wiliilif!f;^?n?^':^;!]^ri 074 CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE DATE DUE "^ftS"'"*^ --iAje^ ^oiQ^^fe ■ JQ±T^^- mr^^-WFT- i:i^?^ The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://archive.org/details/cu31924028949984 EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY MONOGRAPHS No. 1. Moto-Sensory Development. Dearborn. $1.50. Mental Fatigue..^ffner. Whipple. $1.25. Backward and Feeble-Minded Children. Huey. $1.40. (Out When Should a Child Begin School. Winch. $1.25. Spelling Efficiency in Relation to Age, Grade and Sex, and The Question of Transfer. Wallin. $1.25. Relative Efficiency of Phonetic Alphabets. (Paper cover.) Whipple. 35 cents. Experimental Studies of Mental Defectives. Wallin. $1.40. Variations in the Grades of High School Pupils. Gray. $1.25 How 1 Kept My Baby Well. Noyes. $1.40. 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Peaks. $1.25. Graphology and the Psychology of Handwriting. Downey. $1.50. WARWICK & YORK, Inc. (Founded by H. E. Buchholz) BALTIMORE No. No. 2. 3. No. No. 4. 5. No. 6. No. No. No. No. 7. 8. 9. 10. No. 11. No. No. 12. 13. No. No. 14. 15. No. 16. No. 17. No. 18. No. 19. No. 20. No. 21. No. 22. No. 23. No. 24. ^Educational Pagct^olaj^g MonoQvvipiiB No. 24 GRAPHOLOGY AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HANDWRITING Grapliologi) and tlie Psijcliology of Handwriting JUNE E. DOWNEY FtoIeBBor of Faijcliologij, Unlvefsllij o£ Wijooiliig BALTIMORE WARWICK &' YORK, W. 1919 F X>7f A 4'in 0/5^4 COPYRIGHT, 1919 WARWICK ©- YORK, Inc. s T ;|l To William O. Owen In recognition of Ills devotion To Tzuth as an Ideal CONTENTS PART I. I. Iritroduction II. The Basal Concepts of Graphology 1. Handwriting as a form of Dramatic Expression... 2. The Central Factor in Handwriting Individuality. . 3. Control in Handwriting 4. Variability 5. The Theory of Signs; The Graphological Portrait.. III. Graphological Methods 1. The Method of Analogy 2. Appeal to Psychological Principles 3. Empirical Observation and Comparison (Effect on writing of Education; Profession; Age; Sex; Fatigue; Disease). 4. Intuitive Method 5. Experimental Graphology 6. Pathological Writing IV. The Grapkclogical Elements (Comparative Survey of Gr^hological, Mechanical, Pathological, and Ex- perimental Investigations) 1. Graphic dimensions 2. Force of Movement; Pressure; Line-Quality 3. Direction of Movement A. Slant B. Alignment 4. Continuity of Movement 5. Proportion above and below base line PART II. Experimental. V. Disguised Handwriting VI. Intra-Individual Variability (Influence of Mental and Physical condition on Size, Slant, and Align- :^ ment) Wll. Graphic Individuality, (Comparison of Handwriting Pat- tern with characteristic Expressive Movements) . . . VIII. Graphological Study of Handwriting of Psychologists. (Correlation of graphological and Characterolog- ical arrangements) loS 1. Preoccupation with details versus preoccupation with principles ill 2. Feeling of Self-Worth 113 3. Originality versus Organizing Capacity 116 4. Aggressiveness iig 5. Temperament 120 6. Explosive versus Inhibited Make-up 126 Summary and Conclusions 132 References 1,0 IX. PREFACE The following studies are designed to canvass the possi- bility of a scientific characterological utilization of hand- writing. Their main purpose is one of orientatitm, prelim- inary to an attempt to use graphic activity in tests of tem- peramental or character traits, tests which are now in pro- cess of standardization. The discussion falls into two parts. Part I consists mainly of a critical comparison of graphological contentions and the outcome of modern scientific investigations of handwriting. Part II reports a number of experimental studies, designed largely to try out various methods of approach. Free use is made of results from other experimental investigations by myself which have been previously reported. The chapter on "Disguised Handwriting" is reprinted, with a few minor additions, from the Journal of Applied Psychology. The "Graphological Study of the Handwriting of Psychol- ogists" was made possible through the generous assistance of those psychologists who furnished me with the material necessary for a characterological rating. In the study on "Intra-Individual Variability," I am greatly indebted to John E. Anderson for faithful cooperation ; and in other studies I have had the kind assistance of my pupils and colleagues at the University of Wyoming. I take this opportunity of ex- pressing to all who have aided me my heartiest thanks. JuNB E. Downey. University of Wyoming, August, 1918. Part I CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. The present day preoccupation with applied and, pa ularly, with vocational psychology has revived an interei attempts to analyze charaeter jjy means of physical trait objective products. We have, for example, systems character analysis based upon so-called fundamental pi: cal variables such as pigrnentation, form, size, struct and expression. GFftph'QlosjLJ^_JJ]-al leged science of chodiagnosis ntiljyes ^ parti Pillar form of expression, na ly, handwriting. Graphologyas" Su defined -should, h ever, be discriminated from the graphology which is a si of graphic signs of service in the identification of writ Both uses of the word are current today ; in our present cussion we are mainly interested in the former. It has been assumed by many scientific workers