A lot of us do “read between the lines” but interpreting handwriting? Well, there is a section of experts that earns its bread doing just that. Handwriting analysis is practiced and advocated by a number of “graphologists”, as they are known, across the globe and Bangalore is no exception. Of the many services they provide is assistance to corporations and companies in their recruitment drives, in terms of identifying personality traits of job applicants based on their handwriting samples.
Is it possible to find out more about people based on their handwriting? Yes, says R Bhaskar, a graphologist who runs a private handwriting and calligraphy training institute in Vijayanagar, Bangalore. “Graphology helps assess a person’s strengths, hidden potentials, inner fears, anxieties, goal orientations and even sexual preferences”, he reveals.
Driven by a strong belief that a person’s penmanship mirrors his/her idiosyncrasies, graphologists like Mr Bhaskar uphold the notion of “you are what you write”. “We have finger tips that are unique to us all and so are our handwritings. Our handwriting does reflect what we think and feel deep inside. When we were kids, we all underwent rigorous cursive writing exercises at school but as and when we grew up, our handwritings changed with time and experiences. It is this mental pattern that graphology attempts to study based on one’s handwriting”, says Mr Bhaskar.
How does graphology work?
“There is a pattern to our handwritings – the way we shape our letters and alphabet, the spacing we give, the consistency we follow in doing so, besides other factors. Graphology looks at all these aspects and makes interpretations accordingly. For graphologists, a blank paper is a pre-requisite as they believe it speaks more about a person when compared to a ruled sheet. If a person writes in a straight line, it shows that he or she is a perfectionist. If their sentences go upwards, it means they possess positivity. If the lines follow a downward pattern, it is a pointer of depression or negativity.
We have 27 different traits associated with the way a person writes the letter “t”. If the person places the stroke completely on the right side of the stem, the inference is that he or she is short-tempered. The intensity also varies depending on the thickness of the stroke. Similarly, the way a person writes “y” is associated with the trust quotient. If he or she drags the tail of the letter “y” all the way up, we conclude that he or she is trustworthy. This way, we assess other traits such as fidelity, honesty and so on”, Mr Bhaskar explains.
However, bad handwriting does not necessarily translate to bad personality, Mr Bhaskar maintains. “I had analysed the handwriting samples of a group of doctors as they are always the butt of the joke when it comes to handwriting. I found many positive traits in them. Although a few of them were low on confidence, in general almost all scored high on focus and friendliness”, he adds.
Graphology for recruitment and other purposes
The application of graphology has benefits aplenty, Mr Bhaskar claims. “Graphology is further used for graphotherapy. Using graphology, we can determine if a person is undergoing depression or contemplating suicide. Graphology provides the luxury of ascertaining the problems a person is undergoing merely on the basis of his or her handwriting sample, unlike psychotherapy where the presence of the person concerned is required for diagnosis and counselling. We solve cases of marital incompatibility by assessing couples’ handwriting samples and giving them apt suggestions. Companies send us handwriting samples of prospective employees to figure out their personality traits and if they would suit the job requirement and make recruitments based on our inputs”, he discloses.
The list of companies includes MNCs too, Mr Bhaskar reveals, while maintaining that he cannot disclose their names owing to a non-disclosure agreement that he has with them.
Graphologists deal with crime-related cases too, according to Mr Bhaskar. Cases of signature and handwriting forgery are brought to their perusal. There are official forensic handwriting experts who do this but their services are availed only after a legal procedure is initiated. “There has to be a case and the courts must come into play. Only then do they act. Our services are private and people come with these cases to us when they suspect foul play or even when a case has not been booked”, says he.
Graphotherapy facilitates customised solutions for people’s problems and it is possible to change one’s behaviour or traits by changing his or her handwriting, Mr Bhaskar claims.
Concerns over accuracy
On the flip side, graphology comes across as a controversial discipline. There are concerns over its accuracy and validity with many in the scientific community dismissing it as a “pseudoscience” on the same lines as astrology and numerology.
It remains a grey area although some see a correlation between handwriting and behaviour. “As a teacher, it’s very easy to see students’ personality reflected in their writing – closed tight handwriting for the shy ones and big bold letters for the extroverts. Perhaps over time, people learn to conform to a given pattern, which makes graphology so much harder”, opines Raisa Romer, a postgraduate in clinical psychology, currently teaching at The International School, Bangalore.
Although there are forensic handwriting experts who carry out questioned document examination (QDE) to check for cases of forgery, the fraternity says graphology should not be mistaken for forensic document examination. The authenticity of handwriting analysis continues to be in limbo nevertheless.
Says Suhasini K, a clinical psychologist who teaches forensic psychology and criminal profiling for students of psychology in one of the reputed city colleges: “Graphologists are in a way similar to astrologists who say that a person possesses traits depending on his or her stars. For some, it applies while it doesn’t for others. I had got my handwriting analysed in the past and I found that some findings applied to me and there were some traits that were wrongly attributed to me”.
In that case, is it fair for companies to go about their recruitment drive based on handwriting samples of the applicants? “A lot of these branches like graphology which have evolved recently are open to debate and there is no complete consensus in their regard. True, the courts factor in handwriting examination. Mostly, they consider handwriting examination, lie detector test results, narco analysis findings and so on as corroborating evidence and not primary evidence.
In my opinion, if companies are considering other criteria for recruitments and graphology inputs happen to be just one of their supporting measures, then it isn’t much of an issue but if they are making recruitments based solely on the inputs of handwriting analyses, then they shouldn’t be doing so”, says Ms Suhasini.
Dr Nagaratna A, Coordinator, Advanced Centre on Cyber Law and Cyber Forensics, National Law School of India University, Bangalore, seconds Ms Suhasini.
“Graphology and forensic handwriting analysis are different in the sense that forensic handwriting analysis only looks at a few set standards to ascertain aberrations in handwriting and hints that shape up as evidence to get to the root of the crime. Cyber forensics are a bit more accurate when compared to handwriting analysis and as per the latest amendments made in the law, they have been elevated to the status of secondary evidence while handwriting analysis findings are only considered by the courts as ‘opinions’. Digital evidence collected with the use of cyber forensic tools has more evidential value than the opinion of handwriting experts as opinions can vary”, Dr Nagaratna reveals.
