Graphology: is it really possible to determine character by handwriting

What is graphology and where does it come from

Graphology Graphology is a theory that proponents believe that handwriting depends on a person's character.

They tried to trace the connection between the style of writing letters and personality almost from the moment writing appeared. So, it is believed that Confucius belong to Let's talk about graphology. Handwriting is the mirror of the soul of the word: "Fear a man whose handwriting resembles the movement of a reed shaken by the wind." Another ancient author and philosopher Gaius Suetonius Tranquill spoke in detail about the handwriting of the emperor Augustus: “He wrote words, putting letters closely to one another, and added under the lines,” noting the ruler's thrift.

In the 19th century, several researchers independently from each other collected and structured the accumulated graphological information. These works revealed common details that formed the basis of modern assessments of personality. For example, graphologists consider the habit of writing in small letters to be a sign of scrupulousness and pedantry. Big is ambition. The sweeping handwriting is supposed to indicate self-confidence. Ornate - about a pronounced creative beginning and some narcissism.

A sample of handwriting from the book "Conversations on graphology, the art of knowing characters by handwriting" (1892)

In addition to the size and shape of letters, graphologists pay attention to the angle and constancy of their inclination, curvature of lines, indents between words, the force of pressure on a pen or pencil when writing.

The movement of the hands when writing is controlled by the brain. This means that each letter is a reflection of what is going on in your head. So graphology is very logical What the Style of Your Handwriting Says About You, According to Graphology Experts.

Michelle Dresbold, a graphologist, author of Sex, Lies and Handwriting, in a commentary to Good Housekeeping

Having run through the handwritten test, the graphologists conclude about the personality traits and psychological state of its author. This can be used in practice. For example, in some French companies (according to some data, A French love affair … with graphology, there are up to 50% of them), the graphological test is carried out by Graphology during interviews.

Does graphology really work

But this is already a big question. Graphology until the second half of the twentieth century was considered Graphology in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s as a completely respectable trend in psychology.

But the more scientists delved into the analysis of handwriting, the less reliable the results looked. For example, in one study, Graphology and personality: an empirical study on validity of handwriting analysis, a pair of graphologists were asked to analyze identical handwritten texts. The experts described the character of their author in very different ways. Moreover, both did not guess - exactly the same as the two people who were not connected with graphology, who viewed the texts as a control group, made a mistake with their personal assessment.

The same story happened in other studies Can graphology predict occupational success? Two empirical studies and some methodological ruminations.: The graphologists turned out to be no more accurate than the people on the street who were shown the manuscript and asked to describe its author.

The British Psychological Society equates Writing wrongs graphology with astrology - for the reason that these pseudosciences have zero fidelity.

In general, today there is not a single scientific study that would prove the connection between a person's character and his handwriting. And the graphologists themselves admit Graphology that in addition to personal characteristics, other things can affect the manner of writing. For example, myopia, hyperopia, or impaired motor control caused by any cause (from drunkenness to head injury).

Does this mean that graphology is useless

Not really. Handwriting analysis can be used in medical diagnostics. For example, to track the very loss of control over fine motor skills, which is a symptom of various diseases of the brain and nervous system. Thus, a decrease in the size of letters and the spaces between them (the so-called micrography) is one of the common early symptoms of Handwriting Analysis in Parkinson's Disease: Current Status and Future Directions of Parkinson's disease.

Graphology is also used in handwriting, one of the sections of forensic science. Handwriting examination Handwriting examination: when is it in demand and what the experts investigate is based on the fact that the style and characteristics of each person's writing are individual. Therefore, it is possible to unambiguously distinguish the letters drawn by the hand of the conventional Vasya, from the signature, for example, Petya. Even if the latter tried very hard to copy the handwriting of the first.

However, handwriting studies do not judge the personality traits of a person. So there is still no scientific connection between handwriting and character.