Q: What Is Handwriting Analysis ?
A: It is the study of the frozen graphics of printing and cursive writing to determine personality traits. An analogous study would be the projective technique of body language.
Q: How is it Used ?
A: Personality profiles are done for business applications in screening potential employees and in providing information for training needs. Counselors use the information for focusing their therapy on the personality's particular concerns. Personal analyses are used for compatibility and for self-assessments.
Q: What Are The Costs ?
A: Fees can range from $50. to $500. for normal business requests. These will depend on the experience and training of the analyst. Typically, in the area of personality assessment, analysts are considered to be business consultants who utilize the technique of handwriting analysis in their evaluations.
Q: How Are Analysts Trained ?
A: See the Schools page for in depth information on the different types of training available.
Q: How Do I Locate a Qualified Analyst
A: There are several avenues to pursue including referrals from businesses or those who have utilized such services, the yellow pages of the phone directory, contacting the different schools who have trained analysts to name a few.
Q: Differentiate Between an Analyst and Expert
A: A handwriting expert specializes in the forensic aspect of this field by identifying signatures and other writings to determine whether they are forgeries or valid for the stated purposes. A document examiner is another specialty focusing on ink, paper and typewriter identification.
A handwriting analyst specializes in identifying personality traits for various areas including business needs, counseling, compatibility and vocational assessments.
Q: What Are Some Handwriting Organizations
A: Some National and International Handwriting Associations
- (AAHA) American Association of Handwriting Analysis
- (ABFE) American Board Of Forensic Examiners
- (AHAF) American Handwriting Analysis Foundation
- (ASPG) American Society of Professional Graphologists
- (COGS) Council of Graphological Societies
- (EAHR) Eastern Association for Handwriting Research
- (G) Graphex
- (GLAHE) Great Lakes Association of Handwriting Examiners
- (GSSF) Graphological Society of San Francisco
- (HAI) Handwriting Analysts International
- (HAND) Handwriting Analysis Near Detroit
- (HARL) Handwriting Analysis Research Library
- (HCI) Handwriting Consultants International
- (HGC) Human Graphics Center
- (IGAS) International Graphoanalysis Society
- (IGR) Institute of Graphological Research
- (IGS) The Institute of Graphological Science
- (ISHS) The International School of Handwriting Sciences
- (NAIG) North American Institute of Graphology
- (NSG) National Society of Graphology
- (RMGA) Rocky Mountain Graphology Association
- (SFIHR) San Francisco Institute of Handwriting Research
- (SHA) Society of Handwriting Analysts
Q) My writing changes all the time. In fact, I'd say I have about five different styles when I write. Does that mean I'm strange?
Of course not. We all write in many different ways. Our handwriting can vary according to the mood we're in, how stressed out we feel and so on. Even the conditions we're writing in can make quite an impact: There will he a huge difference in style, for instance, between a scribbled grocery list you attach to the refrigerator and the careful way you write a birthday card. So don't worry—it's perfectly okay to chop and change.
Q) I have a friend who only uses block capitals. Is that bad?"
No, it doesn't matter. Not really. Usually, handwriting that isn't "joined up" tends to belong to someone who is quite intense and plodding in their approach and has yet to find a way to relax and let go of their pent-up emotional energies.
Someone who prints block letters rather than writes believes they're doing it to make their words more legible, but in reality they are merely attempting to disguise their true personality behind a kind of fake strength. Underneath they feel less comfortable and confident than they appear. Those capitals are their way of putting on a brave face for the rest of the world. But neither of these two styles is necessarily "bad." There is no such thing as totally bad handwriting anyway, just as there is no such thing as a totally bad person. Everything and everyone has something good to offer if we'll only take the time to look for it.
Q)What does it mean when the letters at the start of each word are very large and the rest of the letters in the word are small?
This happens a lot. Usually it indicates a strong, flamboyant outer personality hiding a quieter, more serious and possibly analytical persona inside.
Q) What about the people who've made a study of fancy lettering and who practice it until their handwriting looks really ornate and beautiful?
We call that italicized or calligraphic handwriting the type you see printed on certificates or other formal documents. You are right—it can look beautiful, and there's nothing wrong with that at all.
The only time it means anything specific to us, though, is when a person adopts this style as a deliberate cover-up to prevent the rest of the world from seeing what his or her real writing looks like. In that kind of situation calligraphic script as a potential danger sign. It's telling that the writer feels so insecure about the person he is that he's prepared to put on an exaggerated display on the outside in the hope that people will prefer the fake persona to the real one. What it says is, "I really don't like myself very much, and you probably won't like me either; so, just in case, here's something beautiful to look at while I sneak away into a corner and hide."
Okay, maybe it's not as dramatic as that, but in most of the cases it's not been far from the truth. In short, there are profound self-esteem issues waiting to be worked out here. The calligraphic writer needs to value himself more and gain a better insight into what he, as an individual, is offering the world. Nobody likes a fraud; we all want to feel we're dealing with the genuine article, so why deny the existence of something so precious—your real self—by covering it over with a false one?
Every single one of us is beautiful and perfect just as we are. There is no one exactly like you anywhere else in the world, no one with the same special qualities and gifts or the exact same purpose in life. We are unique. If our friends, our acquaintances or our critics don't happen to appreciate that fact and can't like us exactly the way we are, then maybe we ought to start associating with the kind of people who will. We shouldn't have to alter a single fragment of our personality, even in the smallest way, just to please others. Changes we make must be for our own benefit—otherwise why bother?