graphology as a. system of character diagnosis is on a 1 with other pseudo-sciences which look for a facile inter; tation of one's mental make-up from a reading of the line the palm of the hand or the bumps on the head. And fact, certain extravagant claims of certain ambitious graj legists relative to the possibility qf determining the colo a writer's eyes or the shape of his nose or the elasticity of bank-account from his chirographic style justify a hea incredulity. The best graphologists show, however, a ( tion and conservatism in interpretation that wins in a m ure the reader's confidence and a desire to hear what tl of best repute have to say in defense of their art. So far as the details of graphological diagnosis go may, indeed, be exceedingly sceptical and yet unwilling dismiss the whole matter on the ground that grapholog; on a par with palmistry, phrpnology, or astrology. Hi I 2 GRAPHOLOGY AND TH^ PSYCHGI^OGY OF HANDWRITING ever mistaken and overly optimistic graphologists may have been ; however obviously inadequate their control of observa- tions, the precipitate from the extensive study of such men as Prayer, Crepieux-Jamin, Meyer, Schneidemiihl, and Klages certainly deserves respectful consideration. More- over, on the general ground of intimate relationship between consciousness and motor expression, the graphic pattern which we call handwriting individuality demands careful scrutiny. Possibly the determinants of handwriting indi- viduality may be wholly external to the individual's psychic make-up, but the statement should at least be accompanied by an interrogation point. A more conservative position grants the possibility at some future day of utilizing hand- writing in psychodiagnosis but would defer such an attempt until a more perfect technique has been acquired by psychol- ogists for analysis of the grapho-motor process and the graphic product. The wisdom of this position is evident but an endeavor to try out immediately certain graphological principles seems justifiable for the following reason. Mental testing which is opening out into such tremen- dous possibilities with reference to the analysis of the intelli- gence make-up is still baffled by the problem of diagnostic tests for character and temperamental traits. But the need of such tests is as obvious as difficulties in the way of get- ting them are great. Especially necessary in vocational selection is a determination of character qualifications. Two individuals of equally keen intelligence may be very un- equally fitted for the same position by reason of difference in degree of persistence, energy, ambition, self-confidence and the like. After a certain level of intelligence is attain- ed, barring cases of exceptional ability, success in life would seem to be dictated more largely by temperamental qualities than by mentality status. The need for diagnostic tests of such qualities therefore renders unnecessary any extensive apology for excursions even into debatable territory. The slightest chance of stumbling upon a useful suggestion of procedure justifies such an excursion. INTRODUCTION 3 But only those readers who have attempted to work irough it are aware how voluminous is the literature of pphology. This literature is found mainly in the French ad German languages. Discussions of graphology by ^nglish writers suffer greatly by comparison, so much more jibtle, discriminating, and scholarly are the former. A jmewhat close reading of a number of these works has mvinced me that a summary of the points of view involved ■ight be profitably undertaken. If nothing rnore, it may •imulate the psychology of handwriting to novel methods I approach. In my survey of graphological doctrine I have followed, jrgely, a comparative treatment. I have sought, that is, to ■esent graphological material in light of the perspective Jirnished by the modern scientific study of handwriting. Luch study has pursued several differing lines of interest, ;ry differently motivated. A word as to each will serve I map out our territory. 1. The most scientific study of handwriting has centered 3 interest in a delicate analysis of the graphic movements ,1 a form of motor reaction. Such investigators have de- jloped and are perfecting an elaborate instrumental tech- que. One recalls in this connection the fine work of Gross, iehl, Meumann, Freeman and others. 2. Much less controlled and objective in its methods but iluable as an attempt to approach the analysis from another igle are attempts to determine certain mental factors that mdition handwriting ; the study, for example, of the imag- al and sensational control processes (Downey) or the fac- ,r of unconscious imitation (Starch). ,3. A third investigation, motivated primarily by peda- .)gical interests, has served to establish definite standards ir the evaluation of writing speed, quality and legibility, arious scales of evaluation of graphic products have been it to extensive use, among them the widely known scales Ayers and Thorndike. 