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can be either difficult and argumentative, or slow to anger, but always with the capacity to act out physical ly and usually with some sort of history of having done so on special occasions.

The physical drive manifests itself on the psycho logical level in a sense of competition. The mesotonic wants to win and pushes himself forward. He is unhesi tant about the all out pursuit of the goal he seeks. As sociated with this trait is a certain psychological cal lousness. He tends to walk roughshod over the obstac les in his path and the people who stand in the way of his achieving what he wants. On the positive side this is called being practical and free from sentimentality, but on the negative side it is called ruthlessness or ob noxious aggressiveness.

This outward energetic flow makes mesotonics generally noisy. They bustle about doing things and since their inhibitions are low, the attendant noise does not bother them. Their voices carry and some times boom out as if speech were another form of exer cise. When alcohol reduces their inhibitions, they be come more assertive and aggressive. When trouble strikes, they revert to their most fundamental form of behaviour and seek action of some sort. Mesotonics tend to glorify that period of youthful activities where physical powers reach their peak, or perhaps more ac curately the period of youth that best symbolizes a sense of endless vitality and activity. The glorification of youth goes hand in hand with the early maturing of the mesotonic organism, both facially and muscularly. They look older than their chronological age. The extra version of action that is so strong, here goes together with a lack of awareness of what is happening on the sub jective level. The quickness with which the mesotonic can make decisions is compensated for by a relative unaware ness of the other parts of his personality. He tends to be cut off from his dream life. He likes wide open spaces and freedom from the restraint of clothes.

Sheldon felt that estimating the degree of mesoto nia was the most difficult part of evaluating a person’s temperament. At times, people with well developed mesotonia can give the surface appearance of excep tional calmness and amiability. This is particurly true of the extreme mesomorphs of above average height who form a kind of mesomorphic royalty. They expect and get special treatment. Sheldon likened them to big cats who go around with their claws retracted, and only when provoked or in the midst of a crisis does their mesotonia show itself clearly.

The extreme Ectotonic Reflection

The outstanding characteristic of the ectotonics is his finely tuned receptive system. His spread out body acts like a giant antenna picking up all sorts of inputs. Sheldon calls the ectotonic a biologically extraverted organism, which is compensated for by psychological introversion. Since the whole organism is sensitive to stimulation, the ectotonic develops a series of charac teristic stragedies by which he tries to cut down on it. He is like a sonar operator who must constantly be wary of a sudden loud noise breaking in on the delicate sounds he is trying to trace. He likes to cross his legs and curl up as if he is trying to minimize his exposure to the exterior world. He tries to avoid making noise and being subjected to it. He shrinks from crowds and large groups of people and likes small, protected places.

The ectotonic suffers from a quick onset of hunger and a quick satiation of it. He is drawn to a high pro tein, high calorie diet, with frequent snacking to match his small digestive system. He has a nervous stomach and bowels. He is a quiet sleeper, but a light one, and he is often plagued by insomnia. His energy level is low, while his reactions are fast. He suffers from a quasi chronic fatigue and must protect himself from the temptation to exercise heavily. His blood pressure is usually low and his respiration is shallow

and rapid with a fast and weak pulse. His temperature is elevated slightly above normal and it rises rapidly at the onset of illness. The ectotonic is resistent to many major deseases, but suffers excessively from insect bites and skin rashes. Unfortunately, he can succumb to acute streptococcal infections of the throat which cause swelling and strangulation. His hypersensitivity leads not only to quick physical reactions but to exces sively fast social reactions as well. It is difficult for this type to keep pace with slow moving social chit chat. He races ahead and trips over his own social feet.

Just as the endotonic loves to eat and the mesotonic loves action, the ectotonic loves privacy. He needs shel ter from excessive stimulation and time to sort out the inputs he has received, and connect them up with his own inner subjective experience, which he values high ly. Self awareness is a principal trait of ectotonia. The feelings of the ectotonic are not on display, even though they can be very strong, and so he is sometimes accused of not having any. When they are in a situa tion of dealing with someone who has authority over them or with someone of the opposite sex whom they are interested in, they often make a poor first impres sion. They are uncomfortable in coping with social si tuations where overt expressions of sympathy are called for or where general idle coversation is the norm, for example in parties and dinners where they have no intimate acquaitances.

The ectotonics are hypersensitive to pain because they anticipate it and have a lower pain threshold as well. They do not project their voices like the mesoto nics, but focus it to reach only the person they are ad dressing. They appear younger than their age and of ten wear an alert, intent expression. They have a late adolescense, consider the latter part of life the best, and are future oriented. The more extreme ectotonics have a distaste for alcohol, drugs, anaesthesia and are resistant to hypnosis. When they become troubled, they

seek privacy and solitude in order to try to work out the difficulty.

www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/g2699/0006/2699000642/p1/ article/jhtml/? term=temperament, Tracking the Elusive Human, Vol.1 Ch. 4 “William Sheldon’s Body and Tempera ment Types, www.innerexplorations.com/catpsy/t1c4.htm

COMPREHENSION CHECK

Exercise 1. Say whether these statements are true (T) or false (F), and if they are false, say why.

