Morphopsychology: Facial Features and Personality
The Morphopsychology is the discipline without scientific endorsement that investigates about character and personality, the way of facing the life, the capacities and the attitudes of the people by means of the observation of the particularities and generalities of their face.
Morphopsychology: towards a Face-Personality theory
At a morphological level, and according to the theory of Morphopsychology, the human face can be divided into three different areas, and the prevalence of one or another area over the others can be a good indicator of the temperament and personality of the person. It can also give us good clues about what intelligence type have: cerebral, sentimental or instinctive.
Types of intelligence according to the shape of the face
Cerebral: the most pronounced region is the one that includes the skull and the forehead; also including eyebrows and eyes and temples. This area tells us about the thinking of the person. Generally speaking, the larger the upper area of the head, the greater the subject's ability to process information and
perform better in activities that require thought and calculation.Sentimental: the most prominent area is the one that includes the cheekbones, cheeks and nose. They are usually people whose emotions overwhelm them, very empathetic and with skills related to affection and caring for others. This middle area of the face thus indicates the degree of emotionality.
Instinctive: the dominant morphological area is the lower jaw, mouth and chin. They are people who tend to attitudes and behaviors dominated by impulses and instincts. In general terms, the greater prominence of this facial region is usually associated with a more aggressive and temperamental.
Dilatation: The face with a dilated shape is the one that reminds of a grape that has just been cut: round, bulging. On the other hand, a slightly dilated face is more reminiscent of a raisin, with the skin tighter around the facial bone structure.
The dilated They tend to be more open and communicative, docile, cordial, helpful and kind, according to the postulates of Morphopsychology. They seek physical contact with others.
The withdrawnOn the other hand, they pursue security and protection, they are more adaptable to their environment and to any way of life and they are not very sociable. Rather, they are characterized by being lonely and wary. Their way of being makes them be perceived as somewhat sullen.
Other morphopsychological indicators
The frame: Experts in Morphopsychology use the frame as a synonym for the bone construction of the face, and its breadth reveals the degree of vitality and energy that the subject has. This variable informs us about the physical power of the subject.
The receivers: The nose, mouth and eyes are intimately linked to the frame. If, as we have seen, the frame predicts the person's energy reserves, the size of the receptors indicates which of them spends more or less Energy.
The tone: Refers to the firmness and degree of bodybuilding present in the facial features. It is associated with vitality level of the subject, and serves to predict whether the vital predisposition of the person is active or passive.
The modeling: The outline of the face indicates the degree of socialization of the person, and if their predisposition is more associated with intransigence or adaptation:
- Dented
They tend to have problems adapting to the environment and can be unpredictable in their reactions. They are extreme in their feelings and emotions, and they live life passionately both to love and to hate.
- Curly
It indicates that the subject tends towards socialization and work, being a mixture between affability and disposition to activity, personal effort and tenacity.
- Flat
Very characteristic of sensitive and vulnerable people, they have difficulties in relating to others and can be nervous and rebellious.
- Round
This type of face suggests a high receptivity and ease for personal relationships, as well as an accessible and benevolent character.
Fields of application of Morphopsychology
Morforpsychology can be a good source of information, especially in those people who are professionally dedicated to the field of human relations and direct contact with the public:
• In the corporate and business sector
It facilitates the recruitment process according to the needs of the corporation and can be used to achieve greater harmony among the professional team. It allows to have notions about the personality of the individual (be it partner or client), in order to use the best communication strategies.
• In the field of Psychology
It facilitates the understanding of the preliminary notions of the personality of the patients, helping to establish pre-diagnoses that can make the process more fluid. therapeutic process.
• In the field of education and teaching
It provides teachers with indicators for optimizing the capacities of each student and the motivational strategies to be used. Knowing some keys related to the face and the personality that is derived from these traits, teachers and professors can detect some weaknesses and strengths of each of its students, being able to offer a teaching style more adapted to each student.
• In specialists in social activities
Social workers and educators, sports coaches, journalists... They can benefit from Morphopsychology in the sense of being able to anticipate reactions and attitudes of the people with whom they have to work on a daily basis.
Criticisms of Morphopsychology
As with all pseudosciences, its principles and laws are based on observation, intuition or, in the best of cases, on scientific investigations that have revealed certain correlation between two variables (in this case, a specific feature of the face and a personality trait).
Since it would be completely nonsense to affirm an absolute relationship between having a physiognomic trait and presenting a personality trait, most of defenders of Morphopsychology support its veracity in said correlations, which, when obtained through scientific analysis, should not be scorned. In any case, the veracity of this type of theories is very limited and his theses are usually based on axioms rather than on data studied using the scientific method.
However, the authenticity of Morphopsychology lies in its own conceptions of the genetic determinism of character, a theory totally refuted by innumerable studies that show the decisive influence of education and the social environment and culture in the personality, tastes and attitudes of the individual, as we could see in the article by the psychologist Adrián Triglia "Are we slaves to our genes?".