4 GRAPHOIvOGY AND THE PSYCHOI,OGY 01^ HANDWRITING 4. Under pressure of practical need for accurate ident fication of handwriting for legal purposes, both civil an criminal, the handwriting experts have given us detaile analyses of the effect upon penmanship of writing system and writing apparatus. They have stimulated discussion of the limits of variability and of disguise in the hands o individuals and have adopted a procedural technique tha offers many a suggestion to the student of other aspects o the general problem. Particularly stimulating is the ac count by Osborn of the utilization by the expert of the mos modern of mechanical appliances such as the documen microscope, the enlarged photograph, and delicate scales foi determination of line-width, degree of curvature of connect ing lines and similar graphic details. | 5. Very greatly in contrast to the regulated analysis o) the legal expert are the descriptions of pathological writing furnished us by psychiatrists. Yet pathological writing a| fords, as we shall see, a unique method of checking up coi elusions reached by other forms of procedure. 6. Lastly, we may list a line of investigation somewha| difficult to characterize. It consists in the utilization ol writing as a material which may be employed in discovering certain types of perceptual and judgmental reaction. Strictly speaking our interest in this connection is not in the psychology of writing, as such, but in the psychology ol the observer of graphic products. This latter aspect of the situation is implicit in graphology in so far as the grapholf gist gives evidence of virtuosity in his handHng of grapl material. Binet's investigation of the graphologist a] preached the subject from this angle. Psychological invej tigation makes a similar approach in utilizing handwritii as a material for study of the subjective judgment in tri ing family resemblances, and in training the expert judge handwriting for school systems. The insistence by Osboi that extreme blindness to graphic form on the part of tht presiding judge may seriously handicap presentation of evi' dence in the courts also stresses the significance of the sufe; 1 INTRODUCTION 5 jective factor in the applied psychology of handwriting. Our general plan of procedure may now be outlined. The first part of this little volume proposes to discuss, with the critical background furnished by the specific investigations listed above in addition to general psychological theory, the following topics: 1. The general concepts upon which the graphologists build their elaborate structure. 2. The methods they have utilized in their endeavor to correlate particular graphic with particular mental or temperamental traits. 3. The significance of certain graphic elements as de- termined by graphology and by psychology. The second part of the book will be devoted to reports on experimental investigation of a few specific g^raphological assumptions. Since the question of method of attack will, necessarily, be in the foreground, meagre positive results may be anticipated. Whatever positive conclusions are suggested will encourage us in our search for diagnostic material. The particular problems we shall attack in this piart include handwriting disguise as basal to all efforts to discriminate between the spontaneous and the controlled hand; intra-individual variability; graphic individuality; and, lastly, a graphological reading of a collection of hands checked by a characterological rating obtained by a modi- fied form of the order of merit method. CHAPTER II. THE BASAL CONCEPTS OF GRAPHOLOGY. From my reading of graphological literature, five concepts emerge as essential to an understanding of the general as sumptions. These concepts may be listed as follows (i) Handwriting as a form of emotional or dramatic ex- pression; (2) Graphic individuality as an outcome of cen- tral factors; (3) The limits of voluntary control and its significance for psychddiagnosis from written products;' (4) The range and significance of graphic variabiHty; and (5) The conception of the graphological signs and of the graphological portrait. Let us discuss briefly what is in- volved in each of these concepts. I. Handwriting as a form of Dramatic Expression. A general presupposition of graphology is that all move- ment has dramatic nuance and mirrors temperamental ten- dencies. \^xiting_Js__described as an_expressive _mcffi£Jiient on a par with gestureaHd^gOToSbiSL .att3u.de. The.FrencI characferizilion l3f^ritmg3S_comgosed of "petits gestes'' cony^y^dSmctly the^pQint__of.jview-.inTOTre^ ~. It may be said that this fundamental^COnCeption, even if true, is too general to be of much value. A serviceable ap- plication demands a definite comprehension of the principles underlying emotional and dramatic expression and its api plication to^ series of abbreviated movements that are pri- marily constrained by the demands of social communicati( ' to the production of stereotyped signs that may vary oi| within certain prescribed limits. At best we have a bafiflii entangling of external and internal factors. Trainii practice, convention "rigidify" the petit gesture. Yet, ol course, all emotional expression both yields to and y< moulds conventional requirements, witness such forms ai tone of voice, facial accents, bodily postures. How far, i«| fact, emotional attitudes are an outcome of conventionalizdl 6 the; basaIv concepts of graphoIvOGy 7 and traditional expression, how far dominated by racially ingrained patterns is itself a problem. We shall have occasion to consider this question at closer quarters when reviewing- the graphic signs that are selected as significant of emotional tendencies. Certainly, the broad classification of outgoing movements (eccentric) and 'movements of withdrawal (concentric) as characterizing respectively attitudes of aggression and of defense cannot sustain too great a weight. The situation will be canvassed more specifically when we come to deal with va,riations in I Slant and Alignment, which are thought to carry emotional implicartions. 2. The Central Factor in Handwriting Individuality. The existence of graphic individuality, often of a very pronounced type, will hardly be questioned. Its explanation 'is, however, open to discussion. Is individuality in hand- writing a product of objective factors only? Or in despite of these does writing assume a specific character ? ' Perhaps the cleanest-cut treatment of handwriting indi- viduality, although not necessarily the most convincing, is ^that furnished by the practical expert. It is of course his ■^contention that no two hands are ever precisely identical; 'he is willing to stake his professional reputation upon the ■possibiHty of handwriting identification but he is apt to add 'that the individuality with which he deals is an outcome of the multiplicity of factors involved. Graphic individuality is acquired; its origin is to be sought in the system learned in school, in acquired habits of arm, wrist and finger move- ment, in the kind of writing apparatus that is utilized, in the imount of practice, in professional requirements, social imita- tion and 1:he like. On a low basis of calculation as to possi- We variations in writing characters which have been deter- mined by careful analysis, Osborn tells us that "the mathe- matical probability of two complete handwritings being iden- tical is one in something more than sixty-eight trillions." (36:233) 8 GRAPHOLOGY AND THE PSYCHOI^OGY OF HANDWRITING Thp^graphologists, on the other hand, a ssume_ that the individuaT stamp~of penmanship is a matter largel;^ of cen- t^"_ ofigrn"."~ "Handscript" is, essentially, "Hirmschrift." As evidence of this they emphasize an observation frequently found in the literature of the subject that the writing of a given individual may be variously produced so far as mus- culature is concerned and still bear the individual stamp, We are told specifically that the foot- writing and the mouth- writing of a^^iyen individual resemble his hand-writing. (39:37)- It is, moreover, a matter of general observation that one's free arm, magnified writing on the blackboard re- sgnJbles one's finer pen-script executed perhaps with delicate finger movement. TKe~pf-esence of central factors could not, of course, be cited as decisive so far as significance of graphic individu- ality is concerned. Objective conditions might leave a de- posit of memory images of design and proportion of letters and the like which might well function in spite of shift in peifipheral musculature or writing apparatus. But, obvious- ly, the graphologist must mean something more than this. His conception of graphic style carries implications of the same stamp being impressed upon other movements execut- ed by the individual in which there could be no question of the operation of specific graphic habits. He has, indeedj claimed that a similarity exists between a man's handwri| ing and the manner in which he walks or gesticulates ; he hi asserted that the pencraft of the painter mirrors the peculi; distinction that marks the sweep of his brush across the cai vas. I know of no controlled observations supporting sudi statements. Obviously there must be a wide range for errl if such conclusions are based merely upon casual observ| tions that are motivated by definite expectation and interesj In the second part of the book I shall report an attempt.^ test the assertion of the existence of individual motor pi terns which stamp gesture and walk and posture as well handwriting. THE BASAL CONCEPTS OE GRAPHOLOGY 9 Psychologists who have made a special study of writing i movements have had little to say of graphic individuality. Hirt(23a:386) speaks of unknown biological laws which are basal to handwriting individuality. Meumann holds, "It is the na,ture of innervations coming from the cerebral cor- tex, the form and extent to which they are synthesized, that is the main determinant of the character of the writing." (32:337) Movement-indiykluality is ^fibably a product- of. jnany differeiffrKqtors more or less fundamental to personality as a"wKoIe.~^Such, for exaiTipre,"are sensory predispositions, rnotoT^ill, degree of unidextrality and the like. Many of these contributing factors might well be discussed in detail but since individuality is a function of the complex as a whole rather than that of the elements as elements we may postpone certain observations until later. Series of samples showing the genetic development of hands would be of very great value in helping us to analyze the appearance and the consistency of graphic individuality. The great individual ■ variation in the time at which handwriting sets or matures with a consequent fixation of "style" is one of the most in- 4eresting aspects of writing with which I am acquainted. ■Time of fixation appears in many instances to be a family » trait and opens Up the question of the jx)ssibility of innate 'and very fundamental tendencies reflected in the existence -of family hands unless, of course, the family type be wholly ithe product of social and educational environment. Person- ally, I am convinced that family resemblance in chirography is not to be