Exercise 2. Read the text again, divide it into logical parts, and give names to each of them.

Exercise 3. Write the questions to these answers.

1.

an individual’s characteristic emotional nature, including energy level, prevailing mood and sensitivity to stimulation.

2.

in response to personal experiences and environ mental conditions.

3.

that temperament could ease difficult circum stances in the environment.

4.

four basic human temperaments according to Hippocrates.

5.

biologically introverted organisms.

6.

on the central digestive system.

7.

with the muscles.

8.

the outward energetic flow.

9.

when trouble strikes.

10.

because the ectotonic is sensitive to stimulation.

11.

because they anticipate pain.

LANGUAGE FOCUS

Exercise 1. Match the English word combinations in the left hand column with the Russian equivalents in the right hand column.

Exercise 2.

A.Guess the meaning and give the appropri ate translation of the following English terminological word combinations

B.Convey the meaning of some terms above in your own words.

Exercise 3.

A.Fill in the columns with the proper deri vatives of the following words whenever possible.

B.Put a suitable word from the box above into each gap.

1.Many psychologists _____ that temperament can develop and change over the course of a person’s life.

2.Infants who were playful, regular in their sleeping and eating patterns, and _____ readily to new situ ations were classified as easy.

3.The ____ , spirited child may scream and kick when given attention.

4.Many acute infections of the throat may cause swelling and _____.

5.Stressful situations produce emotional reactions ranging from _____ to anxiety, anger, discourage ment and depression.

6.Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to _____.

7.People who engage in a healthy lifestyle – eating a low fat diet, drinking alcohol in moderation, get ting enough sleep and exercising regurlarly _____

to diseases better.

8.In spite of all _____ he rejected the offer.

9.The ectotonic suffers from a quick onset of hunger and he _____ his appetite quickly.

10.The _____ of a conditioned response is produced when a novel, irrelevant stimulus is presented along with the conditioned stimulus.

Exercise 4. Arange the following words in pairs of (a) synonyms and (b) antonyms:

a)to adapt, to abhor, to anticipate, acute, to adjust, callous, insomnia, to hate, sharp, to resist, to in hibit, to forsee, sleeplessness, to oppose, to forbid, heartless;

b)amiable, wary, to assert, to fuss, inhibiton, hostile, shallow, careless, to exhilarate, satiate, to deny, to come down, permission, to deject, deep, unsated.

Exercise 5.

A.Put the words in the box under the follow ing headings connected with temperament:

–the extreme endotonic

–the extreme mesotonic

–the extreme ectotonic

slow moving, relaxed, vigorous, receptive, family oriented, aggressive, withdrawn, sociable, asser tive, future oriented, callous, sensitive, competi tive

B.Complete the sentences using one of the words from the box above in each space.

1.Introverted individuals are _____ and prefer to work alone.

2.When parents of a difficult child provide a happy, stable home life, the child’s negative _____ behav iour declines with age.

3.Extraverted individuals who are _____ prefer oc cupations that permit them to work directly with other people.

4.As a rule melancholics are _____ and they hardly react to strong stimuli.

5.Sanguines are characterized by quickness in their responses, and they are not _____ and therefore they don’t notice very weak sounds and light stim uli.

6.The mesotonics want to win, and they are very

_____ by nature.

7.Drinking alcohol reduces a person’s inhibitions and he becomes more _____.

8.People born under the sign of Walnut Tree are full of contrasts. They may be very _____, egoistic and

_____ and at the same time noble and generous.

9.When you are tired, or don’t feel well, or have some problems – go to any tree, touch it, sit or stand under it for some time and you’ll feel _____.

10.Endotonics love babies and they are _____.

11.He’s picked up a language. His mind is very _____.

12.The ectotonics consider the latter part of life the best and they are _____.

Exercise 6. Find words in the text that mean:

–characterized by self confidence and

–the restraining, preventing, repressing,

–to swing, beat or stir about in the manner

–prolonged and usually abnormal

–having little depth; lacking in depth

–capable of opposing, withstanding

–to yield to superior strength or force

SPEAKING AND DISCUSSION

Exercise 1. Answer the following questions to the text.

1.How may temperament be defined?

2.Why is temperament often considered a biological ly based characteristic?

3.What do many personality experts assert in con nection with temperament?

4.How can personal experiences and environmental conditions affect an individual’s predisposition to ward a particular temperament?

5.Who was the first to classify types of tempera ment?

6.What is Sheldon’s classification of temperament based on?

7.What are endotonics like?