"First question first. Graphology developed in conjunction with
psychiatry in Europe, not with popular psychology as it did here in the
United States. Men such as Jung, Freud, and numerous other scientists
were convinced of its value and studied it in depth. They paid little
attention to individual letters, though. instead, they concentrated upon
the whole of a person's handwriting: where the writing was located on the
page, how fluid or jagged the lines were, and how legible it was. These
factors were considered of much greater importance to them than the
letter H.
"They came to the conclusion that handwriting was a window to both
the conscious and subconscious mind. I consider it as a constantly
available EKG for the brain, because it immediately shows our evolving
physical and mental state."
'Are you telling us that you can diagnose psychological problems
simply by examining a few lines of someone's handwriting?"
"In general, of course, no serious professional would presume to
diagnose so simply. But if I were a healthcare professional, business
person, etc., and I had to interview a customer, client, or a potential
employee, handwriting analysis could provide some valuable clues about a
person that I would have virtually no access to otherwise. In fact, just
a handful of lines can tip me off to a person's general intelligence,
emotional stability, characteristics as leader or follower, their level
of honesty, frequency of drug use, and physical activity level"
"That claim seems Incredible. Can you tell us exactly how you
dissect a person's handwriting. What specifically are you looking
for?"
"Well, take a look at one rather extreme example...
...is this the writing of a well-adjusted person? it's crazy. There
is no consistency whatsoever. The slant of the strokes veers in all
directions. The writer's mind was obviously traveling a hundred paths at
once. So it's not going to surprise you when I tell you that this is
Charles Manson's handwriting. Not all crazy people write like this of
course, but the standouts are very recognizable.
"The vast majority of handwriting, regardless of whether one is
right-or left-handed, follows a predictable pattern. it is slanted
slightly to the right, it is legible, it occupies an appropriate amount
of the page, and its style is pretty consistent. Any dramatic deviations
from this formula merit a bit of investigation. This is not to suggest
that you have to leave the room if you observe someone who's letters veer
to the left rather than the right, but it could tell you something about
him."
"What does slanting to the left suggest to you?"
"I generally come to no conclusions until I see several writing
traits suggesting the same thing, but a pronounced slant to the left is
one indication that the writer is holding back his or her true emotions
and may be repressed in a significant way. Conversely, if the slant has a
pronounced rightward angle, the writer may be carried away by his or her
feelings. If the slant jumps from left to right, the writer's mind is
unstable and it may be a reflection that the person is being untruthful
or is suffering from some significant stress.
"Take a look at a letter Jackie Kennedy wrote shortly after her
husband's death in 1963. What does it say to you given the slant
information we discussed?"
"The slant is leftward. She's withdrawn."
"Exactly. Do you remember the events following the assassination of
President Kennedy-people remarked how Jackie showed no emotion
whatsoever. We wanted her to cry, to do something ... but it just wasn't
in her to do it. Getting back to the page; is there anything that catches
your eye immediately?"
"The signature seems strange ... too far below the
paragraph."
"What does that suggest to you?"
"She wants to separate herself from what she's writing. Maybe she
doesn't feel strongly about what she wrote."
"That's possible. She certainly feels isolated. Since I haven't
brought this up yet, I suppose it was dumb to expect you pick up on it,
but don't the strokes on the capital I's as well as the lower-case t's
and k's seem somewhat exaggerated? They look very unnatural to me. This
feature of handwriting is called "clubbed stroking" and may indicate a
potential for cruelty. The only way you can make these dubs is to bear
down on the pen at the beginning or end of the stroke. If you grab a
piece of paper and try to make letters like this, the movement is bound
to make you feel tense and angry. "
"We know that you've worked for the FBI and the State Department.
Is graphology part of their investigative procedure now?"
"A great deal of my work for the government is in determining the
identity of and degree of danger posed by those who mail death threats to
government officials. This kind of thing happens more often than you
might imagine, and in many instances, a single disturbed person will mail
threats to several officials. It's not very difficult to identify a
criminal once a good writing sample is obtained."
"What about lesser criminals? Thieves? Embezzlers? If they are
smart enough, can they fool you?"
"I've had people make some concerted attempts to mask their
writing, but it virtually never works. A lie can be identified on the
page. See for yourself. Take a look at the two paragraphs on page
51.
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