Jean Charcot's phrenological models. 19th century phrenology models that belonged to the French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot (1825-1893). The models are labelled with both numbers and writing. Phrenology was a pseudo-science that stated that a person's personality and character can be deduced by studying the shape of his or her skull. Certain areas of the skull were thought to be linked to specific characteristics. The labels on the models indicate areas of the skull associated with different characteristics. The now-discredited theory of phrenology was proposed by the German physician Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828).