explained on the basis of similarity in teaching Sand social models. Nor indeed do I find its most impressive 'aspect in similarity in graphic details such as design of let- iSters but rather in the appearance of general motor patterns, Ba fluidity or rigidity of movement, an inflection of manner iflhat seems to lie back of the assumed features. Hirt's ob- C^ervations on this point are of particular value and his in- teresting citation of his own case carries considerable weight in favor of a heritable factor being involved in the situation lO GRAPHOLOGY AND THE PSYCHOLOGY O? HANDWRITING (23a:386). My own collection of cases carries the same import. (14b) While Thorndike on the assumption of a native factor has utilized the resemblance between the hand- writing of twins as a means of getting a scale of unintention- al resemblance. (46b) More recently still Starch has re- ported a correlation of .yz for speed of writing in a group of eighteen pairs of adult siblings, and a correlation of .46 for quality of writing. (43b) 3. Control in Handwriting. In a sense the concept of voluntary control is the crucial one in graphology. Graphologists in accepting a specimen demand that it be a "bona fide" article. They refuse to handle what they call calligraphic or purely conventional hands — hands that lack individuality. They would seem to recognize the possibility of writing from which all individu- ality has been squeezed by pressure of professional necessity or by need for disguise. What,it.SQUgitJj_a handwriting specimen in which the individual gives way to natural im- pulses of expression. Tfiev pr efer~for their piirposes the free writing which one addresses to one's self in rapid ndte- taldngj )r the writing in inform al letters toj ntim ates rather than the chirograpEy^oh^tilfs which one assumes to impress anotfieFor fori ormal examination- purposes. That the'TTrnit of contfori§ThrTfucral~p6int in handwrit- ing identification has been clearly seen by the legcil experts. Schneikert (41), for example, in planning for the Berlin police system a method of classification of the handwriting of criminals for purposes of identification bases his general scheme on the elements in writing that may be easily dis- guised or the reverse. Such graphic characteristics as size, slant, form of letters are easily modified at will ; while rela- tive proportion between one and two or three space letters, continuity of writing, mannerisms in dotting the i, etc., re- main relatively constant even in an attempt to disguise writ- ing. In general, the success of the legal expert depends upon his knowledge of where to examine writing with the expec- THE baSai, concupts of Graphology ii tation of seeing the mask dropped. The most careful dis- guise lets light through at some point. Some trick in mak- , ing a comma, or crossing the "t" may give away the secret. Furthermore, only the expert is aware of the significance of what we may call graphic inconsistencies, the appearance, for instance, of an alien letter-form in a writing of a partic- ular type. Almost supernormal control is involved in inhi- bition of the numerous habits that have been evolved in the course of learning to write. Moreover, this excessive con- trol manifests itself in the appearance in such artificial writ- ing of numerous evidences of writing inhibition, hesitations, and retouching of letters. Often the flowing writing move- ment is replaced by a slow drawing movement which in itself is indicative of a high degree of voluntary control or effort. So much we learn from the legal expert. The experi- mental graphologist has not been slow to utilize this con- ception of control in his study of writing- types. Klages (26b) discussing the meaning and limitations of the concept of handwriting as a type of individual behavior states that one should attempt to diagnose character from writing only after a thoroughgoing effort to classify a par- ticular writing with reference to the amount of control ex- ercised in the writing-act. He classifies writing as either (i) artificial or (2) natural. Artificial writing includes dis- guised, calligraphic, and ornamental writing. Under nat- ural or spontaneous writing we get. (a) a more controlled and (b) a more involuntary type of writing. Control in writ- ing may arise either from mastery of impulse or from exces- sive inhibition. Involuntary or uncontrolled writing also shows variations dependent upon acquired traits. It is shown, however, that the concept of an acquired handwrit- ing absolutely inexpressive of the writer's organization is but a limiting notion. Power of disguise or a high degree of sustained control are themselves significant traits. 