, and a bit nervous. Ectomorphy is considered as being concentrated on the nervous system. Like every theory, this one is also rather disputable. It has some essentials of truth, but only if we simplify types of bodies and personalities. For example, we can simplify by saying that fat people are lazy, as they spend the greatest part of their time sitting. People with the muscular body can be generalized by telling they are self-confident and striving, as their appearance makes them confident and encourages to act ambitiously. And finally, those people who are characterized by slim and frail bodies are nervous due to the lack of strength.
On this foundation, Sheldon agreed that all human beings had stomachs, muscles, and nervous systems, but despite this fact, they had some differences more or less. These differences lied in the concentration of their bodies and minds on their muscles or nervous systems. It is practically impossible to find a person who is absolute mesomorph or ectomorph ( Welch paragraph 3). In many cases, the development of personality depends on the surrounding, society, and way of life.
Sure, the theory of Sheldon is extremely interesting and useful, but still, it has some weaknesses. The main weakness of his classification and some other related types of theories is the factor of generalization intrinsic in relating the person to a single group, which does not take into account the fact that each character has a unique mixture of traits.
Works Cited
Griffith, Ruth Marie. Born again bodies: flesh and spirit in American Christianity. California: University of California Press, 2004.
Orr, Floyd.M. The Last Horizon: Feminine Sexuality & The Class System California: Writers Club Press, 2002.
Welch, Livington. Religion’s Relationship With Psychology; PSYCHOLOGY AND THE PROMETHEAN WILL. By William H. Sheldon. New York Times. 1936.
Willingham, Charles E. In My Time: The Greatest Century of Change in the History of Man. New York. iUniverse, Inc., 2007.