The Psychology Sessions: Modern Trends in Psychology

  

Does your handwriting say anything about your personality?

 

Graphology: A pseudoscience that claims to assess personality, social, and occupational attributes based on a person's distinctive handwriting, doodles, and drawing style (Hockenbury & Hockenbury, 2013). 

The basic concept of graphology is that handwriting reveals human temperament, personality traits, intelligence and reasoning ability. In addition to that, graphologists claim that they can accurately evaluate a job applicant's integrity , reliability, leadership potential, ability to work within a team or, even, flexibilty. 

Since the '90s, handwriting analysis has become quite popular throughout North America and Europe: back in 1996, in the United States, there were over 30 graphology societies, each promoting its own specific methods of analysing handwriting (Beyerstein, 1996). According to Scanlon and Mauro (1992), many institutions such as the F.B.I. and the U.S. State Department have consulted graphologists to assess the handwriting of people, who mail death threats to government officials.

Graphology is especially popular in the business world. Thousands of American companies, including Sears, U.S. Steel, and Bendix, have used graphology to assist in hiring new employees (Basil, 1991; Taylor & Sackheim, 1988). The use of graphology in hiring and promotions is even more widespread in Europe. According to one estimate, over 80 percent of European companies use graphology in personnel matters (Greasley, 2000; see Simner & Goffi n, 2003). 

 

A Case Study of Graphology (Hockenbury & Hockenbury, 2013)

In 1992, a study by Anthony Edwards and Peter Armitage examined the ability of graphologists to distinguish among people in three different groups: 1) Successful vs unsuccessful secretaries, 2) Successful business entrepreuners vs librarians and bank clerks, and 3) Actors/actresses vs monks and nuns. During their study, Edwards and Armitage collaborated with leading graphologists and incorporated their suggestions into their study design, since, the graphologists preapproved the study's format and stated that it was a valid test of graphology. Apart from that, the graphologists, also, predicted that they would have a high rate of success (even 100%) in discriminating among the people in each group. The three groups - as mentioned above - represented a combined total of 170 participants, who had to mention their age, sex, and hand preference. The assignment for each person was to produce 20 lines of spontaneous handwriting on a neutral topic, which would be evaluated by four leading graphologists. Additionally, the handwriting samples would be evaluated by four ordinary people with no formal training (Untrained assessors), and the typewritten transcripts of the handwriting samples would be, also, evaluated by four psychologists, who would assess the content of the transcripts.

When the assessment was completed, the study results turned out to be quite ambiguous: 

• Compared to the untrained assessors and psychologists, the graphologists fared quite well: (63-67%) vs (53-70%) and (52-56%), respectively.       

•  However, the graphologists didn't succeed in reaching the nearly perfect level of accuracy they predicted: especially, in the case of Good-Bad Secretaries, the 'untrained assessors' outperformed the graphologists (70% vs 67%). 

• Overall, the inexperienced assessors achieved a success rate of 59% correct, whereas, the professional graphologists a slightly better success rate of 65%. Since the difference was narrow and the expectations of the graphologists were quite high, the question whether graphology can assess personality, still, remains unanswered.     

Further, hundreds of other research studies have cast similar doubts on the ability of graphology to identify personality traits, predict job performance or indicate certain competences (Dean, 1992; Furnham, 2008, etc.). In a global review of the research findings and evidence, the notable psychologist Barry Bernstein concluded that, since graphologists have failed to demonstrate the validity and reliability of their field for identifying personality traits and talents or predicting job performance, then, graphology cannot be called a legitimate and scientific means of assessing personality; it is, really, a pseudoscience.

Last year, I attended a graphology seminar. I have to say that graphology has a long way in order to prove its 'scientific nature'. However, I must admit that the graphologist made some interesting points concerning the personality traits and talents of the participants including myself, after evaluating our handwriting. Graphologists must find ways to prove their field's validity since most people and scientists can't understand or find the scientific basis of graphology e.g. why the way you write the letter G indicates a certain personality trait? To be fair, though, graphologists could bring interesting information about human personality 'on the table', if only they could prove its validity and reliability!     

References

 Hockenbury Don H. & Hockenbury Sandra E. (2013). Psychology (6th edition). New York: Worth Publishers.

 Beyerstein, Barry L. (1996). Graphology. In Gordon Stein (Ed.), The encyclopedia
of the paranormal. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.

 Basil, Robert. (1991). Graphology and personality: “Let the buyer beware.”
In Kendrick Frazier (Ed.), The hundredth monkey and other paradigms
of the paranormal. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books.

Simner, Marvin L.; & Goffin, Richard D. (2003, December). A position
statement by the International Graphonomics Society on the use of graphology
in personnel selection testing. International Journal of Testing, 3(4), 353–364.

Furnham, Adam. (2008). Personality and intelligence at work: Exploring
and explaining individual differences at work. London: Routledge.

Picture Source Links 

https://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/a/application_form.asp,

https://gr.pinterest.com/pin/156992736979879251/,

https://eleonoradegano.wordpress.com/tag/graphology/,

https://gr.pinterest.com/desicthy/a-guide-to-graphology/.

Tim Voridis

Organisational Psychologist/Consultant - Communication and Personality Specialist

'Innovation for a brighter future'.