Meeting clothes is a characteristic feature of a person. Appearance can reveal a lot to others about a person, it is often called habitus. How universal and deep is this concept, does it affect only external aspects? Let's try to figure it out in order.
Habitus in the "human" understanding
In the conceptual apparatus of psychology and sociology, mental habit refers to a set of stereotypes of perception and principles of practical activity formed in the process of activity. The concept was introduced by Elias and Bourdieu.
An in-depth view of the world around us, which has passed from experience to lifestyle and thinking, has become the "nature" of man, is habitus. Bourdieu defined it as "a system of stable, transferable dispositions, which, integrating past experience, functions at every moment as a matrix of perceptions, understandings and actions and makes it possible to achieve infinitely diverse goals. "
Anthropology also successfully operates with this concept. In physical terms, habitus is a set of parameters of a person’s appearance, including physique, clothes, skin and hair color, facial expression, gestures and the like, visible signs.
Applied dimension characteristic
Evaluation of habitus allows a specialist to gain insight into the psychosomatics of a person, when much can be said about the state of health and lifestyle in posture and gait. Physicians often by physique and appearance determine the possible conditions and problems of the patient.
For example, asthenic habitus is a combination of lean physique, high growth, muscle atrophy, and pale skin color. It is characterized by a predisposition to neuropsychiatric disorders and various infectious diseases.
The undersized red-nosed fatties with a picnic physique represent an apoplexy habitus. It, in turn, gives a greater likelihood of a violation of the blood supply to the brain (stroke) and the functioning of the cardiovascular system as a whole.
The concept of habitus is applicable not only to humans, it is also found in applications to plants and animals.
Plant habitus
In botany, the habitus of woody plants is usually referred to as a characteristic life form (biomorph). A number of factors influence the formation of the appearance of a tree or shrub:
- lifestyle and habitat (climate, topography, soil);
- barrel shape and thickness;
- growth direction of large branches (vertically, at an angle, horizontally);
- type of branching shoots;
- the size and shape of the crown, its density.
Depending on the living conditions of the plant, the overall characteristics may vary. For example, trees on marshy swampy soils grow with a curved thin stem, and in conditions of depleted soil they rarely reach their maximum size.
In landscape design, habitus is a kind of template that is used by a specialist to design a landscape background and compose wood groups. This is convenient, since the seedlings do not give a complete picture of the final result of the artistic design, differing from adult plants.
Habitus in veterinary medicine
Veterinarians and zoologists, determining the habit of an animal, rely on several characteristics:
- The physique is determined by the condition of the skeleton, muscles, skin, the development of subcutaneous tissue, as well as the proportionality of the ratio of the parts of the body of the individual.
- Fatness can be assessed by appearance (rounded or angular contours of the body) and by palpation (the amount of fatty tissue and muscles). Gradations of this parameter: good, average and poor fatness. The extreme degree of the latter means depletion of the animal.
- Assessing body position (normal, forced, abnormal) can help diagnose injuries and diseases. Abnormal positions of body parts are often characteristic symptoms, and the nature of the damage is diagnosed by the forced position of the limbs.
- Temperament is determined by observing the behavior of the animal. Sluggish and apathetic individuals are characterized by a phlegmatic temperament, nervous and violently reacting - excitable. Animals with good health are characterized by a calm or lively temperament.
These signs give a three-dimensional picture of the state of the animal, help assess its danger and choose a certain style of behavior when interacting with it.
As you can see, habitus is not just a set of external parameters, but also a set of mental attitudes, habits and behavioral patterns. For those organisms, of course, which are able to actively act.