4. Variability. The concept of variability is allied to that of control. It may be considered from two standpoints, first, that of spec- 12 GRAPHOWGY AND THU PSYCHOLOGY O:? HANDWRITING ific variability in the writing of different persons under set conditions ; and, secondly, range of variability in the writing,; of a particular individual. ' -V' The extent and qualify of graphic variations that may be anticfpatecf uftdef~given conditions such as emotional dis- turbance, nervous 'disease'^d the like or those that are de- pendent upon age-'sexTand profession will be rehearsed in other conne ctions . ' We may confine ourselves here to con- sideration of variability in the writing of a given individual. I Is this variability so great as to prohibit all utilization of writing in character-study ? Absolute invariability in graphic products is, of course, j unthinkable. One of the most suspicious signs of a forgery! by tracery consists in an exact reproduction of a signature.! The existence of two absolutely identical natural autographs J is an impossibility, the experts tell us. Their comparisons? involve of course microscopic measurements and not the mere testimony of the bare eye. But granting a variable element in all graphic expression, is it so extreme as to lead us to conclude that writing individuality is too fluid a thing to have diagnostic significance? Such a question could be answered only by an estimation of the actual' extent of variability found in the writing of a given reagent under cited conditions.. In the hope of get-r^ ting some exact determination of the range of variability I gathered the material and made the measurements reported in one of the studies in Part II. The range of variability! was found to be pretty extreme but without loss of individ-| uality. Variability in particular graphic signs and the in-^ terpretation of the. significance of such specific variation is another matter. In any case, the common exclamation of laymen, "I never write twice ahke," is subject to big discount. The similarity in writings that may have elicted such a comment — one I have heard again and again — ^may be so striking as to lead : the experimenter to wonder at the blindness of the person in question. Undoubtedly, however, one is more sensitive to THE BASAIv CONCEPTS OF GRAPHOLOGY I3 minor variations in one's own writing or in that of members of one's household than to variation in that of acquaintances, just as most of us are less ready than strangers to see re- semblances in the family circle. It should be noted at this point that the writing-expert is accustomed to find graphic variability limited by the writing I habits which are a product of the kind of movement and ■ writing-systems learned and the amount of practice or [graphic expertness. Variability is introduced by objective i factors such, for example, as the haste or leisure with which one writes, the quality of pen, paper, and ink, the innumera- i ble chance factors that have a casual and not a causal sig- ' nificance. I The best graphologists are aware of such factors condi- i tioning the appearance of a handwriting under examination. ! They demand many specimens of a given writing produced i under varying conditions.. They refuse, frequently, to at- i tempt interpretation of unaccustomed, official, clerical, or i so-called calligraphic writing. They ask for running writ- : ing produced under natural conditions of interest in the content. J 5. The Theory of Signs; The Graphological Portrait. \\ In organizing their systems and presenting a technique of r, procedure, graphologists are wont to list so-called grapho- ii logical signs or elements together with an interpretation of 5 their significance. Variations occur, of course, in the vari- it! oUs presentations. Under some form, however, all writers i upon the subject deal with such graphic elements as size, i alignment, slant, degree of continuity, proportion and the j like. Usually a multiplicity of causes for the same effect is canvassed. B The mechanical aspect of much of the work with "signs" I has been definitely criticized and in practice the grapholo- ( gists modify their analytic procedure by an attempt to in- j terpret each detail in the light of the setting in which it oc- li curs. In the conception of the graphological portrait, the ( synthetic function of graphology is stressed at expense of 14 GRAPHOtOGY AND THH) PSYCHOLOGY OF HANDWRITING the analytic. The real measure of a graphologist's expert- ness consists in his ability to interpret graphic signs in their relation to one another and to the whole complex in which they occur. He must synthesize a multiplicity of details, reconcile opposing symptoms and succeed in locating the central characteristic that furnishes the key to an under- standing of the organization of diverse traits into a unique personality. A balancing process somewhat similar is urged by Dr. Blackford (5) upon those who would use successfully her system of character-analysis. It is not sufficient to list for any individual the fundamental physical variables, color, size, texture, form and the like. One must be skilled in de- termining how one characteristic modifies another in the way of accentuation or neutralization; as, for instance, the degree to which convexity of form annuls brunette coloring One must discover a unity back of apparent contradictions, ''^ At this point scientific analysis is abandoned for artistic creation. Just as little as a cataloguing of psycho-physicif traits can give us the living personalities of fiction and drama can a tabular summary of graphic characteristics and their significance give us the graphological portrait. Two very interesting problems are involved in this con- ception. First, to what extent, if any, will science ever suc- ceed in capturing the inmost citadel of personality? And, secondly, can it force its way in by any such a tour de force as that of the trained intuitions of the graphologist or of the physiognomist or other student of expression? The attempt of the psychologist to penetrate the secrets of character-organization