constitution

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Constitution (from Latin constitutio , -onis , “composition”, “arrangement”) denotes the totality of the enduring, genetically mediated properties of a living being.

The constitution forms the opposite of the changeable, shorter lasting inner properties or the disposition to react to certain external harmful influences in an extraordinary way - usually in the sense of a disease - which may be acquired peristatically early in development .

In detail, morphological , physiological-biochemical and psychological characteristics of the individual are meant. With the distinction between constitution and disposition, however, there is no question that one or the other extreme case is given in a specific individual case. It is therefore an ideal-typical distinction, whereby both factors always play a role.

history

In the older doctrine of the constitution, the term usually includes the sum of the physical and mental dispositions of a person. The mental factors were often mystified. Already William Battie therefore criticized his predecessor (1704-1776), the corresponding views Thomas Willis (1621-1675), which each formative influences rather veiled be named as concrete. Today, constitution and disposition usually summarize the relatively long-lasting physical, biographical and sociocultural characteristics of a person that are important for general performance and health and that exist over longer phases of development or the entire life span.

Hereditary teaching

The genotype is the sum of the inherited traits ( genome ), in contrast to the phenotype , the appearance, i. H. the totality of all characteristics developed in the individual. The phenotype resulting from the genotype is already influenced by intrauterine influences, e.g. Infections, and by perinatal events, e.g. B. Complications during and after childbirth, shaped and developed under the given environmental conditions within the framework of genetically set limits (the so-called reaction norm ). In addition, diseases, eating habits, intoxications, e.g. B. Alcoholism , living and working conditions cause chronic effects that change the original constitution significantly.

Constitutional typologies in humans

A constitution typology is the classification of people according to their physique and the apparently related temperament . Galen already developed such constitutional types (see also the theory of temperament ) on the basis of the Hippocratic humoral pathology . He saw the basis of temperament characteristics and the disposition to certain diseases in the individual composition of the "juices" of the body. The best-known constitutional teachings in recent times are those of Ernst Kretschmer in Germany (see also Kretschmer's constitutional psychology ) and that of William Sheldon in the USA (see also somatic body type ).

Ernst Kretschmer referred to dozen of body measurements (anthropometric variables), u. a. Height, body weight, proportions of head, torso and limbs, face shape, skin texture, and differentiated three types:

On the basis of extensive studies based on the biographies of selected people and the medical histories of psychiatric patients, he assigned these body types to typical temperament manifestations: the schizothymic (sensitive, quiet, withdrawn, inhibited), the cyclothymic (lively, impulsive, good-humored) or the viscous ( emotionally inflexible, clumsy, persistent) temperament. Kretschmer assumed that there must be a common basis in the vegetative-hormonal regulation for certain individual physical growth tendencies and the disposition to illness for psychiatric and internal illnesses. His doctrine of constitution met with widespread interest because it promised a renewed approach to the diagnosis of temperament and the biopsychological foundations of pathology in psychiatry .

This constitutional doctrine did not stand up to independent empirical testing. The alleged connections between body structure and personality traits cannot be proven or they are statistically only very weak. The relationships that are occasionally observed can be interpreted in different ways. While Kretschmer maintained a regular and primary relationship because of underlying biopsychological properties, an observed correlation can also be explained by a secondary psychological development process. For example, one's own assessment of appearance ( attractiveness ) or the experience of physical size and strength will influence the individual self-esteem, self-confidence, the impression of superiority or inferiority. In addition, the comparison with other people and the perceived evaluation by other people have an effect on the self-concept , whereby popular social stereotypes about the psychological significance of muscular, lean or obese physique can play a role (Buse and Pawlik 1984; Myrtek 1980). These influences can in turn promote one's own motivation with regard to sport and physical training, so that subjective attitudes lead to objectively different developments.

According to the results of the empirical examination, Kretschmer's physique typology has largely lost its meaning. One problem was that the pure forms of Kretschmer's three constitution types are relatively rare, so that the mixed forms dominate. The idea of ​​biologically based, psychophysical basic properties was also pursued by other researchers and is still topical ( neuropsychology , personality models , psychophysiology ).

Research results on the variability of physical characteristics of humans and on physical (somatic) individuality are available in a hardly manageable variety . This can be described in terms of morphological-anatomical, physiological-adaptive and biochemical-immunological characteristics.

Constitution and performance

In addition to targeted training, a suitable constitution is important for athletic performance or top performance. H. the optimal physique of the athletes for a certain sport, the reaction speed, the endurance and the emotional stability in the competitive situation etc. a. Properties. Constitutional prerequisites such as sensory ability (seeing, hearing, taste perception), spatial orientation, eye-hand coordination and finger dexterity also play a role in other tasks and activities.

