Morphopsychology: Understanding the Person Through the Shapes of the Face

Our face is unique. Its shapes, proportions and expressions change throughout our lives. But can they also tell us something about our temperament, the way we respond to our environment and our personality? That is precisely the question morphopsychology seeks to answer.

An approach that links body and psychology

Morphopsychology is an observational discipline that studies the possible relationships between the morphological features of the face and an individual’s broad psychological tendencies.

Developed in the 1930s by French psychiatrist Louis Corman, it belongs to a long tradition of studying human constitutions, from Hippocrates to the work of Claude Sigaud, Paul Carton and Pierre-Valentin Marchesseau.

Its core principle rests on two complementary tendencies: dilation and retraction.

In Corman’s model, dilation, characterized by rounder, more open shapes, symbolizes a tendency toward expansion, communication and exchange with the environment. Retraction, by contrast, associated with narrower or more angular shapes, suggests a tendency toward inwardness, self-protection and the conservation of one’s resources.

These two tendencies coexist in every individual, in varying proportions. They are traditional interpretive categories, not scientifically demonstrated relationships between appearance and personality.

The face, a set of signs to observe

Morphopsychology does not simply examine the nose, eyes or mouth in isolation. It proposes a global observation of the face, notably through five elements:

• The frame, which corresponds to the overall structure and proportions of the face.
• The frontal view, which helps assess its architecture.
• The modelling, which describes the contours, reliefs and transitions between the different parts.
• The sensory receptors, mainly the eyes, nose and mouth.
• Tonicity, which concerns the firmness and apparent quality of the tissues.

In this tradition, the face is also divided into three zones: cerebral, affective and instinctive. This symbolic reading aims to explore the different dimensions of the person.

However, no single physical feature can reliably determine an individual’s character, abilities or psychological state.

What place does it have in naturopathy?

In traditional naturopathy, morphopsychology is part of a broader approach known as terrain semiology.

This approach seeks to consider the person as a whole, distinguishing three fundamental notions:

Constitution, which represents the relatively stable characteristics inherited at birth; temperament, which corresponds to the adaptations developed over the course of life; and diathesis, which, in the naturopathic model, describes the current state of the terrain.

Morphological observation is then placed in perspective with the individual interview, eating habits, sleep, physical activity, stress management and environment.

The goal is to support personalized lifestyle guidance, without confusing these traditional models with a validated medical or psychological assessment.

Learning to observe without judging

One of the key lessons of morphopsychology is the need to develop careful, nuanced and respectful observation.

The aim is not to put a person in a box, but to study the history and principles of this discipline while recognizing its scientific limits.

Observe, listen, understand and individualize: these four principles are also important foundations of naturopathic support.

A course to deepen your knowledge of terrain semiology

The Alternative Medicine College of Canada (AMCC) offers a course dedicated to Morphopsychology and Terrain Semiology (E-756).

The course covers the historical foundations of morphopsychology, the analysis of facial shapes, constitutions and temperaments, characterology, diatheses, vitalometry and how to carry out a naturopathic assessment.

It introduces students to the main observation methods of the naturopathic tradition and teaches them to use these methods with discernment in a holistic approach to the person.

Bibliographic reference: Louis Corman, Visages et caractères : la science morphopsychologique, Presses universitaires de France, 3rd expanded edition, 1991.

Teaching source: AMCC, Manual E-756 – Morphopsychology and Terrain Semiology, revised November 4, 2026.