Scientific status of graphology in the world

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

We bring to your attention information containing data on scientific papers, dissertations and research, a list of more than 200 authoritative specialized (non-graphological) scientific publications and journals with a worldwide reputation in the scientific community that have officially published these works since 1950.

In many countries, graphology is accepted by the academic community and the state, and is studied as part of higher education. I bring to your attention information about the status of scientific graphology in the world, as it is.

In 1986, the Hungarian Society for the Study of Handwriting was established, in 1991, the Institute of Graphology in Budapest under the leadership of Tamas Agardi.

Since 1994, graphology has been officially recognized by the state as a profession requiring higher education. To obtain a professional certificate «Certified graphologist» you must pass state exams. Courses are offered at the Institute of Graphology, National Defense University and several accredited colleges that teach HR management.

Graphology is a recognized recruiting tool in Hungary. Graphologists are either self-employed or employed by agencies.

You can read about the scientific status of graphology in other European countries on the pages of the International Graphological Colloquium.

Graphology has been scientifically proven by many researchers.

Alfred Binet, founder of the IQ test, validated the ability of graphology to diagnose intelligence.

First, a group of subjects were presented with the tasks of the Binet test, and based on the results of the solution, a conclusion was made about the level of their mental abilities. Then another task was given. The subjects were asked to compose and write by hand any text, which was then analyzed by graphologists. The conclusion based on the results of the handwriting examination practically coincided with the results of the psychological test.

After many years, already today, the idea arose to objectively verify this impressive result. This time, the evaluators were not experts at all, but ordinary people who were asked to make a conclusion about the level of abilities of the author of a particular text. However, this time the texts obtained in Binet’s long-standing experiment were presented not in handwritten, but in printed form. To the surprise of the researchers, the scores turned out to be quite accurate, almost matching the scores on psychological tests. But the «judges» made their conclusions based on the only possible criterion — the content of the text. In all likelihood, graphologists, even without realizing it, took into account this criterion and relied not so much on the peculiarities of writing letters, but on the intellectual significance of what was written. Thus, faith in the possibility of a purely graphological examination was shaken.

Amos Drori, a researcher at Ben Gurion University, Israel, has proven that graphology can predict job success. An article by the scientist Amos Drory can be found in the book The Scientific Aspects of Graphology.

Psychologist Michal Doron (Israel) in her scientific work proved the validity of determining emotional intelligence EQ through graphology in comparison with other psychological tests.

Revital Kinen (Master of Psychology, Israel) in her scientific work proved the validity of graphological syndromes of such qualities as self-control, perspective vision and others on the handwriting of adolescents and their parents.

The University of Haifa, Israel, has established how handwriting can be used as a more accurate test of lies than a polygraph.

The study was conducted using the ComPET system (consisting of a computer tablet, a wireless electronic pen with a pressure sensor, and a program for analyzing the entered text). Participants in the experiment were asked to write two paragraphs: one true and one made up.

As graph analysis shows, a person’s handwriting changes when he lies. These changes are caused by a stronger intervention of conscious mechanisms, mental inhibition mechanisms that control actions, a decrease in spontaneity and inner freedom.

Rudolf Pofal, Professor of Medicine and Graphology at the University of Hamburg in Germany, carried out instrumental studies of handwriting — pressure and stroke, and derived five degrees of stroke rigidity and three types of its quality, as well as correlations with the personal characteristics of the writers.

A scientist, psychologist, and also a graphologist of Hungarian origin in America, Klara Roman, invented a mechanism for hardware research of handwriting — a graphodine, a pen-like device that measures pressure on paper. She also conducted hardware research and proved the correlation between personality traits and handwriting features.

From the point of view of psychological science, it is impossible not to mention the names of the classics involved in graphology: Sigmund Freud, Carl Gustave Jung, Alfred Adler, Hans Eysenck, Alfred Binet mentioned above.

Freud and Jung accepted graphology as a way to penetrate into the unconscious of a person, and therefore aroused their interest.

Freud, speaking of handwriting, noted that the subconscious is expressed in it better than in dreams. In particular, in his letters to Ludwig Binswanger (the founder of the existential-analytic approach in psychology), in 1910, he himself pointed out schizophrenic tendencies in his own handwriting.

Freud personally invited Ludwig Klages (who is considered by many to be one of the main founders of the German graphological school) and gave him graphological lectures at the Psychoanalytic Society in Vienna (in 1911).

Jung — delved even deeper into the professional literature on the topic of graphology and was subscribed to the scientific journal of graphology, which was published by Sodek himself. In his letters to students and colleagues, Jung explained the various changes in handwriting and advised them to read Crepier-Jamin’s books.

In addition, Hans Eysenck was closely involved in graphology, he participated in studies that confirmed the validity of handwriting analysis and read professional graphological literature. Alfred Adler was also involved in graphology, he clearly recognized the importance of graphology and practiced handwriting analysis himself, and also read professional graphological literature.

Also, the attitude of the leading Russian forensic handwriting experts to graphology has become positive. Such authoritative forensic handwriting experts as L. A. Vinberg, V. F. Orlova, E. R. Rossinskaya spoke positively about graphology. At first, back in the USSR, they criticized graphology, but then they wrote that it had a rational grain, and then they even wanted to create their own Russian graphology. But in the 90s, funding for institutions ended, and people dispersed to private structures.

Here, for example, is what Vinberg wrote:

“… From a scientific point of view, the works of modern graphologists are of interest. Modern graphology has greatly improved the analysis of handwriting. In their numerous experiments, graphologists use data from other sciences. Graphology is now closely connected with medicine, in particular with diagnostics. In 1935, handwriting expert Alfred Kafner, working in the Austrian Ministry of Justice, after a series of observations, came to the conclusion that there is a direct connection between cancer and handwriting … … In the 30s, Hungarian graphologists studied the handwriting of more than 2000 children with abnormal mentality aged 10 to 18 years. In the process of analyzing the manuscripts, regularities were established in the deviation of handwriting depending on the state of the psyche. The researchers proposed to treat children (change the child’s psyche) through certain changes in handwriting (the so-called graph therapy). They believed that handwriting could excite a person’s nerves or calm them down.

According to estimates by American graphologists, more than 500 US firms use handwriting analysis to determine the professional qualities of a person who is newly hired or promoted. European firms began to use graphology from the beginning of the XNUMXth century. In Germany, Denmark, France, firms use graphology to determine professional suitability. At present, graphology is taught in Germany, at the universities of Hamburg, Munich, and others. The latest courses are taught at the Sorbonne (France), at the universities of Bern, Zurich (Switzerland) and a number of other European countries. In the US, a graphology course is taught at New York University, at the School of Social Research. At some universities, graphology is studied after completing a course in psychology; in others, it is read as part of a medical course.

The works of modern graphologists are of a certain scientific interest for Soviet handwriting scientists involved in solving problems of a non-identification nature … »

Graphological analysis is a complex, dynamic, constantly improving process that follows the laws established by science.