is evident in his recent torturing of the instinctive life in his search for an all-sufficient prin^ ciple of interpretation. That he has made valuable discov- eries must be conceded so far as his skill in twitching out of the pattern certain threads is in question. His success at synthesis is less evident as shown by the sense of violated personality that his analyses leave with us in contrast to our acquiescence in the portrayal of the same individuality by tut BASAI, CONCEPTS 0]? GRAPHOLOGY 1 5 the great dramatist or fictionist. Quite probably it is a mistake to confuse the functions of science and art. So far as theoretical psychology is concerned her function may well be limited to furnishing a technique for character-analysis with, at most, a cataloguing of certain temperamental and character patterns and correlational formulae. But applied psychology will probably not content itself with bare for- mulae; it will develop the expert diagnostician whose ad- vise anent matters of vocational pursuits or mental hygiene will be very definitely controlled by the results of a clinical examination conducted by himself or his specialists but will involve further a fusion in the white light of character- divination. The expert medical diagnostician also posses- ses this synthetic activity to a high degree we are told. How far such a gift is the outcome of original genius, how far the result of previous analysis and rich experience it is im- possible to say in our present ignorance. It brings us face to face with many curious problems that are inherent in the concepts of "Intuition" and "Automatic Acitivity" and with certain aspects of the analytic versus the synthetic method of handling material to which we shall return in a later discussion. The answer to our second question, the adequacy of cer- tain forms of comprehensive character diagnosis, is very simple. They have not as yet been able to substantiate their claims. We hear of skilled readers of the human countenance but where may one find reported a controlled test of their actual proficiency? Business psychology is, however, envisaging this problem at close quarters and it may discover in time a specialized ability for speedy and ac- curate estimate of human nature on the bases of physical form and expression but from present indications it appears more likely to recommend instead a complete substitution of standardized mental tests as more accurate than the immed- iate judgment of the most experienced judge of human nature. l6 GRAPHOI.OGY AND THS PSYCHOLOGY OF HANDWRITING The proficiency of professional graphologists in delinea- tion of the graphological portrait can be estimated only by controlled tests. It is not easy to win the consent of a pro- fessional to the precautions that are necessary. Binet (3c), however, succeeded in gaining the confidence of the French graphologists but in order to estimate their success or fail- ure in numerical form he was compelled to limit his test to investigation of more or less mutilated aspects of character- reading, namely the determination of sex, age, and com- parative intelligence and morality from chirography. The specific results of Binet's investigations we shall have occa- sion to refer to as the discussion develops. Suffice it to say here that Binet concluded that although there was some- thing of truth in graphology as practiced by his collabora- tors, there was also much gross error and uncertainty. Graphology he thought might, however, be a science of the future. Quite possibly handwriting may be utilized in char- acter diagnosis but in a much more modest form than is implied in the notion of the graphological portrait. dHAP^ER 111. GRAPHOLOGICAIv METHODS. In connection with a detailed discussion of the correlation of mental traits with specific graphic signs, we shall have occasion to handle this topic with some care. In this chap- ter let us confine ourselves to general observations. In reading graphological literature I have frequently asked myself what evidence could be cited for particular conclusions and, frequently, I have been unable to put my finger on the method by which the conclusion was reached. It is, in fact, a rather difficult matter classifying or charac- terizing the kinds of evidence utilized. They are implicit rather than explicit in the graphological treatment, as is usually the case when a complex material is handled by a method of procedure that may be described as intuitive rather than analytical, artistic rather than scientific. An ex- haustive study of the logic of graphology would probably repay the investigator. I shall, however, content myself with characterization of what I take to be thej^hjef methods utilized by graphologists, namely, (i)) The Method of Analogy; (2) The ""Deduction of certain conclusions from general Psychological 'Principles; (3) The Induc- tive Method of Empirical Observation and of Compara- tive Study of Group and Individual Variation ; (4) The In- tuitional Procedure; (5) Experimental Graphology; (6) Pathological Writing. In actual procedure these different methods are pretty thoroughly intertwined and some violence is done to a par- ticular treatment by twitching them apart. Nevertheless, some schematism is necessary. I. The Method of Analogy. In breaking ground in every line of human endeavor re- course to analogy is evident. In primitive mental life we