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Phrenology Examples - 2

Some phrenologists tried to supply answers to deeper questions and to connect the issues of phrenology to those of physiognomy. The illustrations from Spurzheim below represent one such attempt. Spurzheim saw the angles of the face as an important feature of the face, and he knew that the bony structure of the skull was the basis for these angles and other features. Using such observations, he claimed that four personality types, illustrated in the last panel below, were connected physiologically to how the skull was shaped. The validity of such connections is doubtful, but many subsequent researchers have tried to show how body shapes and sizes are related to personality variables, adducing more evidence to support their contention. In general, however, the relationships between body characters, including those of the face and head, and psychological variables have not been systematically compiled and evaluated, and the influence of such approaches has been minimal.

Angles of the face, various skulls showing bones as basis of features. From: J. G. Spurzheim. Phrenology in Connexion with the Study of Physiognomy. (American Edition) Boston: Marsh, Capen & Lyon, 1834.

In the illustrations below, Spurzheim shows the four personality types, similar to those proposed by the ancient philosophers. Modern psychological research has provided a strong case that stable personality types actually do exist, but these types show little resemblance to almost all of the generalizations, including those below, that have been proposed until quite recently. Thus, relations between facial features and these spurious types of character would seem impossibly difficult to validate. Any relationships that might exist between well chosen physical variables and valid personality variables have been little explored.

1) Lymphatic, 2) Sanguine, 3) Bilious, 4) Nervous. From: J. G. Spurzheim. Phrenology in Connexion with the Study of Physiognomy. (American Edition) Boston: Marsh, Capen & Lyon, 1834.

In summarizing phrenology, the many web sites that focus on this topic and the books about it that continue to be published and sold indicate an enduring interest in this subject, if not belief in its utility and validity. This phenomenon represents yet another example of the robust nature of false beliefs when the negative consequences for those who accept them are few and inconsequential. Apparently authoritative experts who cleverly use a jargon to simulate expertise can prosper where ignorance forms the ground for their work.

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