Sheldon’s Somatotype Theory

• Sheldon identified there’s fundamental body types

  Endomorphic - fat and soft

  Ectomorphic- thin and fragile

  Mesomorphic - muscular and hard
• Endomorphic

  Personality-

  • relaxed
  • comfortable
  • good-humoured
  • even-tempered
  • sociable
  • tolerant

  Physical-

  • narrow shoulders
  • wide hips
  • large bones
• Ectomorphic

  Personality-

  • anxious
  • self-conscious
  • artistic
  • thoughtful
  • quiet
  • private

  Physical-

  • lean
  • slender
  • slightly muscular
• Mesomorphic

  Personality-

  • extroverted
  • active
  • competitive

  Physical-

  • aethletic
  • solid
  • strong
• Sheldon, using a correlation study, found that many criminals prone to committing violent and aggressive acts were mesomorphic, and the least likely to be were ectomorphic. He used a sample of photographs of college students and delinquents rated on a scale of 1 (low) - 7 (high) their resemblance to mesomorphy. The results showed that the delinquents had a higher average mesomorphy rating than the college students (4.6 - 3.8).
• Sheldon was inspired to produce his research while growing up watching his father breed poultry and dogs competitively; observing the correlation of genetics combined with his wish to breed a better species.
• Sheldon argued that certain body types were more likely to occur in criminal populations. He noted from a sample of males in a rehabilitation centre, a significant proportion were mesomorphs. Sheldon claimed that the muscular build of the mesomorphs made them more self-assertive and thus more likely to commit violent crimes, than thin, self-conscious ectomorphs or fat, sociable, comfort loving endomorphs.