Phrenology: The Shape of the Skull and Moral Character

Phrenology: The Shape of the Skull and Moral CharacterConstant Wonder • Season 2022, Episode 896

Mar 3, 2021 • 53m

Nineteenth-century crime investigators thought the shape of one's skull was connected to moral character. Why mid-century mothers were blamed for mental illness.

Episode Segments

An Organ of Murder?Mar 3, 202148mPhrenologists believed that the shape of one’s skull affected one’s moral character.

Phrenologists believed that the shape of one’s skull affected one’s moral character.

Do Bad Mothers Cause Mental Illness?Mar 3, 20216mAfter WWII, mental illnesses were blamed on "bad" mothers.

After WWII, mental illnesses were blamed on "bad" mothers.