Constitution and pathology in man

Characteristic differences in sleep behavior, movement activity and emotional reactions can already be observed in newborns. From a medical point of view, a person's constitutional characteristics are involved when a person becomes ill with relative ease or shows an unusually long healing or rehabilitation process . Various aspects should be mentioned here: differences in reactivity (sensitivity, responsiveness) and adaptability (adaptivity) of the entire organism or individual organ systems, differences in vulnerability ( vulnerability ) and susceptibility ( susceptibility ) or resistance ( resistance , immunity ) to harmful effects, d. H. Noxa , infection , intoxication , injury , excessive demands , stress , etc. In each case, an interrelationship between genetic and environmental factors must be assumed, even with the actual effects of the innate metabolic disorders ( inborn error of metabolism, Archibald Garrod, 1908).

The term used in medicine of susceptibility ( vulnerability ) means certain signs of the disposition to an illness. So z. B. in psychiatry researched on vulnerability markers for schizophrenia . Many models for the development of diseases contain the assumption that there are places in the organism of lower resistance or increased irritability (lat. Locus minoris resistentiae sive majoris irritatione), which explain the specific vulnerability ("constitutional pathology"). Related concepts are the individual-specific reaction patterns , which are thoroughly examined in psychophysiology , the innate functional weakness and the idiosyncrasies , i.e. H. a special hypersensitivity ( aversion ) or intolerance ( allergy , intolerance).

The pathology ( etiology , pathogenesis ) deals with the disposition for certain physical illnesses and mental disorders. These somatic risk factors can be identified through preventive examinations for the early detection of diseases and influenced with suitable measures. While traditional constitution research has come to a standstill under the aspect of physique and temperament, the concept of bio-psychological dispositions lives on. a. in infant research and disease models.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Uexküll, Thure from : Basic questions of psychosomatic medicine. Rowohlt Taschenbuch, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1963, Part I. The position of psychosomatic medicine in medicine. Cape. 8. Hereditary material and life history; as well as chapter 9. Disposing and triggering factors, p. 32 ff .; Part II. Dealing with the new task. Cape. 1. Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine, p. 45, chap. 3 Disposition, personality profile and willingness to be ill, p. 49.
  2. ↑ Jaspers, Karl : Allgemeine Psychopathologie . Springer, Berlin 9 1973, ISBN 3-540-03340-8 , 3rd part: The causal relationships of mental life (explanatory psychology) , Paragraph c) Endogenous and exogenous causes , p. 378 ff.
  3. ^ Portmann, Adolf : Biological fragments to a doctrine of humans. Basel 1951.
  4. ↑ Portmann, Adolf : Zoologie und das neue Bild des Menschen (1956). Rowohlt rde Vol. 20, 5 1962, new edition 1969
  5. ↑ Gehlen, Arnold : Man, his nature and his position in the world. In: Man. Bonn 1950.

literature

  • Manfred Amelang, Dieter Bartussek, Gerhard Stemmler and Dirk Hagemann: Differential Psychology and Personality Research. 6th edition. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-17-018640-X .
  • Jens B. Asendorpf : Psychology of Personality. 5th edition. Springer, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-540-71684-6 .
  • Lothar Buse and Kurt Pawlik: Kretschmer's constitutional typology as an implicit personality theory: self-attribution effects depending on the physique-personality stereotype . In: Journal for Differential and Diagnostic Psychology. 1984, Vol. 5, pp. 111-129.
  • Jochen Fahrenberg: Biopsychological Differences. In: Manfred Amelang (Ed.): Encyclopedia of Psychology: Series Differential Psychology and Personality Research, Volume 2 Behavioral and Performance Differences (pp. 139–193). Hogrefe, Göttingen 1995, ISBN 3-8017-0528-5 .
  • Jürgen Hennig and Petra Netter (eds.): Biopsychological foundations of personality . Elsevier, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-8274-0488-6 .
  • Ernst Kretschmer : Physical structure and character (1st edition 1921). 26th edition. Springer, Berlin 1977, ISBN 3-540-08213-1 .
  • Michael Myrtek: Psychophysiological constitution research. A contribution to psychosomatics . Hogrefe, Göttingen, ISBN 3-8017-0156-5 .
  • Robert Plomin, Peter Borkenau: Genes, Environment and Behavior. Huber, Bern 1999, ISBN 3-456-83185-4 .
  • Karl E. Rothschuh: Theory of the Organism: Bios, Psyche, Pathos. 2nd Edition. Urban & Schwarzenberg, Munich 1963.
  • William H. Sheldon: The Varieties of Temperament . Harper, New York 1942.
  • Klaus Conrad: The constitution type as a genetic problem. Attempt of a genetic constitution doctrine. Springer, Berlin 1941.

Web links

Wiktionary: Constitution  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations