Colegiul National Ion Luca Caragiale

Graphology

the study and analysis of handwriting, which mirrors the writer symbolically

“Handwriting is civilization’s casual encephalogram.”

Lance Morrow

Student                                                       Coordinating Teachers     :

Bucharest 2009

Graphology

FOREWORD………………………………….…..2

I. ETYMOLOGY……………………………….…..4

II. HISTORY………………………………….……5

III.VALIDITY…………………………………….7

IV.LIMITATIONS…………………………………8

V.APPROACHES OF GRAPHOLOGY………………9

• INTERGRATIVE GRAPHOLOGY
• HOLISTIC GRAPHOLOGY
• SYMBOLIC GRAPHOLOGY

VI.LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS…………………………9

VII.APPLICATIONS OF GRAPHOLOGY…………..…10

VIII.APLICATED GRAPHOLOGY………………..12

IX. EXAMPLES OF TRAITS…..………………….….20

X.BIOGRAPHY OF MARILYN MONROE………………..21

XI. CONCLUSION…………………………………26

XII.BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………….27

FOREWORD

Graphology is the study of all graphic movement; it is not simply “handwriting analysis.” In addition to handwriting, the graphologist studies doodles, drawings, sculptures, and paintings in order to gain insight into the physical, mental, and emotional states of the writer or artist. Although all graphic movement can be analyzed, handwriting is the most accessible for analysis because we teach the subject in our schools and most people can write.

Communicating through written symbols is a uniquely human endeavor. Of the millions of species of life on earth, only Homo sapiens has the ability to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, design the graceful span of the Golden Gate Bridge, or scrawl “Alexander was here . . . ” on a bathroom wall. We are also the only species that can use graphic symbols to communicate long after we are dead, through art, books, wills, music, and so on. You can look at someone’s handwriting and you can have a brief insight into that person’s character even if you have not met that him.

People aren’t aware of how much graphic movement reveals how they feel, even if most of them use graphology intuitively, based on common sense, when put in a situation where they have to analyze handwriting.

I have divided my paper into ten chapters, each focusing on the most important features of the Graphology.

In the first two chapters, I’ve written about general facts, like the etymology of the word and the history of this unique method of analyzing someone character

The third and fourth chapter focus on the scientific point of view on this controversial science .The fifth chapter describes the three main approaches of graphology and the sixth chapter debates the legal considerations of such science.

The last four chapters present the most common patterns in Graphology with real life examples like Marilyn Monroe.

The reason I have chosen Graphology to be the subject of my English Certificate, is because it will prove a efficient method in my future career as a psychologist. Graphology has grown up as an alternative psychological analyzing method. It does not rely on sensational concepts such as Freud’s. Instead, it relies on the actual evidence of handwriting. It does not classify people into set personality types. Handwriting shows that everyone is an individual. Nevertheless, character portraits by graphologists have been described as “stunningly similar” to those derived from psychological tests, purely through handwriting analysis.

Graphology

“As a child you were taught to write.

Why don’t you continue to write the way you were taught ?

The fact that you don’t is the reason Graphology exists…”.

I. ETYMOLOGY

Graphology: graphos (from the Greek γράφειν: writing) / logos (from the Greek λόγος: science). It is a generic, as for instance: Anthropology, Psychology, Biology, Geology. With the lexeme Grapho (from the Greek: γράφειν ) there are many words generic: Graphopatology, Graphomaniac, Graphistic, Graphopsychology, psychoGraphology, Graphometric, Graphometry, Graphoanalysis, Graphotechnology.

Introduction

Spoken words are the symbols of mental experience, and written words the symbol of spoken words. Just as all men have not the same speech sounds, so all men have not the same writing.” — Aristotle

Arbitrary as it may at first appear, all handwriting movements are governed by complex universal laws, which, when fully understood and accurately applied, are found to be as valid as the universal laws which govern chemistry and mathematics. Handwritng is unique to each individual. Although some peoples’ handwriting may have similar styles and characteristics in common, acquired when these people learned to write by copying letters and words, they tend to take on individual styles with age. Also, as a person ages, their handwriting will show additional changes.

Handwriting may also be regarded as “brainwriting”;an expression of the whole personality.When we write, the ego is active but it is not always active to the same degree. Its activity waxes and wanes; being at its highest level when an effort has to be made by the writer and at its lowest level when the motion of the writing organ has gained momentum and is driven by it. The neurophysiological mechanisms which contribute to the written movement are related to conditions within the central nervous system and vary in accordance with them. The written strokes, therefore, reflect both transitory and long term changes in the central nervous system such as Parkinson’s disease, or alcohol usage.The muscular movements involved in writing are controlled by the central nervous system. The form of the resultant writing movement is modified further by the flexibly assembled coordinative structures in the hand, arm, and shoulder; which follow the principles of dynamical systems. The specific writing organ (mouth, foot, hand, crook of elbow) is irrelevant if it functions normally and is sufficiently adapted to its function.The movements and corresponding levels of muscular tension in writing are mostly outside of conscious control and subject to the ideomotor effect. Emotion, mental state, and biomechanical factors such as muscle stiffness and elasticity are reflected in a person’s handwriting..Writing is an expressive movement ,which has it’s own meaning and interpretation. Graphology is the study of handwriting and the connection it has to a persons behavior. One must examine the handwriting or drawing movements by considering them as movements organized by the central nervous system and produced under biomechanical and dynamical constraints. Given these considerations, graphologists proceed to evaluate the pattern, form, movement, rhythm, quality, and consistency of the graphic stroke in terms of psychological interpretations. Such interpretations vary according to the graphological theory applied by the analyst.

Graphology has been controversial for more than a century. Although supporters point to the anecdotal evidence of thousands of positive testimonials as a reason to use it for personality evaluation, most empirical studies fail to show the validity claimed by its supporters.

