Sheldon

• What did sheldon argue?

  That a person's body shape correlated to their personality
• What are the three different somatotypes?

  Ectomorph, mesomorph, endomorph
• What is an ectomorph?

  (thin and fragile) tend to be introverted and shy
• What is an endomorph?


  (fat and soft) tend to be sociable and relaxed
• What is a mesomorph?

  (solid and muscular) tend to be aggressive and callous of the feelings of others
• What was Sheldon's key finding?

  That many criminals prone to committing violent and aggressive acts were mesomorphic and the least likely were ectomorphic
• Sheldon used a sample of 200 photographs of college students and 200 of male delinquents on a scale of 1 to 7. What would be rated a 4?


  An average body, somebody who is seen as balanced
• What did the results demonstrate?

  The student group had an average somatotype whereas the delinquent group were much more mesomorphic.
• In his view which body type if more likely to be attracted to the risk-taking element of crime?

  Mesomorphic
• Strength - Sheldon's work has been supported by further studies such as...

  ...Glueck and Glueck (1950) who found that 60% of the offenders in their study were mesomorphs
• Strength - A good sized sample was used and importantly...


  ...Sheldon had an equally good sized control group to compare the results to
• Limitation - The criminal justice system may respond negatively to those who look...

  ...tough rather than their scrawny counterparts
• Limitation - Sheldon does not take into account that people's somatotype is not fixed...


  ...as body shape can change throughout one's life