Many graphologists claim to be able to deduce personal information from the handwriting of strangers, including such things as determining where a person is from.
Graphology is based upon a number of basic assertions:
Graphology is rife with practitioners of one approach calling practitioners of the other approach charlatans, frauds, and the like. Carroll v State
[ 276 Ark 160; 634 SW 2d 99, 101-102 (1982) ] being a demonstration of just what each side resorts to, when push comes to shove, in the courtroom.
The approaches to handwriting analysis are:
Principles of Graphology
This is also known as 'fixed signs','trait stroke', 'French System' and Graphoanalysis®.
The most common applications of graphology are:
The research results range from failure ( Lighton, R E
A Graphological Examination of the Handwriting of Air Pilots
Thesis in the Faculty of Arts: University of Pretoria: 1934) to guarded
success (Luca, E S
"Major Aptitudes and Personality Chracteristics of 42 Dental Students as Evaluated Through their Handwriting."
New York Journal of Dentistry
1973, 43, 281 - 283)
The use of graphology in the hiring process has been criticized on ethical ground ( Daryl Koehn "Handwriting Analysis In Pre-Employment Screening" The Online Journal of Ethics
Vol. 1 * No. 1 * Article 1 (http://condor.depaul.edu/ethics/ethg1.html :
Yes, I know it is a dead link. Find a mirror of it)) and on legal grounds
( Julie Spohn "The Legal Implications of Graphology"
Washington University Law Quarterly
Vol. 73 * No. 3 * Fall 1997)
An additional service, offered by some graphologists, is to say how well the person will fit in with your current employees. This is a twist on compatibility reports, discussed below.
They are all related to obtaining samples for comparison with documents, sound recordings etc and used to determine whether or not the individual who provided the sample, is the same person as created the evidence that they have.
Nothing to do with permission to do a psychological analysis is even implied.
[Kanfer] claimed that he could detect cancer from an analysis of handwriting, years before doctors could detect it. Subsequent studies failed to support his findings.
[Somebody else needs to write the medical stuff. I haven't run a MEDLARS search recently, and don't have copies of the papers cited in there on graphology anymore. :-( ]
What is the attitude of law courts to Questioned Document Examination?
The code of ethics for the International Graphoanalysis Society
prohibits the practice of anything related to the Occult. This is one
of the practices that is prohibited under that article.
The Handwriting Analysis Research Library
Appointments are required to visit the library. before you go, decide exactly what you are wanting to study. Be prepared to be overwhelmed. At the last count, they had 90 000 items in the various collection.
Applications of Graphology
Employment Profiling
A company takes a writing sample provided by you, and proceeds to do a profile, to see how well your personality suits the desired job. Privacy Considerations
Very often graphologists will state that handwriting analysis in the workplace is legal, and cite any one or more of the following cases:
388 US 263-267 (1967)
410 US 1 (1973)
1973, Lawyers Edition, Second Series 35, 67
93 SC 774
410 US 19 (1973)
547 F 2nd 249 ( CA 4th 1977 )
388 US 218, 221-223 (1967)Marital Compatibility
This consists of doing a psychological portrait of each individual, and seeing where their personality traits are incompatible. The theory is that knowing that each partner has different communication styles, thinking modes or whatever, the more likely they will be to either decide not to get married, and seek somebody more like them, or to get married, and stay married.Psychological Analysis
It is claimed that people's handwriting gives clues to both their personality and their mental state. These reports can range from a ten item check off list, to a 10,000 word report. Medical Diagnosis
Probably the aspect of handwriting analysis with the most quackery associated with it, and also with the most research done into it.Non Graphological Applications of Handwriting Analysis
Criminal investigation
Graphology is sometimes used in a attempt to identify the writer of an anonymous piece of handwriting. This is better known as Questioned Document Examination.
What is the attitude of law courts to graphological reports for personality assessment?
stands as current US case law for the rejection of graphology as psychological testimony. Divination
One's handwriting is believed by some to hold information about one's future. This application of graphology requires a belief in the supernatural.Libraries
Greenfield MA
Curator: Robert Backman.See Also
External Links