THE TYPES OF PERSONALITY 215 



The Thyroid Personalities 



The accessibility of the thyroid gland in the neck, the ease of 

 surgical approach, the definite effects following its removal, and 

 then the miraculous marvels of the feeding of thyroid have 

 rendered it the centre of attack by the largest army of endocrine 

 investigators. As a result we know more about the thyroid in 

 childhood, adolescence, adult life and old age than about the 

 other glands. 



In childhood, the subthyroid or thyroid deficient, the cretinoid 

 type, the type resembling the cretin, is "fairly" common. The 

 peasant's face, with the broad nose and the tough skin, coarse 

 straight hair, the undergrowth, physical and mental, a persistent 

 babyishness and a retardation of self-control development, make 

 up the picture. He needs an excess of sleep, sleeps heavily, needs 

 sleep during the day, when awakened in the morning still feels 

 tired, and rather dull and restless, dresses slowly, has to be coaxed 

 or forced to dress, gets to school late nearly every morning, does 

 badly at the school, reaction time, learning time and remember- 

 ing time being prolonged as compared with the average, and is 

 lazy at home lessons. He perspires little, even after exertion, yet 

 fatigues easily, is subject to frequent colds, adenoids, tonsillitis, 

 and acquires every disease of childhood that happens along. 



Adolescence, the coming of menstruation, the first blooming of 

 youth is delayed in the sub-thyroid. The secondary sex traits 

 as they develop tend to be incomplete and to mimic those of the 

 opposite sex. Yet in adolescence too there may be a sudden 

 change and reversal of the whole proces s, a jump from t he au5- 

 thyroid to the hyperthyroid state. So a girl who has been dull 

 ana r_ Iackadaisical, witlf ho "complexion and every prospect of 

 evolution into a wall flower, may be transformed into a bright- 

 eyed woman, generally nervous and restless, high colored, and 

 possessed of a craving for continual activity and excitement. Skin, 

 hair and teeth become of the thyroid dominant type. The heart 

 palpitates under the slightest stimulus, she perspires almost an- 

 noyingly, heat and emotion are prostrating. If such a transfigura- 

 tion does not occur, the effect of the reconstructions of puberty 

 is to create a person with about the following characteristics. 



1. Height below the average 



2. Tendency to obesity (toward midddle age) 



3. Complexion sallow 



4. Hair dry — hair line high 