II. HISTORY

The belief that handwriting is a sign of the inner personality is very old. We all recognize writing on envelopes from close friends and relatives and have noted that our own handwriting suffers when we are under emotional or physical stress. Therefore it is not surprising that efforts should be made to compare handwriting with emotions, with character and with strengths and weaknesses.

In 1875, the French Abbot, Jean Hyppolyte Michon, coined the phrase “Graphology”, from the Greek: “Graph” meaning, ‘To write’ or ‘I write’, and “Logos” meaning ‘doctrine’ or ‘theory’. Although the term ‘graphology’ is relatively recent, however, the subject itself dates back many centuries, having originally (as far as we can tell) been taken from Southern India to China and from there to Greece, circa 2,000 BC. Coming closer to present day, relatively speaking, Aristotle wrote: “Just as all men do not have the same speech sounds, neither do they all have the same writing”, and Confuscius is recorded as having observed, “Handwriting can infallibly show whether it comes from a person who is noble-minded or from one who is vulgar”. But it is not until 1622 that the study of handwriting was put into print, by the Italian Camillo Baldi, “How to recognize from a letter the nature and quality of a writer”. This was little more than a collection of random observations though, and remained virtually unnoticed.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the German, Lavater, and the Frenchmen, Edouard Hocquart and Abb  Flandrin, developed the art of interpreting handwriting. But it was not until the second half of the century, when Michon published the results of his many years research into individual handwriting movements, that the subject began to arouse public interest. His method gained popularity owing to its simplicity; he studied certain elements in handwriting, namely the ’stroke’, the ‘letters’, the ‘words’, the ‘baseline’, ‘paragraphs’, ‘free movements’ (‘i’ dots and ‘t’ bars), ‘flourishes’, ‘punctuation’ and ‘paraphs’. However, his method of allocating one specific movement to represent one aspect of character, and in particular his assertion that the lack of a movement indicated the opposite characteristic, is now recognized as only being partly accurate. Michon’s successors, particularly his student, Jule Crepieux-Jamin disagreed with this principle, and also with the practice of attributing rigid interpretations to single signs.

Crepieux-Jamin, who spent his life collating and improving upon Michon’s observations, is today credited with founding the “Societ  Francais de Graphologie”. He defined the various elements of handwriting which today form the basis of the French school of graphology, and divided these elements into seven categories: Dimension, Form, Pressure, Speed, Direction, Layout and Continuity.

To every element in the handwriting, Crepieux-Jamin attributed a range of possible meanings; he insisted that the value of any given sign is not fixed and that its significance and interpretation can vary depending upon the other features in the writing. This theory is now supported by all professional graphologists. In other words, no single feature in handwriting can be taken reliably to represent anything about the writer, unless it is supported by other factors in the writing.

At approximately the same time in Germany, William T Preyer recognized the fact that ‘handwriting’ is in fact ‘brainwriting’. He correctly postulated that should the writer lose his writing arm, as did Nelson for example, and have to use the opposite hand, or even the mouth or foot as in the case of paralysis, the same basic tendencies will appear in the script, although obviously not executed with such fluency at first.

In 1897, the 2nd “Graphological Periodical” was founded in Germany by Hans Busse (who also formed the Association for Graphological Research). The chief contributors were Dr Georg Meyer and Busse’s assistant editor, Dr Ludvig Klages. Meyer’s work was important, but even his greatest contributions were overshadowed by the eminence of Klages. Later, Klages moved to Switzerland where he was to continue his research work and create the first complete and systematic theory of graphology.

Also in Switzerland, Dr Max Pulver, a renowned psychologist who had a deep interest in graphology, was to make a further contribution, in terms of the symbolism in handwriting, both in direction and in symbolism of space. His division of the handwriting into the three vertical ‘zones’ explains aspects of the handwriting previously misunderstood, with his formulation of the ‘Three Dimensions’ – vertical movement, horizontal movement, and depth – providing an integral understanding of graphology as we know it today.

These latter graphologists, Preyer, Klages and Pulver, made greater attempts than their predecessors to appreciate the inner psychological causes of graphic expression. They were able to draw upon a more highly developed understanding of a psychological characterology which for the first time attempted to penetrate the psyche of the writer.

* Many books began to appear as the subject gained public interest, some of whose authors also furthered the science of graphology, including:

* Robert Saudek, A Czech Graphologist who came to live in England, is acknowledged as having established “speed” in handwriting. Today, no serious graphologist would consider assessing handwriting without first ascertaining the speed.

* Hans Jacoby, a contemporary of Saudek’s, also produced books aimed at the general public, based upon what he termed “the science of the expression of movements”, revealing that gestures seen in the writer’s body language, i.e. manner of walking, expressive movements of hands and arms, etc., were also reflected in the handwriting.

* Alfred O Mendel, whose book “Personality in Handwriting” included a lengthy dissertation on pressure in handwriting, in which he introduced a new approach to the interpretation given to direction of pressure, depending upon the writer’s personal proclivities, and demonstrated that this single subject could be broken down into many different areas, each of which indicated highly revealing aspects of the writer.

* Klara Roman, a Hungarian graphologist who emigrated to the USA, included the results of considerable research into pressure in her excellent book, “Handwriting, A Key To Personality” (recently reprinted by the Institute).

* And in Germany, Professor Rudolph Pophal (whose books are currently being translated into English) who held the Chair in Psychology and Graphology at the University of Hamburg, brought graphology into the area of research and made many discoveries related to brain and muscle structuring, which confirmed the earlier assertion of Preyer’s, that handwriting is indeed ‘brainwriting’.

III.VALIDITY

Although graphology had some early support in the scientific community such as Fluckinger, Tripp & Weinberg(1961), Lockowandte (1976)and Nevo(1986), the results of most of the recent surveys on the ability for graphology to assess personality and job performance have been negative.Graphology is primarily used as a recruiting tool to screen candidates during the evaluation process. Many studies have been conducted to assess its effectiveness to predict personality and job performance. Recent studies testing the validity of using handwriting for predicting personality traits have been consistently negative, the results of most of the recent surveys on the ability for graphology to access personality and job performance have been negative as well.

The best way to summarize the appeal that graphology has despite the complete lack of empirical evidence has been put up by Dr Rowan Bayne, a British psychologist who wrote several studies on graphology: “It’s very seductive because at a very crude level someone who is neat and well behaved tends to have neat handwriting” . This is much like asking: “Is Medicine or Psychology scientific?” The answer is: “Some aspects are very scientific and some are not. As well, some practitioners are more competent than others. Also, some aspects of Psychology involve projective techniques (e.g. the Rorschach Inkblot test) which rely heavily on the skill of the practitioner and do not easily stand up to “hard core” validation measures. They can, nevertheless, be accepted as scientific if they meet the criteria of global or holistic validation.

As to handwriting analysis, The International Graphoanalysis Society has had a research department since 1929 and, in its publication: An Annotated Bibliography of Studies in Handwriting Analysis Research, revised 1985, Dr. James C. Crumbaugh (Mississippi Psychologist of the Year, 1989), summarizes approximately 240 studies bearing on various aspects of graphology. Dr. Crumbaugh points out that these studies comprise less than two percent of studies conducted on this science and he considers these to be the most serious studies conducted by scholars and published in respected publications.

Dr. Crumbaugh, in a reprint entitled: Graphoanalytic Cues, originally published in The Encyclopedia of Clinical Assessment, volume 11, 1980, points to studies that: “seem to be the most effective in demonstrating a scientific basis for the assumption that handwriting can be as valid in personality assessment as the other major projective techniques.” He further points out that a number of psychologists, psychiatrists and other physicians have taken training in handwriting analysis and that, in Germany, many universities require training in Graphology as part of their Ph.D. programme in Psychology.

So yes, aspects of handwriting analysis can be scientific. The Graphoanalytic system appears to satisfy the tests of global and holistic validation, and studies are continuing to demonstrate this. Other schools of graphology may or may not be scientific but, undeniably, this field is catching the attention and gaining the respect of the scientific community.

Today, handwriting analysis is the subject of much scientific investigation with dozens, if not hundreds of studies being conducted and published annually, many of them by serious scholars.

Handwriting analysis training that suits the present generation needs is available from organisations like -International school of Handwriting analysis[usa], International Graphoanalysis society, The Handwriting Analysts India[India].

IV.LIMITATIONS

The written specimen portrays personality descriptions and behavior predictions. The specimen cannot explain the “why” or give the past root-cause for a particular action or condition. Destroying a written specimen where the writer has expressed emotionally charged issues and concerns has therapeutic value. The text content is irrelevant to the character analysis and is not utilized by the handwriting analyst. Controlled writing is a repetitive act that can be used to modify personality by suggesting behavioral traits, but must be performed with great care. Since agraphia, degraded or “bad” penmanship, is a result of physiological and psychological causes, negative comments on the quality of penmanship are unnecessary and subjective.

Your writing is independent of your background and physical appearance. Handwriting does not give causality information on gender, religion, race, color, creed, age, handicap (e.g., sensory, manual, or speaking disability), political leaning, cultural influences, physical strength, natural origin, physical beauty, social economic background, educational qualifications, group status, and financial status. Statistical correlations have yielded various degrees of success and/or failure. Federal District Court-United States v. Hazelwood School District (1976) indicated handwriting analysis meets Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, EEOC, (Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act) requirements as non-discriminatory. The EEOC legal counsel in 2001 indicated that there has been no cases based on handwriting that discriminate against an individual’s race, sex, color, national origin, age and disability.

Your writing is, however, dependent upon the affects of drugs, disease, situation anxiety, menstruation, electric shock treatment, traumatic experiences, maturity, hypnosis, and fatigue. These conditions modify personality. Practicing a particular written pattern for twenty minutes each day for thirty days to alter behavior should be carefully monitored. As a note, a teenager’s writing tends to be inconsistent from moment to moment.

V.APPROACHES OF GRAPHOLOGY

There are three main systems of graphology. In Holistic Graphology a persons profile is formed on the the basis of Form, Movement and Space. Integrative Graphology is constructed on the basis that specific stroke formations relate to personality traits. Symbolic Analysis is based on the analysis of symbols seen in the handwriting. Every system of graphology has its own vocabulary that makes the meaning those words different.

Integrative graphology

This approach holds that specific stroke structures relate to personality traits. Most systems within this approach use a cluster of stroke formations, to score a specific personality trait. Systems that fall under this umbrella are: fixed signs, trait stroke, French System and Graphoanalysis. It has been described as starting from the inside, and working to the outside.

Holistic graphology

This is commonly, but incorrectly referred to as Gestalt Graphology. Gestalt graphology was a system of handwriting analysis developed circa 1915 in Germany and was related theoretically to Gestalt psychology. In this approach (Holistic Graphology) a profile is constructed on the basis of form, movement and space. It has been described as starting from the outside, and working to the inside. In this approach, individual traits, such as legibility, are not assigned specific meanings, but can take on different meanings depending on the overall context.

Symbolic analysis

In this approach, one looks for symbols seen in the handwriting. This can be either Major symbolism, or Minor Symbolism.

* Major symbolism is the meaning ascribed to the stroke, as it related to the page.

* Minor symbolism ascribes a meaning to the stroke, depending upon the picture that the stroke draws. For example, John Wayne’s signature shows a blackened out portion, that represents his lung cancer.

This approach provides the theory that underlies both Holistic Graphology, and Integrative Graphology. Max Pulver is the best known exponent of this system.

VI.LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

Graphologists often claim that handwriting analysis in the workplace is legal,citing one or more of the following cases:

• Gilbert v California :388 US 263-267 (1967)
• US v Dionisio :410 US 1 (1973) 1973, Lawyers Edition, Second Series 35, 67; 93 SC 774
• US v Mara aka Marasovich :410 US 19 (1973)
• US v Rosinsky :547 F 2nd 249 (CA 4th 1977 )
• United States v Wade  :388 US 218, 221-223 (1967)

All of these cases are about Fifth Amendment rights in a criminal investigation. These cases do not address issues relating to psychological analysis of an individual. Neither do they address third party issues.

A Hungarian Parliamentary Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information report[65] states that handwriting analysis without informed consent is a privacy violation.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Many graphologists claim that handwriting analysis is non-discriminatory, since it cannot determine Gender, Age, Ethnicity, or other EEOC Protected Classes. However, thus far, there have been no studies demonstrating that the use of handwriting analysis in employment does not have a disparate impact upon EEOC protected classes.

There have been a number of studies on gender and handwriting. Uniformly the research indicates that gender can be determined at a significant level. The published studies on ethnicity race age nationality, gender orientation, weight, and their relationship to handwriting have had mixed results, with a tendency to indicate that they can be determined from handwriting.

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

One of the rules of thumb in human resources is that if an individual who has an ADA-defined disability cannot take a test, then nobody can. As a result, tests that cannot be adapted for use by those individuals will not be used by a company.

Handwriting clearly falls into the group of tests that cannot be adapted to be administered to individuals who fall within one or more ADA-defined disabilities. Blind people, for example, do not develop the required fluency in handwriting, for the writing to be correctly analyzed.

Questions that Handwriting Analysts ask before doing an analysis can be illegal under this act.[81]

Graphology in court testimony

Cameron v Knapp, 137 Misc. 2d 373, 520 N.Y.S.2d 917 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. Co. 1987) (handwriting expert may testify as to the authenticity of a writing but not as to an individual’s physical or mental condition based on a handwriting sample) stands as current U.S. case law for the rejection of graphology as psychological testimony.

Carroll v State [276 Ark 160; 634 SW 2d 99, 101-102 (1982)] will be remembered for its implications on the propriety of allowing graphologists to testify. The opposing Handwriting Analysts displayed a distinct lack of professional courtesy to each other. In doing so, they undermined the scientific validity of both Integrative Graphology and Holistic Graphology.

Daubert

Daubert defined several criteria that admissible expert testimony has to meet.

• Be verifiable, refutable, and testable;
• Be valid and reliable;
• Subject to published peer review;
• Held to standards within the field;
• Be generally accepted in the Scientific Community;

Depending upon the specific system of handwriting analysis that is used, it fails between two and five criteria.

VII.APPLICATIONS OF GRAPHOLOGY

The most common applications of graphology are:

• Employment profiling o Business Compatibility

• Marital compatibility

• Psychological analysis

• Medical diagnosis

• Jury Screening

Employment profiling

A company takes a writing sample provided by an applicant, and proceeds to do a personality profile, matching the congruency of the applicant with the ideal psychological profile of employees in the position.

A graphological report is meant to be used in conjunction with other tools, such as comprehensive background checks and practical demonstration of work skills. Of the traditional tools used in the hiring process, the only one that graphology can replace, is the job interview.

Research in employment suitability has ranged from complete 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) and on legal grounds (Julie Spohn “The Legal Implications of Graphology” Washington University Law Quarterly Vol. 73 * No. 3 * Fall 1997).

Business compatibility

This is an additional service offered by some handwriting analysts. The focus of these reports can be one, or more of the following:

• Company-wide

This is a report the describes how compatible the individual is, with each employee in the company.

• The average company employee

For this report, the mean, mode, and median scores of every scored data point , for the entire company are used, to create three hypothetical employees. The individual is then compared to these three employees, with the focus being how good a fit the individual is.

• Division wide

This is a report that describes how compatible the individual is, with each employee in the division.

• The average division employee

For this report, the mean, mode, and median scores of every scored data point , for the entire division are used, to create three hypothetical employees. The individual is then compared to these three employees, with focus being how well the individual will fit into the existing company psychodynamic profile.

• Unit wide

This is a report the describes how compatible the individual is, with each employee in the unit.

• The average unit employee

For this report, the mean, mode, and median scores of every scored data point , for the entire unit are used, to create three hypothetical employees. Those are then compared to the applicant, with a focus on how good a fit the individual is.

• The unit manager / Co-worker

This explores the differences in personal style between a manager/co-worker and potential employee. The end result is on how each can maximize productivity and minimize personal friction.

• Composite reports

This explores the difference in personal style between every employee in a group. The idea is for each member of the group to learn not only their own strengths and weakness, but also those of their co-workers, and how they can more harmoniously work together. The resulting reports not only deal with the individual on a one-to-one level within the group, but also each individual as a part of a group of three, four, five, etc people within the group.

The content of these reports can range from a simple perspectrograph, to a four wheel Wittlich Diagram and accompanying twenty five thousand word analysis.

Psychological analysis

These reports can range from a ten item check off list to a 10 000 word report on the makeup of an individual from the perspective of Freudian Psychoanalysis, Transactional Analysis, or another personality theory.

A major value of a graphological analysis lies in the increased understanding of people and the ability consequently to enjoy improved relationships both personally and professionally. It complements psychometric assessment because they each come from different directions according to the International Graphology Association.

Marital compatibility

In its simplest form, only sexual expression, and sexual response are examined. At its most complex, every aspect of an individual is examined for how it affects the other individual(s). The basic theory is that knowing, and understanding how each other are different, any commitment that is made, will be more enduring. Whilst these are typically done for couples, it is not unknown for a polyamourus group to obtain a report, prior to the commitment ceremony of a new individual, into the group.

Medical diagnosis

Medical graphology is probably the most controversial aspect of handwriting analysis. On one end, are research studies in which handwriting is used as one datapoint in making a clinical diagnosis. On the other end of claims made by graphologists, which have neither research, nor theory to support them.

Alfred Kanfer published several papers whose implication was that cancer could be detected using handwriting analysis, prior to the then standard medical tests. Subsequent studies failed to support his findings.

Jury screening

A graphologist is given handwriting samples of a prospective jury and determines who should be struck, based upon their alleged personality profile. After the trial has begun, the graphologist advises counsel on how to slant their case, for the most favorable response from the jury.

VIII.APLICATED GRAPHOLOGY

DIRECTION OF LINES

Instruction in writing has usually insisted in writing in straight lines. When we buy writing paper it is ruled in a straight line. But even after years of practise the reality is that few people write in a straight line.

Deviations from writing in a straight line are not the exception but more the norm. In some cases fatigue can be considered a reason for a descending line.

Generally speaking descending lines may be caused by depression or pessimism. Experience shows that people in a mood swing may temporarily write in descending lines.

On the other hand ascending lines may indicate optimism. When we write we move from left to right, in other words we progress.

The activity of writing may therefore be interpreted as a movement toward the future. It may be said it represents our hopes and dreams.

A person who writes a straight line may also go straight toward his daily aim. If a person writes in a precisely straight line we may say that person is unyeilding.

People who write in convex lines (a line that ascends then descends) start their project with ambition and enthusiasm only to lose interest and give up before the task has been completed.

People who write with concave lines (a line that descends than ascends) approach their task with little optimism but gain self confidence as the task nears completion. Out of a sample of 1,000 people only 3 people were found to write concave lines.

Lines that are ascending steps are often found in people who have little stamina. Descending steps are often found in writers who bravely fight off depressive moods. Wavy, meandering lines may be indicative of moodiness.

SPACE BETWEEN WORDS

Space between the words is non-deliberate. When we write the words follow one another as they do in speech.

When a person speaks with pauses it may be because they are accustomed to pondering and considering before they act. It may also be because the person wants to let the words sink in to the audiences consciousness.

However, on the other hand if the pauses outweigh the importance of the speech, then we may conclude the speaker is conceited. If there is no pause between the writers words then we may say this is a person of action. This person may also be impulsive.

Sometimes writers words are widley spaced and at other times narrowly spaced. We may say that this writer is unstable in both thinking and emotions.

The Margins

Left margins are deliberatly chosen. A majority of writers will admit some deliberation in the choice concerning the width of the left margin. Only in a few cases is the right margin chosen with such purpose.

The width of the left margin might be indicative of the distance we wish to maintain to other people. However this only betrays what we want, because it is the non-deliberate right margin that shows the distance we really assume.

Wide left margins are often in handwtriting of proud or shy people. Pathologiaclly self-conscious people will watch and control both the left and right margin.

Many graphologists take the assumption that upper margins are determined by outside influences such as letterhead. It may be said that narrow upper margins betray informality and wide ones show withdrawal.

No margins is indicative of a person who wants no distance between other people. They want to be one with the world.

Wide margins are indicative of a withdrawn person.

Margins are often set by what the paper layout is with width left for headers and address lines.

People who tend to leave wide left margins are often shy people or on the other-hand they are proud people.

Shy people will take full control over both the right and left margins making sure text if equally justified.

Narrow right margins show people who are eager to get out into the world away from family and sheltered life.

Wide right margins often symbolize fear of the unknown and a need for comfort and security.

THE PEN IN WRITING

The appearance of a handwriting is in some extent relevent to the pen you use. People are aware of this fact. Therefore people give much thought to the selection of a pen that feels natural to them.

But the same person with the same pen never writes the letter or word twice in exactly the same way.

THE SLANT

It may be said by some that the right slant is the normal slant. It may also be percieved that whoever writes from left to right naturally uses the right slant.

But as we know some writers do not.

In general interprtation of writing it may be said that the left direction is interpreted as the direction towards the mother as well as the past. Left slant writing is seen more often in women than in men. We often see left slant in people who have a disturbed balance in the parantel equilibrium.

Writers with left slant are generally much closer to their mothers.

The upright slant is found in people who are very independant in life. They tend to have no inclination to either the mother or father.

Wholly upright hands are very rare. In fact this may only be achieved by a show of discipline.

The right slant is the most common and and most natural slant. The right slant is found in people in a hurry, impatient people and the active writer.

Writing which is upright can show self control, egotism, coldness, neutrality, and self sufficiency.

If the writing appears with a slant to the right the writer can be said as extrovert, expressive, sympathy, restless, and sociable.

Left slant in writing can show introversion, self-denial, egotism, fears the future and withdrawal.

PRESSURE IN WRITING

The pressure against the paper is called primary pressure. The pressure against the penholder is called secondary pressure.

The primary pressure indicates our strength and vitality. The secondary pressure indicates our aims and inner convictions.

Primary pressure can be analyzed through the contrast between thinner upper strokes and heavier downward strokes. The task is to define between pressure produced by will and pessure produced by inhibition. Genuine pressure will appear naturally. Forced pressure looks forced and even cries out.

Extreme added pressure is often seen in hands of criminals. Pressureless writing is often seen in the hands of feminine writers.

BODY IMAGE

A person`s body is projected in his writing.

His left side is to the right, and his right side is to his left.

It may suggest that the crossing of the neurological pathways typical in muscle brain center correlations is relevant here.

ZONES

The upper zone shows what a writer thinks, how they think, what they strive for, imagination, pride and ethical ideas.

The lower zone harbours manifestations of things not yet known to the writer.

There we see what fills the unconscious.

In the middle zone the writers daily routine is shown.

The social behavior, relations, preferences and rejections.

SYMMETRY

Symmetry is a yardstick of the writers inner balance and developement.

Symmetry is used to establish style value.

When the upper zones are strongly developed we are dealing with a person of intelligence and ambition.

However their emotional development remains infantile.

If the middle zone is strongly developed this is a person whose sentimental and sensivity and concern for themselves are likely to result in emotional pain.

If the lower zone is overdeveloped we are dealing with a writer who is overconcerned with money.

LEGIBILTY

Legibilty is a measure of the writers sense of purposefulness.

Legible handwriters make good teachers and speakers.

They are sincere and co-operative.

But beware of the person whose writing is impressively legible.

These people are wolves in sheeps clothing.

SIZE OF LETTERS

People who use tall capital letters are often tall themselves; yet people who use tall initials are people who think tall and think of themselves as superior. Those who use short capital letters are often shy or modest people.

Large writing can portray someone who is superior, takes pride, outgoing and extrovert, arrogant, boastful or they put on an act of confidence. Small handwriting can mean people who are respectful, tolerable, introvert, shy, deep thinkers or academic.

Letters which reach into the upper zones such as t, l, h, b and d, if they are very extended then the person probably has unrealistic expectations of what they can truly achieve. Wide upper zone loops can show people who are deep thinkers and dreamers; then those whose letters go up then down directly over themselves are often un-imaginative.

Letters in the lower zone like g, j, q, p and y; f can also be in this category, but it usually crosses through all three zones. If they are straight it shows people who like to get the job done; those who loop them are often full of energy, good at making and investing money, or/and need security.

The size of a letter is indicative of the writers self reliance. A letter may extend in four directions, up, down, right or left.

A letter may also be tall and wide.

Tall capitals are people who tower above the rest.

Tall initials come from impressive people.

Small capitals are people who are modest in nature.

They concentrate on facts, not ideas.

Wide letters are extroverted people.

Narrow letters come from loners.

CONNECTION OF LETTERS

The connection of letters shows the writers attitude toward others.

In writing there are three mainly used links, garland, arcades and angles.

Deep garland indicate people who take things too tragically.

Enclosed garlends are people who tend to be calculating.

Flat garlands tend to come from the practical business man.

Square garlands tend to come from narrow minded people.

Supported garlands come from people who need emotional support in life.

General arcades show people who rely on instincts.

High arcades show artistic gifts. <>P> Low arcades show hypocrasy.

General angles show people who have contradictions in feelings.

SPACE BETWEEN LETTERS

Space between letters show the extent the writer relies upon their own intuition.

When all letters are connected it indicates a person with logical and systematic thinking.

When only some letters are unconnected it shows an artistic and intuitive thinker.

When most letters are unconnected it shows a person who is an egocentric.

Lack of end strokes indicates a shy person.

When the first letter stands apart it shows a cautious person.

A person who leaves wide spaces between letters is indicated as someone who is prone to isolation and loneliness; a person who doesn’t mix easily or is uncomfortable with closeness. People who join up all of their letters are often logical and systematical thinkers; those who join most of their letters but leave some un-joined are artistic and intuitive thinkers and those who leave their writing totally un-joined are people who sometimes do things without thinking.

The spaces between words are like when a person speaks with pauses, big pauses usually means that the person is pondering or considering what to write. A person who has some words widely spaced are often open, honest but deep in thought and people with words narrow spaced may be unstable in either emotions or thinking.

PACE OF WRITING

Specific pace furnishes us with a variety of human characteristics.

Spontaneous Writing : Ambition, activity, insability, restlessness, impatient, quick thinking.

Unspontaneous Writing : Inflexibile, cautious, sluggish, plotter, schemer.

CONCEALING STROKE

There are two interpretations of the concealing stroke.

Inhibition and insincerity are the basic meanings of the concealing strokes.

In the first letter : frustrated ambition.

In upper zone : Secretive.

Middle zone : Emotional delusions.

In garlands : Shyness.

In arcades : Shrewd.

In angels : Trickster.
Slope and Width Of Lines

The direction of lines when written can say a lot about people. From a young age we are taught to write in straight lines and given paper with ruled lines; but even with this very few people actually write using straight lines. There are many different interpretations to what the line slants can determine; my personal study and interpretation into handwriting would say that:

Lines which go downhill may be caused by pessimism and depression; then lines that go uphill show optimism.

Someone who tends to write with straight lines is either very orderly, neat, neutral, hidden or someone who goes straight for their aims and goals.

People who write with their lines going up then down in a convex manner are people who have ambition and are good at things they do; yet they lose interest and give up when they have just got good at things or before the task is fully complete.

Then people who write with their lines going down then up in a concave manor are people who are scared to approach something but when they manage to get there they gain a lot of self confidence.

Wavy lines that do not have a set pattern show people who have bipolar or alternating moods.

Wide spaced lines often show people who have a very organized life with order and a systematic approach to things. If the line is highly spaced from the next then it might just show someone who likes to keep their distance!

Lines with little space between them indicate people who like to be around others; whereas ones which are touching or overlapping may indicate people with emotional or mental disorders.

Other Stuff In Handwriting

People whose writing is very legible are often severe and co-operative. However, writing that is extremely legible; often portrays people who can be very different from how they seem.

If a signature is decorative then it speaks of a person who dramatically expresses themselves. People who have a signature just like their normal writing are down to earth people and those with illegible signatures wish to hide their true personality and feelings.

People who put a stroke through their signature are often people who wish to get rid of themselves, they may be depressed and dissatisfied with society or in the extreme they could even be suicidal.

Left Handed Writing

Many parents worry that their left-handed child writes awkwardly or uncomfortably, and just have poor handwriting in general. If your child is left-handed they may have difficulty monitoring their handwriting as their hand covers their writing. Because of this, left handed children often develop poor writing habits, such as bad writing positions or the wrong type of pencil grasp. When helping your left handed child to write ensure that the paper is positioned completely left of your child’s midline. When writing, your child should never cross over the midline. Try to angle the paper so that it lies parallel to your child’s forearm. Encourage your child to always position the paper correctly before starting a writing exercise.

Studies show that handwriting practice should be a part of every school day. However, as this is not often the case due to time constraints, parents can provide opportunities for their children to practice their handwriting at home. Even five to ten minutes per day spent on handwriting until your child can remember how to form the letters reasonably well can make all the difference to your child’s handwriting skills.

IX. EXAMPLES OF TRAITS

• Trait names were chosen by Stephen Bongiovanni with regard to the founders of graphology and recognizing the fine line between sharing ideas of others and original concepts. The trait name identifies a graphic indicator with its descriptive behavior.

Examples of traits:

ANALYTICAL THINKING v-wedges for m, n-bottom baseline intersections	sorts and separates information in assessing their value, evaluates information
BLUNT increasingly heavy downward and forward middle final	brings matters to a conclusion and thrusts it upon others
BROADMINDED wide e-loop	liberal self-viewpoints, free of bigotry
CONCENTRATION small writing	focuses attention on one activity ignoring all other influences
CULTURAL REFINEMENT middle letter printed as capital	integration and discrimination of creative artistic and structural systems into one’s mode of living
EMOTIONAL INTENSITY, MUCH AVAILABLE heavy average stroke pressure	possesses strong libido and passions, abundance of available energy and vitality, proactive
FORGETFUL missing t-bars	inability to recall information or planned action, absentmindedness
HUMOR initial wavy upper area down stroke to baseline	the contrast between reality and assumed values provokes amusement
REBELLIOUS inflated triangular forward inverted upper circle	open hostility towards authority and for any form of discipline, belligerent
VANITY tall t, d-stem height	excessively high regard of ones conduct demonstrated through a sense of superiority

X.BIOGRAPHY OF MARILYN MONROE

NORMA JEAN

A POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL

A PROFILE IN COURAGE

Her Childhood Was a Nightmare of Ongoing Neglect, Abandonment, And Rejection

Fear of Rejection Creates Different Motivations

The evolution of personality as a result of emotional growth over time is a known fact. Tracking those personality and behavioral changes through the evolution of handwriting is intriguing as it reveals a rare portrait at a point in time. Its graphic message portrays both the highs and lows – emotional despair.

The evolving changes in this “poor little rich girl” can hardly be described as typical as it was played out publicly to some degree. Despite having achieved a spectacular visual pre-eminence, she suffered horrendous insecurity. One only has to track back her history to discover land mines of insecurity that pock marked her very short life.

Norma’s mother married and divorced twice and had several affairs prior to giving birth to Norma.

She, apparently, had been so promiscuous she had no idea who Norma’s biological father was. Her Husband divorced her and moved across the country taking the other two children. Norma didn’t find out she had a half sister and a half brother until she was 12 years old. Although her half brother had died, she became close to her half sister.

Her childhood was a nightmare of ongoing neglect, abandonment, rejection. Her mother was very unstable as was the grandmother, who tried to smother Norma when she was about two. The mother had violent fits of rage and depression and could only care for her haphazardly, leaving her with friends or family for weeks. Curiously, while the mother was quite promiscuous, she was religiously superstitious and consumed fears regarding sin, some of which she claimed little Norma harbored in her soul.

When her mother became increasingly indifferent and more emotionally unstable, she put Norma in a foster home so that she would be free of the burden of having a child around. Several months later, she’d take her back. This pattern was repeated several times over the years. So much so that Norma had been in 10 different foster homes, had spent two years in the Los Angeles Orphan’s Home and had lived with a guardian for several years of her young life. Unfortunately, the guardian’s husband sexually molested her, and a neighbor raped her, leaving her pregnant. Although she was allowed to bear the baby, it was taken away soon after birth; she never again saw her son.

When Norma was 16, her guardian moved out of state and did not want to take her. Consequently, she was given the option of either marrying the son of a neighbor whom she knew only vaguely or going back to the orphanage. She chose to marry the young man five years older than she; he joined the navy soon thereafter. The marriage lasted but a few years before she filed for a divorce.

Figure 1: This is a persona writing of a young LH teenager with a turbulent childhood, before she began her ascendancy to fame.

Figure 1 was written during Norma’s teenage years about the time she married. An important graphological issue is that she was left handed indicating she was inherently more vulnerable to the emotional influences of the right brain. This early sample, a clear persona writing, (left slanted, straight baseline, low t-bars, regularity in letter forms and spacing) reveals a strong degree of emotional reserve and cautiousness – she learned early to repress her feelings.

She had blossomed into an incredibly beautiful, extremely photogenic young woman. Although she lacked guidance, she slowly began to explore the world trying to find ways to support herself.

Over the next few years, she worked briefly as a call girl and a model. That led to posing for an infamous nude photo that flung open the doors to fame and fortune.

Figure 2: This sample was written in the midst of an exuberant transition; she was well on the road to fame and fortune.

