Graphology is the study of handwriting and what it can tell about the mind behind it.
When a person writes, it is his hand that writes, but his brain that dictates. There have been many cases of amputees who, having lost the hand or arm with which they wrote, relearned the art with the other hand, or with the feet, or with the mouth. Aside from some understandable jolt caused by the difficulties of the feat, the writings were extremely similar to the originals. The trained graphologists had no trouble recognizing the same individual.
From this, we see that it is the personality that is expressed on paper through writing. When a person writes in a certain way, it represents a particular personality trait, which comes directly from the brain. Thus, graphology shows the deepest parts of the personality.
For example, it does not reveal the writer’s age or gender, but it does show their maturity and whether their personality traits are predominantly masculine or feminine. A fifty-year-old man or a ten-year-old boy can produce mature writing, because it is the level of maturity that makes itself known, not the chronological age. Similarly, some handwriting signs point to a “masculine” personality type, but many women write that way, and vice versa. Some graphologists try to reveal these two factors of age or gender, but they are only correct 60 percent of the time, compared to 90-95 percent correct when it comes to psychological analysis.
Years ago, graphologists used to look for a common denominator in the handwriting of groups of people known to display a certain character trait. Having found it, they would conclude that all those whose handwriting displays this particular idiosyncrasy must possess the same personality trait. If, out of five hundred people, the majority wrote one slash to the right and had violent personalities, then all writers in one slash to the right were presumed to have violent personalities.
This was known as the empirical method. Although modern graphologists do not totally disagree with this method, they believe that the empirical facts must be handled with care. The fact that most people in a particular group write a certain way is not proof that everyone does. It’s just an indication, a hint of what else to look for. A single handwriting feature should be only one part of a total analysis and is useful only as a brushstroke to create the total picture.
The following is a general list of what the graphologist will look for when doing an analysis.
1. Direction (tilt) of writing
2. Areas
3. T-bars
4.i points
5. Sexuality
6. Baseline
7. Margins
8. Initial and final strokes
9. Write on and offline
10. Ways of connection
11. Pressure
12. Loops
13. Letters
14. Personality traits
15. Signature
16. Physical health
The graphologist takes all the previous evidence and puts it together, producing the final analysis. This will be discussed in the following chapters in more detail.
Please note that this course is particularly oriented to the American theme. It applies to other nationalities only to the extent that their national forms of writing are also taken into account. American students are taught to write with a slight slant to the right, and I’ve kept that in mind throughout the course. If the person whose handwriting you want to analyze is from some other country, you must know the inclination of the natural handwriting in her homeland and adjust the standard to be used there to that angle. If, for example, you went to school in England where students are taught to write at a right angle, you should emphasize a little more if your handwriting leans to the right than I have given here and a little less if your handwriting leans to the right. writing leans to the right. left.
Test for lesson 1
1. What is graphology?
2. Does a writing sample reveal the gender and age of the writer?
Yeah? ___ No? ___
3. What degree of accuracy is attributed to trained graphologists? (That percentage)
4. What is the empirical method?
5. Are all Anglo-Saxons taught a similar script in school?
Answers for lesson 1
1. Graphology is the study of handwriting and what it can tell about the mind behind it.
2.No
3. 90-95 percent
4. Graphologists used to look for a common denominator in the handwriting of groups of people known to display a certain character trait. Having found it, they would conclude that all those whose handwriting displays this particular idiosyncrasy must possess the same personality trait. If, out of five hundred people, the majority wrote one slash to the right and had violent personalities, then all writers in one slash to the right were presumed to have violent personalities.
This was known as the empirical method.
5.No