"Handwriting
analysis" is a term that is often misunderstood. Perhaps that is
because there are two different kinds of handwriting analysts, who each
study handwriting by entirely different methodologies and for different
purposes. The first group of handwriting analysts call themselves
"questioned document examiners" or "forensic document examiners" who
engage in the comparison of handwritings for the purpose of determining
whether a questioned writing of unknown origin was authored by a person
whose known writings are available as "examplars."1
The
other form of "handwriting analysis" has little to do with
"identification" and the determination of common authorship, but
instead deals with the study of handwriting to discover the character
traits of the writer. Generically, handwriting analysts who fall into
this category are more accurately described as "graphologists."
Graphology
has been defined as the study of handwriting to reveal the character or
personality traits of the writer. The principle behind graphology is
that people who share certain character and personality traits also
exhibit similar shapes and forms in their handwriting. There are many
individuals who, in evaluating the legitimacy of graphology, place it
on the same level as astrology--which, in view of the popularity of
astrology and the fact that millions of individuals not only believe in
it but also undertake significant moves in their lives only after
consulting their astrological charts, is not a bad place to be. There
are, indeed, a great number of individuals who fervently believe in the
worth of graphology as a reliable method to learn valuable information
about the personality of an individual through his or her writing.
The
study of handwriting for a revelation of the character traits of the
writer is by no means a modern invention. Roman Emperor Nero is said to
have judged the abilities of his associates by a study of their
handwriting. Italian scholar Camillo Baldi is said to have authored the
first treatise on graphology in 1625, under the loosely translated
title of "How to know the nature and qualities of a person by looking
at a letter he has written." Abbe Michon, a French monk, wrote about
the relationship between handwriting and personality in a book wherein
he referred to the study as "graphologie."
The
largest group of practitioners of graphology in the United States and
Canada were trained by an organization known as the International
Graphoanalysis Society (IGAS). The group trains annually thousands of
persons who seek to learn the principles of graphology, and become
"graphoanalysts"2 through
home study. Graphoanalysis is defined by IGAS as "a scientific system
of identifying and assessing the character and personality of an
individual through a detailed study of handwriting. It cannot
distinguish sex, race, religious affiliation, or sexual preference.
This allows the Graphoanalyst to provide a detailed and unbiased
assessment."
According
to IGAS literature, its training originates in the studies of Milton
Newman Bunker, who in 1910 noted in his own writing and in the writings
of others certain “stroke” differences which he associated with
personality traits. Bunker had long believed that handwriting was
directed by brain impulses that reflected the individual’s personality.
Not satisfied by the writings on graphology he had discovered, he and
several associates began researching specific stroke formations and
investigate their possible relationship to personality traits. After
accumulating and studying thousands of specimens, Bunker laid down a
standardized procedure which could be taught to others for the purpose
of examining character traits reflected in handwriting, and which would
not rely on "intuition" or on the personal beliefs of the examiner.
The Bunker theories and techniques were used and perfected by the founders of Graphoanalysis to devise what they represent to be
a
scientific system of identifying and assessing the character and
personality of an individual through a detailed study of handwriting.
The techniques used are based on a well-defined, standardized method of
(1) identifying strokes; (2) relating these strokes to specific
personality traits; and (3) evaluating the relative strength of the
interrelated traits.
After
enrolling in its basic 18-month course on Graphoanalysis, IGAS offers
its students the opportunity to become a certified Graphoanalyst.
It
is often said by practitioners of the discipline that graphology is
taught in European colleges and universities as an adjunct to
psychological testing methods. No such curricular acceptance has been
noted in American psychological education, which leaves IGAS as the
sole provider of graphological instruction in this country.
IGAS
literature and its published Code of Ethics clearly states that the
Graphoanalysis training it provides "does not qualify [the student and
graduate] as a document examiner without additional training in that
special field." Further, the IGAS reminds its students and graduates
that they can use the trademarks of Graphoanalysis and Graphoanalust
only for as long as they are members in good standing of the
International Graphoanalysis Society, Inc. It also places a number of
other ethical requirements upon its members in the practice of
Graphoanalysis.
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1
For a description of the questioned document examiner’s field of
expertise, see, Andre Moenssens, James E. Starrs, Carol E. Henderson,
& Fred E. Inbau, SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL CASES, 4th edition, Foundation Press, 1995, chapter 5 on "Questioned Documents" at pp. 255-306. See also, Andre A. Moenssens, Handwriting Identification in the Post-Daubert World, 66 U.M.K.C.Law Review 251 (1997).
2
The terms "Graphoanalysis" and "Graphoanalyst" are registered service
mark of The International Graphoanalysis Society of Chicago, Illinois.
The school maintains an informative web site that can be accessed at: http://www.igas.com .
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