University Daily Kansan / Thursday. January 26, 1989
Lifestyle
11
Graphology: Out of the closet, into the office
Courtesy of Marvin Consultants, Inc.
Handwriting can provide clues to personality. In the example above, the "G" in George, formed like a figure eight, indicates literary ability. Letters without lead-in strokes, such as the "p" in protest, indicate that the writer is direct and to the point.
Courtesy of Marvin Consultants, Inc
This writer may have an aggressive personality. Breakaway strokes at the end of words, such as on the 's' in pens, indicate aggressiveness. Self-consciousness is indicated when the last hump of an "M" is higher than the others, such as in Marvin.
T
Just as fingerprints attest to the tenderness of your hand, so do your handwriting can express the uniqueness of your personality.
he writing is on the wall about graphology, the study of handwriting.
Sound unbelievable?
Up until a few years ago, graphology in the United States had been considered as occult as astrology and tarot card reading. However, Louise Marvin of Marvin Consultants Inc., a handwriting analysis firm in New York grapholaniates its own as a legitimate and reliable way to profile personality.
Students entering today's job market may encounter graphoanalysis when undergoing career counseling, applying for jobs or promotions or even being screened for jury duty.
Though it is used most widely by corporations in European countries, graphoanalysis slowly is becoming accepted throughout the United States. More than 3,000 U.S. companies use graphoanalysis in hiring.
That's because experts say that handwriting does not lie. Even if a person pretends to be something he is not, pretense will show in his writing and his real feelings will be revealed.
More than 300 aspects of a person's handwriting provide insight to what may be hidden strengths, weaknesses or even emotions. Graphic images look at how spaces, spacing, margins, letter form and stroke.
For example, rounded writing and connected strokes indicate fluid thought processes. Tight, small writing, however, shows that the writer focuses on one subject at a time.
If handwriting slants to the left, it indicates that the person is emotionally reserved, but slanting to the right shows that the person expressive.
Frequent breaks between letters within words shows intuitiveness, but wide spaces between words indicate shyness and isolation.
A person's normal handwriting, as compared to his signature, also reveals much about the way he wants to be viewed by others. A small, cramped handwriting with an overgenerous signature shows
There are a few things graphoanalysts cannot tell from handwriting, despite what people may assume. Sex, age, the dominant hand and race cannot be revealed by handwriting analysis.
that the writer lacks confidence but tries to cover up by projecting a big image, Marvin said.
"This makes graphoanalysis a non-discriminatory tool in hiring," Marvin said.
Nora Lyon, president of Nora Lyon and Associates, a court reporting firm in Topeka, has used handwriting analysis for several years in managing her employees.
"It tells me what their thought
Lyon, who initially had her own handwriting analyzed three years ago out of curiosity, said she has picked up points of handwriting analysis from working with Marvin. Though Lyon knew that the analysis in hiring, she said she does notice personality traits in handwriting.
processes are," Lyon said. "I use it to decide whom I should send out on difficult jobs."
"I look for tightly closed O's, which indicates they (applicants) can keep a secret, because in this business, you must be a blabberer and said."
She said she had been able to change habits that she didn't real
iez she had until her handwriting was analyzed. She said she worked hard to eliminate her procrastination, and when she had her handwriting analyzed again, the trait was not so distinct.
Procrastination is indicated when a lowercase "t" is crossed more to the left than to the right of the stem.
Mavin, who also teaches a continuing education class on handwriting analysis through Washburn University, said there was a direct physical link between the brain and the hand.
the brain writing "Handwriting is brain writing," Marvin said. "The hand is a vehicle of the brain's impulse."
Because that of that link, a person cannot completely disguise his handwriting. Writers do not realize some of the characteristics of their own writing, Marvin said.
Therefore, detectives often have graphaanalysts verify forgeries or ransom notes to identify the original writer. Lawyers hire analysts to examine documents, validate wills and screen prospective jurors to determine their personalities.
Graphoanalysts even helped identify the notorious Nazi doctor Joseph Mengele, who lived in South America under a false name but could not disguise his handwriting, according to a 1987 article in McCall's magazine.
The Supreme Court, which recently outlawed polygraph tests in certain instances, has admitted handwriting analysis because it is not a violation of the Americans' handwriting is considered a gesture that is as constantly exposed to the public as his walk or his voice.
Testimony from graphoanalysts has been admitted in court at least nine states. Mary Horsch, press secretary to Attorney General Bob Stephan, said there are no written laws for graphoanalysis. The decision to admit testimony in such instances is left to the presiding judge.
is left to the project. Internationally, graphoanalysis is considered a legitimate branch of psychology and is taught in major universities in Europe, Israel and South America.
Victor Clark, data entry supervisor at Watson Library, said that the New School for Social Research in New York City was the only major U.S. college he knew that taught graphanalysis in the psychology department, where are junior colleges and small colleges that offer courses outside the psychology field.
Clark suggested that one reason graphoanalysis has not caught on as quickly in the United States was that many foreign reports on the subject had not been translated.
Clark, who has been researching graphoanalysis for 13 years, said he was bothered by the popularization of handwriting analysis because it seemed to dismiss it as a reliable science.
"The fun of it comes when you see what it means to you," Clark said.