Figure 2 was written during her meteoric rise to stardom. She had learned to let go of some of the strong inhibitions in the earlier sample and projects the image of a dynamic, vivacious, exuberant albeit emotionally vulnerable, very insecure young woman, (irregular, exaggerated mid zone letters, extreme right slant, rising letters that bounce up and down, inflated d stem).

Considering the early emotional neglect she was subjected to, emotional insecurity is a given. Dr. R. Joseph indicates the effects of insecurity can create different motivations. In one case, the fear of rejection is such that the individual is paralyzed so that nothing is ever ventured. Or it can spawn a desperate motivation to prove one’s self to the world to gain the love and approval of which she had been deprived.

Those troubled souls drive themselves in seeking superiority, fame, or acclaim, applause and admiration of others to overcome their sense of feeling unworthy, inferior, unwanted, inadequate or unloved.

Having begun to tap the power of her emotional resources in climbing her way to the top, she was exuberant in her efforts yet was never but a step away from being an extremely vulnerable waif who was consumed with anxieties and insecurities.

Figure 3: By reining in her exuberance she learned to marshal her emotional energy more effectively and formed her own production company.

Figure 3 was written further along in her path to fame and fortune. Having learned to temper her strong reactive exubrance to some degree, it allowed her to marshal her emotional energy more effectively, (regularity in slant, baseline and letter size). But the signs of inflated ego (extreme capital letters) suggest that she had not yet achieved balance in her life as the extreme zonal imbalance suggests.

Along the way, she had numerous simultaneous affairs, usually with older men; she became repeatedly pregnant. Over the course of 21 years, she underwent 12 abortions.

She was married and divorced several times to prominent men, and in the safety of marriage, she endured terrible anguish in not being able to carry a pregnancy to term.

As her fame grew, so did her massive anxiety and depression. Anxieties (seen in the narrow letter spacing and narrow o’s) consumed her; she was notorious for holding up production which sent budgets escalating into the stratospheres.

Yet despite repeated suicide attempts and alcohol and drug abuse, she somehow managed to forge a movie career, becoming one of the world’s most sought after glamorous femme fatales.

Figure 4: The writer is caught in the throes of one of a number of breakdowns.

Figure 4 was written at one of the many low points in her life in a battle with depression to the point of breakdown (drooping, miniscule letters, varying baseline, irregular spacing).

Dr. Joseph suggests, the more a parent rejects and withholds love, and is overly critical, frequently absent, mentally ill, drugged, or intoxicated, the more the child is plagued with the underlying feelings of unworthiness.

Lack of emotional bonding in her very early years due to a sick, disturbed, rejecting mother generated a massive black hole of emotional insecurities that could never be filled.

The need for love that was denied her from infancy unconsciously (i.e. emotionally) taught her that she did not deserve love, and she spent a lifetime looking for it.

Despite some eight years of therapy, she had been plagued her entire life by fear, anxiety, self doubt, and a very needy emotional dependence that often alienated those who were attracted to her. Such feelings of inadequacy often can spawn self destructiveness.

After having a number of reported liaisons with an American president, she died at the young age of 36.

Recurring speculation over the years has been that she may have been killed due to the considerable potential for serious political damage arising from those political connections. Indeed, 35 years after her death, that speculation has resurfaced. However, the official answer was more likely that it was finally a successful suicide.

Yet she was one of the most beautiful, and recognizable actresses in the last 40 years. Her unexpected death at such an early age hurled her towards an icon status. They buried her under the name of Marilyn…

Biography of Marilyn Monroe

XI. CONCLUSION

What Handwriting Analysis Is

It is a projective technique like body language which can profile human behavior in the areas of social skills, thinking styles, achievement/work habits, and possible ways of dealing with stress.

It is a system of studying the frozen graphic structures which have been generated in the brain and placed on paper in a printed and/or cursive style.

It is a way to compare different personalities and their potential for compatibility in the areas of problem-solving, interpersonal skills, how they would fit into a team situation, and how they will react under pressure.

It is a method to view the emotional development of an individual relative to maturity and consistent actions.

In conclusion, graphology is a controversial science, involving the interpretation of character and personality traits.Seen more as an art then a valid document. Intutive interpretation of handwriting date back to ancient times. Aristotle claimed that he could define a person’s soul by his way of writing. Suetonius noted that Emperor Augustus did not separate his words when writing and concluded that this demonstrated a neglect of detail when forming a picture of a whole situation.Today courses are being taken to find out more about the persons next to you,in a world characterized as  being  „An Information Rich World which lacks in communications”

XII.BIBLIOGRAPHY

Basil, Robert. “Graphology and Personality: `Let the Buyer Beware’,” in The Hundreth Monkey and Other Paradigms of the Paranormal,ed. Kendrick Frazier (Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1991), pp. 206-208.

Beyerstein, Barry. “Graphology,” in The Encyclopedia of the Paranormal edited by Gordon Stein (Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1996), pp. 309-324.

Beyerstein, Barry and Dayle F. Beyerstein, editors, The Write Stuff – Evaluations of Graphology, the Study of Handwriting Analysis (Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1991).

Furnham, Adrian. “Write and Wrong: The Validity of Graphological Analysis,” in The Hundreth Monkey and Other Paradigms of the Paranormal,ed. Kendrick Frazier (Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1991), pp. 200-205.

Gardner, Martin. Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1957), ch. 24.

Graphology from the “Encyclopedia of the paranormal “by Berry Beyerstein

“The use of graphology as a tool for employee hiring and evaluation”- from the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association

Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGFFq9CsaXM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL0R3mhqBv0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG3wDk2oQwA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dv8am_OLLOk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAlAuGokPAo

Sites:

www.paralumun.com/graphology.htm

http://www.graphology.it/learning

http://www.graphology.it/forensic/physics_physiology

http://www.britishgraphology.org/index4.htm

http://www.graphologyschool.com/

http://www.hwa.org/