Notes

Say you are a police investigating a robbery at a bank. The only piece of evidence you have is a note written by the thief. You have a list of suspects who could have stolen the money. You pull up a file on a database and find a lot of information on the personalities of each suspect. With no other lead but the note, how can you choose the right suspect? This is where graphologists come into play. Graphologists study and execute handwriting analysis to find out about a person’s personality through their handwriting. Handwriting analysis is easy to lean but involves a lot of observation. Observation is detective work, small things, like how the person dots their lowercase “i’s” indicates larger more complicated ideas.
Graphology, or handwriting analysis, is the study and analysis of handwriting, especially in relation to human psychology. Nowadays, people don’t consider most cases on finding out the suspect with a written note handwriting analysis, but there are a few exceptions like the story given before. Handwriting is a more common tool in identifying the quality and capacity of an individual's talents and potential, particularly in career guidance and improving relationships; like: recruitment, interviewing and selection, team-building, counselling, and career-planning. Elaine Quigley, a leading expert graphologist and chair of the British Institute of Graphologists describes graphology as 'brain writing'. The handwriting comes directly from the writer in a uniquely personal and individual way, regardless of how the person has been taught to write: an expert graphologist understands the styles of the different countries and languages and can identify 'taught' influences. The context of the text is irrelevant to the graphologist. The science of graphology uses at least 300 different handwriting features in its investigation. The graphologist's interpretation skill is the psychological art of understanding the particular blend of handwriting features, an expert is able to see the writer 'step off the page'.
No single handwriting feature proves anything specific or absolute by itself; a single feature alone can identify a trend in one’s personality. A person's handwriting, the script, is written with pencil on a blank piece of paper with no lines and its placing on the page express the unique impulses of one. Logically, the brain sends signals along the muscles to the writing implement it controls. By examining a handwriting sample, an expert graphologist is capable of identifying relevant features on the handwritten script. The features, and interaction between them, provide the information for the analysis. No single handwriting sample will exhibit all 300 different features, a normal analysis will involve far less.
Graphology was first introduced to the world by the Chinese 3,000 years ago. The Romans used graphology and through the centuries, various civilizations and cultures have analyzed handwriting to identify the essence of the person who produced it. The modern approach was established in 1870’s by a group of French clerics and this later became the basis of modern graphology although it is still being researched and expanded even to this day. T Handwriting analysis is divided into three easy steps. Place yourself accordingly to the information, if you are in between two guidelines, you have traits somewhere in between the two; this applies to all 3 steps. First, look for indicators of emotional and physical energy. This is the combination of physical and mental energy levels. It is revealed be the pressure applied to the paper when writing. Heavy pressure indicates you are highly successful and have a lot of energy. Average pressure indicates that you are moderately successful and you have enough energy to make it through the day. Light pressure indicates you try to avoid energy draining situations. Next look for indicators of emotional control and reliability. To do this you must determine the baseline. If your baseline is straight, you are tense and over-discipled. If your baseline is extremely wavy, you are an emotional roller-coaster. If your baseline is slightly wavy, this is normal and you are somewhat in between the two categories. You can also look at the slant of the baseline to fine personality traits. If it is an upward slant, from left to right, you are typically an optimistic person, if it has a downwards slant, it means you are usually tired. If it is level, you have a healthy balance between the two. Lastly, look for the ability to concentrate. This is determined by the size of the handwriting. Small writing means the writer can concentrate on minor details or tasks for long periods of time. They also tend to work alone and are usually conservative and thrifty. Some jobs that typically have people with small writing size are librarians, scientists, and researchers. Large writers are easily distracted but are good at doing varying duties and quick easy assignments. Most people have an average ability to concentrate and have to make a concerted effort to concentrate on minor details, especially over long periods of time.
The basics of graphology may be simple but there are many small details that are significant in analyzing ones handwriting. Similar to the English language, in which there are many rules and some may only apply to one word, there are many complex smaller pieces of information that are fairly significant to decoding ones personality. Some things to consider are individual letters, the general shape of the stroke, and the slant of the writing. The letter “t” has the largest number of interpretations. Where the horizontal bar of the “t” is places on the vertical stem indicates where one places their goal while the height of the stem indicates the potential to accomplish those goals. A good way to determine the height of the stem is to compare it to the lowercase letter “h” in the word “the”. A low “t” bar indicates goals set lower than can be accomplished. A “t” bar set higher on the stem indicates goals set high. A “t” bar set above the stem indicates setting goals higher than can be accomplished. A small “g” drawn like a figure 8 with a curved tail almost touching the circle indicates a strong sense of humor. A small “r” drawn with an “n” shape, or can easily be confused with an “n”, indicates someone who is good with their hands. A small or capital letter “e” that is drawn with rounded edges like a reverse “3” is known as a “Greek E” and indicates someone who is easy to read like an open book.
