Phrenology (Noun)
Meaning
A now abandoned study of the shape of skull as indicative of the strengths of different faculties.
Classification
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents.
Examples
- The outdated and discredited theory of phrenology was widely accepted by some European and American scholars in the 19th century as a scientific discipline.
- Critics argue that phrenology is a prime example of a pseudoscience that led many people to believe certain personal traits could be determined by feeling the bumps on a person's head.
- Phrenology lost its popularity as a legitimate method of understanding human behavior after it was repeatedly discredited by scientists through studies and critiques in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
- Before being largely debunked, phrenology influenced the fields of psychology and education with many believing that a person's skills could be assessed by feeling the shape of their skull.
- Numerous scientific studies were conducted to challenge the long-held ideas of phrenology by highlighting its empirical methodological flaws and lack of consistent results.