#14 Somatotyping Theory

 

Module #14

Lesson Objectives:

At the end of this module, you should be able to:

1.  rephrase the main concept of somatotyping theory; and

2.   identify the different types of body physique and its relation to crime causation.

SOMATOTYPING THEORY

Somatotyping theory is a theory which associates body physique to behavior and criminality; it began with the work of German psychiatrist, neurologist, psychopathologist, Ernst Kretschmer (1888-1964) who constituted three principal types of body physiques:

1)  the asthenic-lean, slightly built, narrow shoulders;

2)  the athletic-medium to tall, strong, muscular, coarse bones; and,

3)  pyknic-medium height, rounded figure, massive neck and broad face (Adler et al, 2010).

 

Since Kretschmer was a psychiatrist, he related these body shapes to various psychiatric disorders: pyknics to manic depression. Manic depression according to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary refers to any of several psychological disorders of mood characterized usually by alternating episodes of depression and mania. It is also known as bipolar disorder. Asthenics and athletics to schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that is characterized by disturbances in thought (such as delusions), perception (such as hallucinations), and behavior (such as disorganized speech or catatonic behavior), by a loss of emotional responsiveness and extreme apathy, and by noticeable deterioration in the level of functioning in everyday life. It is also called dementia praecox (Merriam- Webster’s Dictionary).

 

William H. Sheldon, Jr.

 

Kretschmer’s work was brought to the United States, William H. Sheldon, Jr. (1898-1977) an American psychologist and physician who devised his own group of somatotypes: the endomorph, mesomorph and the ectomorph. According to Sheldon, people with predominantly mesomorph traits (physically powerful, aggressive and athletic physiques) tend more than others to be involved in illegal behavior (Adler et al, 2010).

 

Sheldon Glueck and Eleanor T. Glueck

 

Sheldon’s findings were supported by Professor Glueck, a Roscoe Pound Professor of Law in Harvard University and his wife, Dr. Eleanor T. Glueck, who is a Research Associate in Criminology at Harvard Law School in their article “Ten Years of Unraveling Juvenile Delinquency.” This  article seemed to be the basic improvements of both Sheldon’s and Kretschmer’s categorization of body physique.

The above-mentioned article by Glueck and Glueck showed that 60.1 percent of the delinquent group compared to 30.7 percent of the nondelinquents are mesomorphic (with "relative predominance of muscle, bone and connective tissue") and, at the other extreme, 14.4 percent of the delinquents compared to 39.6 percent of the controls were found to be ectomorphic (with relative predominance of linearity and fragility and, in proportion to their mass, with "the greatest surface area and hence relatively the greatest sensory exposure to the outside world"). A distinguished authority in the field,  who is a trained anthropologist, Professor C. Wesley Dupertuis, is lavish in his praise of the work of Glueck couples (Glueck, 1960).

 

Earnest A. Hooton

 

He examined the relationship between personality and physical type, with regards to criminal behavior. Hooton (1887-1954) an American physical anthropologist believed in Cesare Lombroso’s theory of the born criminal, according to which criminals could be identified based on their physical characteristics. Through his own research surveying American criminals, Hooton tried to find evidence supporting Lombroso’s theory, suggesting that criminals have inferior characteristics compared to people who do not commit crimes. He classified those characteristics into sociological, psychological, physical, morphological, and pathological areas. For example, according to Hooton:

·         criminals are less often married and more often divorced

·         criminals often have tattoos

·        
criminals have thinner beards and body hair, and their hair is more often reddish-brown and straight

·         criminals often have blue-gray or mixed colored eyes, and less often dark or blue eyes

·         criminals have low sloping foreheads, high nasal bridges, and thin lips

·         criminal’s ears often have rolled helix and a perceptible Darwin’s point

 

He suggested that human somatotype (body shape and physique) can even determine which type of crime a person will commit: tall-slender men are predisposed for murder and robbery; tall- medium heavy men for forgery; tall-heavy men for first-degree murder; medium height-heavy for antisocial behavior, short-slender for burglary and larceny; short-medium heavy for arson; while short-heavy men for sex offenses. Since he believed that biological predispositions determine deviant behavior, Hooton advocated removal of criminals from society, seeing no hope in their rehabilitation (http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Earnest_Hooton).

FAQS

Q1. Is the theory applicable in today’s society?

Answer: In some instances, this theory is still applicable. Have you heard of any suspect of violent crimes and then the suspect’s body is so fat or so thin? Most likely the suspect’s body is mesomorphic or somewhat like an athletic body type, right?

Q2. Whose theorist explains reliably when it comes to body physique and its relation to criminality?

Answer: All of them are reliable, because they have their own explanation as to the type of body physique and its relation to criminality only that Ernst Kretschmer related it to psychiatric disorder because he’s a psychiatrist.