Author: Inessa Goldberg, graphologist, forensic graphologist, head of the Institute of Graphic Analysis of Inessa Goldberg, full member of the Scientific Graphological Society of Israel
Perhaps, if we try to give the most accurate definition of graphological analysis, it would be most correct to say that it contains elements of both science and art.
Graphology is systematic, based on studies of empirically observed patterns, as well as on special experiments. The theoretical basis of the graphological method is numerous scientific works and studies.
From the point of view of the conceptual apparatus used, graphology implies knowledge of a number of psychological disciplines — from personality theory to psychopathology. Moreover, it perfectly correlates with the main teachings of classical psychology, partly relying on them.
Graphology is also scientific in the sense that it allows us to confirm deductive theoretical constructions in practice. This distinguishes it favorably from those areas of psychodiagnostics, where experimental confirmation of the proposed personality classifications is difficult.
It is important to note that graphology, like some other psychological and medical disciplines, is not an exact science in the mathematical sense of the word. Despite the theoretical base, systematic patterns, tables, etc., a qualitative graphological analysis of handwriting is impossible without the participation of a living specialist, whose experience and psychological instinct are indispensable for the most accurate interpretation of options, combinations and nuances of graphic features.
The deductive approach alone is not enough; the ability to synthesize a complete picture of the personality being studied is required. Therefore, the process of learning a graphologist involves a long practice, the tasks of which, firstly, are to acquire a “trained eye” in recognizing the nuances of handwriting, and secondly, to learn how to effectively compare graphic features with each other.
Thus, graphology also contains an element of art. In particular, a considerable share of professional intuition is needed. Since each of the numerous phenomena in handwriting does not have one specific meaning, but has a wide range of interpretations (depending on combinations with each other, formation into “syndromes”, on the degree of severity, etc.), a synthesis approach is needed. «Pure mathematics» will be wrong, because. the totality of features may be greater or different than just their sum.
Intuition, based on experience and knowledge, is necessary to the same extent as it is necessary for a doctor when making diagnoses. Medicine is also an inexact science and often a medical reference book of symptoms cannot replace a living specialist. By analogy with determining the state of human health, when it makes no sense to draw conclusions only on the presence of temperature or nausea, and it is unacceptable for a specialist, so in graphology it is impossible to draw conclusions on one or another phenomenon (“symptom”) in handwriting, which, as usually has several different positive and negative meanings.
No, even professional material, in itself, does not guarantee successful analyzes to its owner. It’s all about the ability to correctly, selectively operate, compare, combine the available information.
In connection with these features, graphological analysis is difficult to computerize, like many areas that require not only knowledge, but also personal skills in their application.
In their work, graphologists use auxiliary graphological tables.
These tables are convenient and important because they organize a huge amount of information. Note that they will be effective only in the hands of a specialist, and most of the nuances will simply be incomprehensible to an outside reader.
Tables have different tasks. Some contain algorithms for recognizing graphic features as such, and also help to orient in their severity. Others are devoted exclusively to psychological interpretations of specific signs (“symptoms”). Still others — allow you to navigate in homogeneous and heterogeneous «syndromes», i.e. characteristic complexes of parameters, definitions and values. There are also graphological tables of signs of various psychotypes related to various personality typologies.
In the process of graphological analysis, the following is taken into account:
- The development of handwriting skills and deviations from the educational standard (copybooks), the laws of handwriting formation and the acquisition of personal personality traits, the stages of this process.
- The presence or absence of preconditions, compliance with the instructions and rules for submitting handwriting for analysis
- Baseline data regarding the writing hand, the presence of glasses, data regarding gender, age, health status (strong drugs, disability, dysgraphia, dyslexia, etc.)
At first glance, you may be surprised that you need to indicate gender and age, because it would seem that these are some elementary things for graphology. This is so…. not this way.
The fact is that handwriting, i.e. personality, there are “their” gender and age, which can easily not correspond to biological ones, both in one direction and in the other. Handwriting can be «male» or «female», but it speaks of personality, character traits, and not the actual gender of a person. Similarly, with age — subjective, psychological, and objective, chronological. Knowing the physiological sex or age, when personal deviations from formal data are detected, important conclusions can be drawn.
A handwriting that has “senile” signs of depression and apathy may belong to a twenty-five-year-old person, and signs of vitality and energy can belong to a seventy-year-old. Handwriting that speaks of sentimentality, romance, impressionability and sophistication — contrary to gender stereotypes, may belong to a man. Assuming that these qualities indicate the female sex, we are mistaken.
Graphological analysis is different from handwriting. Having a common object of study, handwriting studies do not study handwriting from the point of view of psychodiagnostics, does not require knowledge of psychology, but deals mainly with the comparison and identification of graphic features to determine the presence or absence of the fact of signature and handwriting forgery.
Graphological analysis, of course, is not only analysis, but also a real creative process, the ability for which a graphologist needs.