Somatotype is a taxonomy developed in the 1940s, by American psychologist
William Herbert Sheldon, to categorise the human physique according to the
relative contribution of three fundamental elements, somatotypes, named
after the three germ layers of embryonic development: the endoderm,, the
mesoderm,, and the ectoderm. His initial visual methodology has been discounted
as subjective, but later formulaic variations of the methodology, developed
by his original research assistant Barbara Heath, and later Lindsay Carter
and Rob Rempel are still in academic use.
Constitutional psychology is a now discredited theory, also developed by
Sheldon in the 1940s, which attempted to associate his somatotype classifications
with human temperament types. The foundation of these ideas originated
with Francis Galton and eugenics. Sheldon and Earnest Hooton were seen as
leaders of a school of thought, popular in anthropology at the time, which held
that the size and shape of a person's body indicated intelligence, moral worth
and future achievement. In his 1954 book, Atlas of Men, Sheldon
categorised all possible body types according to a scale ranging from 1 to 7
for each of the three "somatotypes", where the pure "endomorph" is 7–1–1, the
pure "mesomorph" 1–7–1 and the pure "ectomorph" scores 1–1–7. From type
number, an individual's mental characteristics could supposedly be
predicted. Barbara Honeyman Heath, who was Sheldon's main assistant in
compiling Atlas of Men, accused him of falsifying the data he used in writing
the book. Questions exist about her motivations in making these accusations.
The three types Sheldon's "somatotypes" and their
associated physical and psychological traits can be characterized as follows:
Ectomorphic: characterized as linear, thin, usually tall, fragile, lightly
muscled, flat chested and delicate; described as cerebrotonic inclined to
desire isolation, solitude and concealment; and being tense, anxious,
restrained in posture and movement, introverted and secretive.
Mesomorphic: characterized as hard, rugged, triangular, athletically built
with well developed muscles, thick skin and good posture; described as
somatotonic inclined towards physical adventure and risk taking; and being
vigorous, courageous, direct and dominant.
Endomorphic: characterized as round, usually short and soft with
under-developed muscles and having difficulty losing weight; described as
viscerotonic enjoying food, people and affection; having slow reactions; and
being disposed to complacency. = Stereotyping=
There is evidence that different physiques carry cultural stereotypes.
For example, one study found that endomorphs are likely to be perceived as
slow, sloppy, and lazy. Mesomorphs, in contrast, are typically stereotyped as
popular and hardworking, whereas ectomorphs are often viewed as
intelligent but fearful and usually take part in long distance sports, such as
marathon running. Stereotypes of mesomorphs are generally much more
favorable than those of endomorphs. Stereotypes of ectomorphs are somewhat
mixed. Heath-Carter Formula
Though the psychological bindings have largely been discredited, Sheldon's
physical taxonomy has persisted, particularly the Heath-Carter variant of
the methodology. This formulaic approach utilises an individual's: weight,
height, upper arm circumference, maximal calf circumference, femur breadth,
humerus breadth, triceps skinfold, subscapular skinfold, supraspinal
skinfold, and medial calf skinfold, and remains popular in anthropomorphic
research, as to quote Rob Rempel "With modifications by Parnell in the late
1950's, and by Heath and Carter in the mid 1960's somatotype has continued to
be the best single qualifier of total body shape".
This variant utilises the following series of equations to assess a
subject's traits against each of the 3 somatotypes, each assessed on a 7-point
scale, with 0 indicating no correlation and a 7 a very strong:
Endomorphy: = where: Mesomorphy: =
Ectomorphy : Calculate the subjects Ponderal Index: If , Ectomorphy =
If , Ectomorphy = If , Ectomorphy =
This numerical approach has gone on to be incorporated in the current sports
science and physical education curriculums of numerous institutions,
ranging from the UK's secondary level GCSE curriculums, the Indian UPSC Civil
Service exams, to MSc programs worldwide, and has been utilised in
numerous academic papers, including: Olympic Lightweight and Open Rowers
possess distinctive physical and proportionality characteristics for
selecting elite athletes; Kerr D, Ross WD, Norton K, Hume P, Kagawa, Masaharu;
2007; Journal of Sports Sciences 25(1):pp. 43–53.
Anthropometric characteristics, body composition and somatotype of elite
junior tennis players; Sánchez‐Muñoz C, Sanz D, Mikel Zabala M; Br J Sports Med.
