Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow:
Ritika belongs to a family where all the family members have different types of personality. Ritika is an athlete who has a strong build and is muscular. She is courageous and energetic. These characteristics make her an asset to her team. She is very popular among the team-members. On the other hand, her sister Heena is thin and fragile and is an introvert. She is brainy and enjoys painting. Their mother is an extravert, soft and round and is famous among family and friends for her humour and outgoing nature. In contrast, their father is a workaholic, highly motivated and is always short of time. Truly, one seldom sees such a variety under one roof.
Use the Type approach to identify what personality type Ritika would fall in:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Mesomorphic
In the type approach, Sheldon used body build and temperament to group people. Ritika is an athlete with a strong, muscular build, and she is courageous and energetic.
Option (1) Endomorphic — Incorrect. Endomorphs are fat, soft and round, and relaxed and sociable. This fits the mother, not Ritika.
Option (2) Ectomorphic — Incorrect. Ectomorphs are thin, long and fragile, brainy, artistic and introvert. This fits Heena, Ritika’s sister.
Option (3) Mesomorphic — Correct. Mesomorphs have strong musculature, a rectangular and strong body build, and are energetic and courageous. Ritika’s muscular athlete’s body, her courage and her energy fit every part of this type.
Option (4) Melancholic — Incorrect. Melancholic is one of Hippocrates’ four types, which rest on body fluids or humours, not on body build. It has no place in Sheldon’s typology.
NCERT (2025-26): “Type Approaches … The Greek physician Hippocrates had proposed a typology of personality based on fluid or humour. He classified people into four types (i.e., sanguine, phlegmatic, melancholic and choleric); each characterised by specific behavioural features.…” “Type Approaches … Within psychology, the personality types given by Sheldon are fairly well-known. Using body build and temperament as the main basis, Sheldon proposed the Endomorphic, Mesomorphic, and Ectomorphic typology. The endomorphs are fat, soft and round. By temperament they are relaxed and sociable. The mesomorphs have strong musculature, are rectangular with a strong body build. They are energetic and courageous. The ectomorphs are thin, long and fragile in body build. They are brainy, artistic and introvert.…” |