Throughout the history of psychology, attempts have been made to decipher people’s minds and thoughts through all kinds of methods. Certain currents of psychological research created a series of psychiatric classifications or typologies taking as a reference the physical characteristics or attributes shared by a certain number of people.

One of these typologies is the not very well known schizotype . Throughout this article we will talk about what this term means, where it comes from and the weaknesses it has when it comes to defining a person’s temperament.

What is schizophrenia?

Schizothymia or schizotypal personality is a term, currently in disuse, that was used to refer to persons of a withdrawn and distant nature , who do not present any type of psychotic pathology. These people usually live in solitude and with their attention fully focused on their inner world. They are also people with a tendency or predisposition to manifest symptoms related to autism.

On an intellectual level, schizotypal personality is related to originality, idealism and the tendency to abstract analysis and sometimes obsessive organization.

This type of personality was described by E. Kretschmer in his classification of psychiatric typologies according to physical appearance and temperament. And it would constitute a non-pathological version of schizophrenia in which only negative symptoms are presented.

This tendency to introversion and isolation, typical of schizophrenia, differs from cyclothymia in that in the latter the person experiences a series of fluctuations that take him/her from this state of introversion or depression to a state of extreme enthusiasm or euphoria.

Schizophrenia is characterized by the depth and intensity with which a person lives his or her most intimate experiences, which are followed by long periods of subjective reflection and internalization.

In the same way that the person lacks any kind of interest in the external reality that encompasses him/her, he/she also shows great deficits in social skills , which is a problem when starting or maintaining any kind of interpersonal relationship.

Another peculiarity of schizotypal people is that they express their anger or aggressiveness in a very cold and distant way. As a general rule, the schizotypal person will tend to accumulate his small outbursts of anger or his disappointments, discharging them only on very few occasions.

This isolation from reality and the need to be centred on one’s inner world are determining factors when a person comes to suffer from some kind of psychosis, as this will surely manifest itself in the form of schizophrenia.

Therefore, and according to the psychological characteristics described above, schizophrenia would constitute a non-pathological version of schizophrenia in which the manifestation of negative symptoms predominates.

Origin and evolution of schizothymia

As mentioned in the previous point, it was Kretschmer who coined the term schizothymia within his classification of psychiatric pathologies. This classification is based on the idea that there are four types or models of psychiatric personality which depend on the physical appearance of the person, keeping an intrinsic and direct relationship between the body structure and the personality of the subjects.

After observing, examining and measuring a large number of subjects, Kretschmer made a classification of temperament based on the body structure and morphology of the persons. From this study he extracted three basic temperament archetypes.

These were the asthenic or leptosomatic ones to which the schizotypal temperament corresponds, the picnic ones with cyclothymic temperament and the athletic ones with viscous or ixothymic temperament . In addition, he created a fourth category called “dysplastic” in which all those people who cannot be classified in the previous three categories would be included.

For a better understanding of this classification, the four categories created by Kretschmer are described below.

1. Leptosomal or schizotypal

The morphology of the leptosomal or schizotypal person is characterized by a long and thin constitution . With shoulders and a contracted back, a thin skeleton and a long and narrow trunk. They are also distinguished by a pale skinned face, generous nose and angular profile.

As for the temperament, it corresponds to the schizotypal one. As described above, he stands out for being unsociable, shy, introspective and reflective, pessimistic and irascible, but at the same time he is also tenacious, dreamy, idealistic and analytical.

2. Picnic or cyclothymic

According to the German psychiatrist, picnic or cyclothymic people are distinguished by a physical appearance of a broad trunk and short arms and legs , as well as a normal height and rounded figure. They are also susceptible to obesity and have a soft body with an abundance of fat.

A person of the picnic type has a cyclothymic temperament. People with this temperament are distinguished by being affable, benevolent, affectionate and cheerful. But with sudden outbursts of anger, explosive and choleric intermittently. However, they can also be sociable, talkative, practical, and realistic.

3. Athletic or viscous

The person with an athletic morphology and viscous temperament has physical features such as a broad back and shoulders that narrow as they approach the waist, large and rough extremities, robust bones and a rough complexion.

This type of body constitution is associated with a viscous temperament, which manifests itself through passive, emotionally stable behaviour , calm, indifferent, unimaginative and confident of its vigour.

4. Dysplastic

Finally, this last categorisation includes people with insufficient or excessive development, with some kind of physical abnormality or who cannot be classified in any of the previous subtypes.

Following this classification, and due to the criticism it has received over time, W. H. Sheldon, professor at Harvard University, created another parallel classification. This classification was also elaborated on the basis of the person’s physique. However, in addition to the physical complexion Sheldon also took into account other factors such as viscerotonia or cerebrotony.

According to Sheldon, people who manifest the schizotypal temperament proposed by Kerscher correspond to the “ectomorphic” subtype created by himself. A person with ectomorphic physical characteristics is distinguished by an emaciated dermis, poor musculature and fragile bones. As well as long and thin extremities.

Criticism of the term schizotypal

As commented at the beginning of the article, the term schizothymic , like the rest of the classification of temperaments, has not been spared the criticism of the scientific community, and therefore has not enjoyed a long life, and has been replaced by a meaning with much more support: dysthymia.

Dysthymia and dysthymic disorder are characterized by a depressed mood. It is considered a chronic disorder in which the person is invaded by a series of melancholy feelings but does not become a depression in itself.

  • Among the reasons why the term schizotypal has not been integrated into current psychiatric classifications are
  • This is a very reductionist label. You cannot determine a person’s personality or temperament by looking at their physical makeup alone
  • Kretschmer only describes extreme types, without taking into account the intermediate points
  • It does not take into account the physical changes that the person may undergo throughout his life