2007 Nov; 41(11): 793–799; doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.037119
Somatotype Variables Related to Muscle Torque and Power in Judoists;
Lewandowska et al.; Journal of Human Kinetics volume 30/2011, 21- 28
doi:10.2478/v10078-011-0069-y Anthropometric characteristics and body
composition of Greek elite women volleyball players; Papadopoulou S;
Kinanthropometry VII, Edition: 7, Publisher: Pochefstroom University for
CHE, Editors: H. de Ridder and T. Olds, pp. 93–110
Somatotype of Top-Level Serbian Rhythmic Gymnasts; Purenović-Ivanović T, Popović
R; Journal of Human Kinetics. Volume 40, Issue 1, Pages 181–187, ISSN 1899-7562,
ISSN 1640-5544, doi:10.2478/hukin-2014-0020, April 2014
Anthropometric characteristic, body composition and somatotype of Canadian
female soccer players; Adhikari A, Nugent J; American Journal of Sports
Science 01/2014; 2014(2(6-1)):14-18. Anthropometric, morphological and
somatotype characteristics of athletes of the Brazilian Men’s volleyball team:
an 11-year descriptive study; Petroski et al. 2013, Brazilian Journal of
Kineanthropometry & Human Performance;2013, Vol. 15 Issue 2, p184
Comparison of body composition and somatotype of trained female
triathletes; Christopher N. Leake, 1989, Journal of Sports Sciences, Volume 9,
Issue 2, 1991, pages 125-135 Study on the adult physique with the
Heath-Carter anthropometric somatotype in the Han of Xi'an, China; LT Yang,
2015, PMID 25940679 Somatotype characteristics of female
patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus; AG Baltadjiev, 2013, PMID 23905489
Somatotype characteristics of male patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus;
AG Baltadjiev, 2012, PMID 23101284 Anthropometrica: A Textbook of Body
Measurement for Sports and Health Courses; Kevin Norton, Tim Olds,
Australian Sports Commission, UNSW Press, 1996, ISBN 978-0868402239
Somatotype analysis of elite Taekwondo athletes compared to non-athletes for
sports health sciences; Noh et al.; Toxicology and Environmental Health
Sciences; 2013, Volume 5, Issue 4, pp 189–196
Somatotype: a more sophisticated approach to body image work with eating
disorder sufferers; Stewarta et al.; Advances in Eating Disorders: Theory,
Research and Practice, Volume 2, Issue 2, 2014;
DOI:10.1080/21662630.2013.874665 The Relationship between Posture and
Somatotype and Certain Biomechanical Parameters of Iran Women’s National
Dragon Boat Team; Pourbehzadi et al.; Annals of Biological Research, 2012,
3:3657-3662 Height, weight, somatotype and body
composition in elite Spanish gymnasts from childhood to adulthood; Alfredo
Irurtia Amigó; apunts med esport. 2009;161:18-28
Criticism Sheldon's ideas that body type was an
indicator of temperament, moral character or potential—while popular in
an atmosphere accepting of the theories of eugenics—were soon widely
discredited. The principle criticism of Sheldon's
constitutional theory was that it was not a theory at all but one general
assumption, continuity between structure and behavior, and a set of descriptive
concepts to measure physique and behavior in a scaled manner.
His use of thousands of photographs of naked Ivy League undergraduates,
obtained without explicit consent, from a pre-existing program evaluating
student posture, has been described as scandalous, and perverted.
His original visual assessment methodology, based on the photographs,
has also been criticised as subjective. His original thesis has also been
described as fraudulent for knowingly failing to acknowledge / account for
body shape changing with age. His suggestion of a genetic link to both
body shape and personality traits has also been described as objectional.
Sheldon's work has also been criticised as being heavily burdened by his own
stereotypical and discriminatory views. Sheldon's theories enjoyed a vogue as
the "pop-psych flavor of the month" through the 1950s. Modern scientists,
however, generally dismiss his claims as outdated, if not outright quackery.
See also Biological anthropology
Body mass index Body shape
Eugenics in the United States Female body shape
Kinanthropometry Neurobiological effects of physical
exercise The Bell Curve
References Sources
Gerrig, Richard; Zimbardo, Phillip G.. Psychology and Life. Boston: Allyn and
Bacon. ISBN 0-205-33511-X. Hartl, Emil M.; Monnelly, Edward P.;
Elderkin, Roland D.. Physique and Delinquent Behavior. New York: Academic
Press. ISBN 0-12-328480-5. Further reading
Sheldon, William H.. The Varieties of Temperament. New York; London: Harper &
Brothers – via University of Delhi. Carter, J.E. Lindsay; Heath, Barbara
Honeyman. Somatotyping-development and Applications. Cambridge University
Press. ISBN 0521351170. Arraj, Tyra; Arraj, James. "Ch.
4:William Sheldon's Body and Temperament Types". Tracking the Elusive Human. Vol.
I. Midland, OR: Inner Growth. ISBN 0914073168 – via innerexplorations.com.
Coughlan, Robert. "What manner of morph are you?". Life 30. pp. 65–79 – via
Google Books. External links
"Ectomorph". Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Somatotype and Sport The Heath-Carter Anthropometric
Somatotype