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Schizothymia

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Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences

Synonyms

Schizothymia

Definition

The schizothymia-cyclothymia dimension was proposed by Ernst Kretschmer to explain the associations among personality components characteristic of schizophrenia at one extreme of the dimension, and manic-depressive insanity at the other, as well as normal-range “schizoid” and “cycloid” expressions of personality.

Introduction

The term schizothymia, or schizothyme, derives from Ernst Kretschmer’s (1921, 1936) body type psychodiagnostic scheme proposing that the schizophrenic and manic-depressive forms of psychosis are each associated with unique qualities of temperament, which are engendered by common patterns of physical constitution factors characteristic of discernable body types. Kretschmer proposed that discernable body types existed and that three particular types conveyed specific likelihood to develop particular personality patterns. The thin (leptosomatic), muscular (athleticosomatic), and obese (pyknosomatic) body types were believed to be...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA

    Bradley A. Green

Authors
  1. Bradley A. Green
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Correspondence to Bradley A. Green .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA

    Bradley A. Green

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© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

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Green, B.A. (2017). Schizothymia. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_945-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_945-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

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