Phrenology Glossary

Phrenology, a leading pseudoscience of the nineteenth century, captivated the attention of the general public and many physicians alike.

One of the pioneering ideas behind phrenology was that different parts of the brain governed different talents and personality characteristics. But phrenology' inaccurately asserted that a person's potential in each of these areas was reflected in the size and shape of the head.

Here are the localized mental faculties that the phrenologists identified from the 1790s through the 1930s (when the Psycograph machine appeared at the World's Fair in Chicago).

Acquisitiveness: desire for wealth, property, and possessions
Agreeability (or Benevolence): kindness and generosity
Alimentiveness: interest in food
Amativeness: passion for the opposite sex
Approbation: ambition and the desire to gain the approval of others
Bibativeness: love of liquids (water or alcohol)
Calculation: knack for math
Causality: logical and scientific reasoning
Caution: ability to avoid danger, tendency to worry
Combativeness (or Courage): assertiveness, boldness, or ruggedness
Comparison: ability to notice patters and use metaphors
Construction: mechanical aptitude, inventiveness
Continuity (or Concentrativeness): power of concentration and single-mindedness
Dignity (or Self-Esteem): confidence and self-respect
Eventuality: memory, interest in history
Exactness: thoroughness, attention to detail
Execution (or Destructiveness): ability to make tough decisions
Faith (or Spirituality or Wonder): open-mindedness and interest in the unexplainable
Firmness: perseverance, willpower
Friendship: sociability, extroversion
Hope: optimism
Ideality: interest in art and culture, love of beauty
Imitation: ability to copy mannerisms and ability (often pertains to actors)
Individuality: curiosity, interest in learning new things
Inhabitiveness: interest in home life and sense of patriotism
Language: interest in speaking/communicating
Locality: sense of direction
Parental Love: interest in raising children (and sometimes pets)
Perceptives: power of observation, ability to think spatially and visually
Secretiveness: ability to keep secrets, self-restraint (frequently linked to underhandedness)
Sexamity (or conjugal Love or Adhesiveness): interest in being married
Suavity: persuasiveness
Sublimity: love of the outdoors and sense of imagination
Sympathy (or Human Nature): ability to understand other people's motives
Time: sense of rhythm
Tune: musical talent
Veneration: morality, respect for authority/tradition (often pertains to religion)
Vitativeness: instinct to stay alive
Wit (or Humor or Mirth): sense of humor