Handwriting Analysis Techniques

Handwriting analysts employ a few hundred techniques for accuracy.

Handwriting analysis --- otherwise known as graphology --- is the study of handwriting. Experts in graphology can determine a number of things when examining an individual's handwriting. Handwriting can provide clues and insight into an individual's persona and temperament. Handwriting is commonly analyzed for recruitment, interviews and counseling. Forensic handwriting analysis is used in cases of fraud and to provide insight for lawyers, banks and law enforcement. Hundreds of techniques are employed for accurate analysis.

Slant

Slant is an indicator of the individual's emotional state, according to graphologist Elaine Quigley, in her article "How Graphology Experts Analyze Handwriting." Whether the handwritten sample slants to the left or the right will indicate different things to the graphologist. Characteristics attributed to slant include manipulation, friendliness, responsiveness, emotions, reservations and a resistance towards commitment. If the sample is primarily upright it might indicate a streak of independence.

Size

As with each assessment technique, the size of the handwriting sample is but one component in the whole picture. Larger writing might indicate an extrovert with true or false confidence while smaller writing might mean the opposite, depending on many other factors.

Pressure

The pressure issued when the sample was written is analyzed for consistency and exertion. Issues involved with pressure include commitment, sensitivity, vitality and empathy. Pressure is viewed by the color of the ink --- darker areas have more pressure exerted than the lighter areas --- as well as the indentations left on the page.

Spacing

Spaces are judged between words, between lines and in the margins, according Quigley. For word spacing, analysts look at how wide or narrow the space is between each word. However crowded or uncrowded the words are can indicate how crowded or uncrowded the individual feels. Line spacing is viewed in conjunction with the person's viewpoint on situations in life and how involved they are willing to get. For page margins, each side (left, right, top and bottom) indicates a separate theme. The left means family and beginnings. The right margin has to do with the future. The top equates with goals and ambition while the bottom speaks of instinct and practicality.

Zones

The upper, middle and lower zones of a handwritten sample are all analyzed. Loops and strokes are assessed by the way they move upward into the upper zone as well as downward into the lower zones. Expectations, insecurities and tendencies can be observed through analysis of zones. The middle zone encompasses garland --- the tops of the letters are inverted, as if to hold something --- and arcade --- the tops of the letters are rounded.

References

• Business Balls: Graphology-Handwriting Analysis
• National Handwriting Association: Scientific Handwriting Analysis
• View Zone Two: Your Handwriting-What Does it Tell About You?