19th-century phrenology. Artwork titled The Symbolical Head, illustrating the parts of the human head whose shape was thought to determine a person's character and disposition. Phrenology is a pseudo-science that states that a person's personality and character can be deduced by studying the shape of his or her skull. Certain areas of the skull are thought to be linked to specific characteristics. This chart shows pictures associated with different faculties over the area of the skull with which they are supposedly connected. The theory of phrenology was proposed by the German physician Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828). Artwork published circa 1842 by Fowler and Strachan.