Handwriting analysis Handwriting analysis Graphology One of the

Handwriting analysis Handwriting analysis

Graphology One of the many “character reading” practices. Character reading: techniques that supposedly acquire a window on our psychological make-up by interpreting physiological features.

I bet you didn’t know these… • interpreting the features of the face (physiognomy), • Creases on the hand (palmistry), • bumps on the head (phrenology), • features of the belly button (omphalomancy), • patterns of forehead wrinkles (metoposcopy), • patterns on tea leaves (tasseography), • directions of light rays reflected from fingernails (onychomancy), • the appearance of barley cakes (critomancy)

International Graphoanalysis Society • Membership of about 10, 000 • Based in Chicago • http: //www. igas. com/

What are graphologists used for? • Identify actual and potential sexual molesters • Personnel matters by organisations (e. g. , leadership qualities). • Credit trustworthiness of borrowers by banks

History • 17 th century Italian physician, Camillo Baldi • Other prominent drivers: Abbé Jean-Hippolyte Michon, Crepieux-Jamin, etc. • Many schools of thought emerged. This is not surprising because many schools of graphology can’t even agree on which signs are indicators of which traits. t t

Example: Narrow handwriting • Confident – dares to express him/herself in unconventional ways • No confidence – small = weakness The beauty is, we can switch the example, and the same explanation can still apply!

Example: Broad handwriting • Confident – dares to express him/herself in unconventional ways • No confidence – needs to ‘enlarge’ his/her ego to make him/herself more prominent Whatever theory this is, it is not falsifiable!

So what’s going on? • Whatever ‘theory’ graphologists are relying on is nothing more than semantic associations. • Semantic associations = mapping of concepts based on similar meanings • E. g. , if a person has consistent handwriting, he/she has consistent personality King, R. & Koehler, D. (2002). Illusory correlations in graphological evidence. J Exp Psy.

Some diagnostic claims • Little hooks on the letter S = a willingness to snag others’ belongings • Wide spacing between words supposedly denotes a tendency toward isolation • Writers whose sentences drift upward are optimists, whereas those whose lines sag downward are pessimists • Those who write with letters displaying different slants are unpredictable. • Writers with large capital Is have big egos.

If graphology were true… • Then Dutch people would all have the same personality. • Their handwriting is remarkably consistent!

Note the spacing and roundness

Latest developments: Graphotherapeutics • A New Age psychotherapy that claims to eliminate individuals’ undesirable personality traits by removing problematic graphological signs from their writing. • If you’re a hopeless pessimist, just start writing your sentences with an upward slant to change your attitude toward life.

Five common principles graphologists use • Writing is a form of expressive movement, so it should reflect our personalities. This is true.

Five common principles graphologists use • Handwriting is brainwriting. 1. You write with your brain (brain controls hands…duh) 2. Your brain is responsible for your personality Therefore your handwriting reflects personality (? !) • Sneezing and vomiting are controlled by the brain • Sneezing and vomiting patterns reflect personality traits?

Five common principles graphologists use • Writing is individualized and personality is unique, so each must reflect the other. Err… • Faces are sufficiently different to serve as personal identification on a driver’s license, but they say nothing about one’s driving ability.

Five common principles graphologists use • The police and courts use graphology, so it must be valid. • The ‘bandwagon fallacy’: If a belief is widespread, it must be correct. • Confusion of graphologists with questioned document examiners (QDEs), a scientifically trained investigator who judges the origins and authenticity of handwritten documents • QDEs do not judge a writer’s personality

Five common principles graphologists use • Personnel managers swear by graphologists’ usefulness in selecting employees. • Graphologists often attend to many non-graphological clues that could point to the best candidate, even if they do so unintentionally • Any accuracy has been confounded with information presented e. g. , in resume

Why is graphology appealing? • Metaphors are easily interpretable (intuitive) • Uplifting personality = uplifting curl of your t • Memorable imagery • Barnum effect: falling prey to remarkably specific results, even when they’re hopelessly vague.

France: Graphologist in action http: //www. bbc. com/news/magazine-22198554 Watch out for the last sentence in the video!