Word: sheldon
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1950-1959
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...years as part of the work of the physical education department. Most schools said they used the photos to point up posture defects to the student himself. Others-with the University of Washington planning to participate this year-turned the pictures over to Psychologist William H. Sheldon, 50, of Columbia University's medical school...
Psychologist Sheldon (TIME, July 15, 1940) has never made any mystery of what he was up to: for 25 years he has been studying the relationship, if any, between physique and temperament. Though they probably never knew it, thousands of students from at least 30 colleges and universities have been duly classified as endomorphs (round, soft, usually physically weak), mesomorphs (square, hard, unusually rugged), ectomorphs (fragile, spindly, stringy), or a combination of types. He has written three books on his findings, has two more in the works...
Prediction & Reaction. According to Dr. Sheldon, a blend of "morphs" himself, people's temperaments are apt to fit their physiques.* Endomorphs are likely to be amiable and slow; mesomorphs, vigorous and aggressive; ectomorphs, inhibited and cautious. Further, he has found his types particularly susceptible to certain diseases, e.g., mesomorphs to acute appendicitis. Usually, says Sheldon, a person's physique can help indicate what sort of reaction he will have under stress, what sort of diet he needs, what sort of work he will excel...
...this long ago won the respect of Sheldon's scientific colleagues. But to protesting parents at the University of Washington, science seemed to be going too far. In fact, science seemed to be invading the privacy of mankind. In the face of the storm, President Allen admitted that staffwomen had been guilty of a blunder at least: they had not fully explained to the girls why they were posing or that the posing was voluntary...
...Sheldon's idea goes back as far as Hippocrates, who classified physiques into two types: phthisic habhus (long and thin) and apoplectic habitus (short and thick...