Phrenology

Phrenology, the doctrine of Gall about the connection between the psychological characteristics of humans and animals and the external shape of the skull, and about the possibility of guessing abilities based on the study of the latter. Phrenology was based on the idea of the separateness and independence of psychological functions, which corresponded to the concept of the brain as a series of separate and topographically isolated mechanisms for performing these functions. The intensified functioning of one or another part of the brain had to correspond to an increase in the size of this part, which according to Gall's thought could not but be reflected in the structure of the cranial box, supposedly repeating the convexities and concavities of the brain lying beneath it. For a time, Phrenology was very popular, but the anatomical study of the central nervous system soon forced the rejection of this doctrine as untenable.