William Sheldon

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William Herbert Sheldon (born November 19, 1898 in Warwick , Rhode Island , † October 16, 1977 in Cambridge , Massachusetts ) was an American physician and psychologist .

Career

Sheldon studied at the University of Chicago , where he received his doctorate in psychology in 1926 and medicine in 1933 . He then worked at various universities until he became professor of the medical faculty at the University of Oregon and head of the university clinic in 1951 . In the same year he also became director of research at the Biological Humanics Foundation in Cambridge, Massachusetts . He worked at the university until 1970.

In his constitutional typology in 1942, he compared body shapes with corresponding physical and psychological properties and divided people into three categories based on their physical structure:

  • endomorphic (obese, soft, round)
  • mesomorphic (muscular, athletic, strong)
  • ectomorphic (thin, tall, vulnerable).

Sheldon postulated that endomorphs are relaxed and sociable, mesomorphs are physical, full of energy and assertiveness, while ectomorphs are intellectual, artistically gifted and introverted.

Sheldon's body types turned out to be of little use in predicting a person's behavior, but they are still used today in sports medicine for creating exercise programs.

Publications

  • William Herbert Sheldon: Psychology and the Promethean Will . 1st edition. Harper & Brother, 1936.
  • William Herbert Sheldon, Stanley Smith Stevens, William Boose Tucker: The Varieties of Human Physique: An Introduction to Constitutional Psychology . 4th edition. Harper, 1940.
  • William Herbert Sheldon, Stanley Smith Stevens: The varieties of temperament: a psychology of constitutional differences . 1st edition. Harper & Brother, 1942.
  • William Herbert Sheldon, Emil M. Hartl: Varieties of delinquent youth: an introduction to constitutional psychiatry . 1st edition. University of California, 1949.
  • William Herbert Sheldon, C. Wesley Dupertuis, Eugene McDermott: Atlas of Men: A Guide for Somatotyping the Adult Male at All Ages . 1st edition. Harper, 1954.
  • William Herbert Sheldon: Penny Whimsy: A Revision of Early American Cents, 1793-1814 . 1st edition. Harper & Row, 1958.
  • William Herbert Sheldon: The Varieties of Human Physique: An Introduction to Constitutional Psychology . 1st edition. Hafner Pub, 1963.

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personal data
SURNAME Sheldon, William
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sheldon, William Herbert (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American medical doctor and psychologist
DATE OF BIRTH November 19, 1898
PLACE OF BIRTH Warwick , Rhode Island , United States
DATE OF DEATH October 16, 1977
Place of death Cambridge , Massachusetts , United States