You will be surprised to know that “i” – dots can tell a lot about your personality and character. In Graphology the analysis of the “i“dot is based on the three P’s
The first “P” stands for position, or where the dot is placed. As a general rule the closer the “i” dot is in the formation of the “i,” it suggests extra attention to details. And on the contrary, the farther away the “i” dot, it reflects the writer’s trait of possessing less attention to details. The “i” dot placed precisely above the stem points out the character traits of accuracy, and perfection. The writer shows strong attention to details and has good memory. The writer not only takes the effort in dotting the “I”, but dots it exactly at the position where it belongs. This highlights the effective concentration skill and the ability to follow rules easily. When the “i” dots seem to be flying away from the stem, this trait highlights that the writer loves to run off from the realm of reality, and enjoys building castles in the air. This kind of person is usually more imaginative. Some people’s handwriting is missing the “i” dot completely. This shows that the writer lacks attention to details. The dot-less “i” reveals the character traits of being forgetful, careless and negligent. When an “i” dot is placed relatively near to the stem or the “i” dot is completely missing, it shows that the writer loves to follow only the essential details which are mandatory while the trivial details tend to be ignored. An “i”-dot which is placed to the left side of the stem is a sign of procrastination. The placement of “i” dot to the left of the stem represents the past and reveals that the writer loves to live in the past. On the other hand the “i" dot to the right of the stem, also called the post-placed i dot, signifies the future. An “i” dot to the right side of the stem simply points out the traits of eagerness to move on, the writer reveals the attitude of impatience and a trait of being in rush almost all the time. The writing shows speed and the desire to finish the tasks quickly without paying attention to precise details. Where a writer writes the “i” dot in a way that the he or she moves onto the next letter without lifting his pen, it highlights the speed and creativity of a sharp and agile mind.
The second “P” stands for profile, or the shape of “i“dot. Dots which are drawn as any other shape points out the immature behavior of the writer. Dots which are drawn as circles are commonly found in teenage handwritings, revealing the desire to attract attention. When the dot shape comes out to be more of a dash it represents energy and irritability. The writer seems to be in rushed and does not care about precision details. There is also a possibility that the writer is disturbed or anxious about something which makes him fling his pen in such a way that his dots turn out to be dashes. If the shape of the “i” dot appears to be like commas or arcs it reveals humorous nature of the writer. If the “i” dot looks similar to laughing mouths it points out the witty and gaiety behavior of the writer.
The third and final “P” is pressure, or how heavy the pressure is while writing the “I” dot. A dot which is barely visible, due to the light pressure applied while writing, reveals lack of energy and liveliness. It shows low vitality of the writer. It also shows lack of willpower, which can be a sign of physical weakness or even sickness, signifying that the writer had no strength to point the “i” dots. When the dot is placed precisely over the stem and is heavy, it reveals excellent memory, sound judgment, and ability to do detailed and precise work. The writer with a heavy dot tends to be excessively concerned with material possessions by nature.
This is just one example of how complicated handwriting analysis can be. This information is only the dot in the “i” and the letter still has a body and the different ways is can curve. Keep in mind that there are still 25 other letters in the alphabet.
Although the study of handwriting is now an accepted and increasingly is being used as a technique for assessing ones personality, it is still a controversial topic in which if it actually works or if it is just a superstition. Some references say that although people who support handwriting analysis have pointed to the anecdotal evidence of thousands of positive testimonials as a reason to use it to evaluate ones personality, it fails to show validity claimed by the supporters of graphology. Others say that graphology was a science since a while back and is an effective and reliable indicator of personality and behavior. Like other powerful behavioral or intuitive models, it is not easy to explain how and why graphology works, nevertheless it continues to be used, respected and appreciated by many because it achieves a high level of results. Whether you think handwriting analysis is a sham or factual, it is still a fun and fairly easy way to determine a friends’ personality!