find rich material for study of the way in which many cur- 17 l8 GRAPHOLOCiY AND THg PgYCHOtOfiY 01* HANDWRITING ious practices may grow up through associations by simi- larity. Wells, (note) quoting Josiah Moses, cites the fol- lowing examples. "Bloodroot, on account of its red juice, is good for the blood ; liverwort, having a leaf like the liver, cures disease of the liver—" etc. These early analogies im- press us as crude in the extreme and amusing as well as in- consequential. Yet organization of experience is to a great degree dependent upon fusion of experiences on the basis of rough and, at first, superficial likenesses. And in more re- fined forms this method continues to dominate thought. My general impression from reading graphological lit- erature was that considerable appeal was made to very sup-! erficial analogies. But I do not find that I can list manj| such associations. I have the feeling, however, that the at- tribution of a given significance to a certain graphic sign was often based originally on a facile use of association by similiarity and that the psychological grounding is an after- thought. Purely analogical, I should say, is the deduction j of the serpent-temperament — that of the diplomat ( !) — fromj sinuous alignment or undulant bar of the t; and the paraH leling of graphic and mental continuity, so that the quality of coherent thought is ascribed to the writer of a connected] hand, and intermittent flashes of inspiration credited to him who indulges in frequent breaks in graphic connection, Analogical reasoning would seem to be involved in citing illegibility as an indication of dissimulation, and the produc- tion of small writing as an evidence of love of minutiae. A similar kind of induction is apparently involved in the rela- tion assumed between an extensive movement of the pen- point above the line-heavenward as it were ! — and idealistic proclivities, and ascription of earthly or materialistic quali- ties to the penman producing long down-strokes. NoteiMental Adjustments, p. 93. 2. Appeal to Psychological Principles. The literature of graphology makes frequent appeal to psychological principles. I have accordingly been some- what surprised to find that my reading has precipitated so CiRAtHOtOGlCAt METHODS IQ little in the way of definite reference of graphological inter- pretations to the specific psychology of movement. A few citations are made to bear the weight of an elaborate super- structure. a. The general tendency of every psychic state to issue in some form of movement is frequently cited as fundamental to the graphological position although a limitation to its serviceability as a principle of interpretation may be recog- nized not only in its extreme generality but also in the dif- ficulty in application due to individual differences in the ex- pressive threshold. b. A second law appealed to is that of dynamogeny, namely, that the force and energy of movement are a direct outcome of mental energy, which is, in turn, conditioned to a degree by external factors such as external illumination, temperature, writing apparatus, etc. Size of writing and pressure are two graphic elements interpretation of which is referred to this general principle. The magnified writing of the ambitious and the minute penmanship of the tired or j cautious person are described as well as the heavy stroke of the strong-willed and the light stroke of the weak-willed penman. c. A third principle is the so-called law of emotional ex- pression which correlates centrifugal and centripetal move- ment with joyful and depressed moods respectively. The treatment is assimilated to much that we are familiar with in other applications of emotional expression, for instance, the Delsartean system of eccentric and concentric postures. Granting that the general assumption of emotional expres- sion is wejl grounded, we find some very dubious applications of it in graphology. Mainly such application is to be found in dealing with the significance of slant and alignment. Thus falling alignment is a symptom of depression like the drag- ging footstep ; rising alignment is indicative of hopefulness. Back-slant is symptomatic of reserve just as extreme right slant betokens emotional susceptibility and vertical writing indicates emotional control. I 20 GRAPHOLOGY AND THHl PSYCHOtOGY 0^ HANDWRITING Two Other principles of interpretation are cited by Klages, (26a). One (d) he calls the law of periodic fluctuation of attention which results in relaxation of control at cer- tain parts of lines, words, and letters and hence makes it possible to discriminate between voluntary and spontane- ous graphic traits. Klages' chief contribution, however, concerns (e) the operation of impulsion and inhibition in determining certain graphic patterns. The application of such a psychological principle does not favor the mechani- cal listing of isolated graphic traits with their respective sig- nificance so much as it does the discovery of the possible combination of specific symptoms and their common refer- ence to the general motor organization of the individual. Klages also cites in explanation of certain graphic signs a law of so-called feeling for spatial analogy ; the implica- tion being, I take it, that in certain cases a delicate applica- tion of Empathy operates in determining preference for certain forms and slants. 3. Empirical Observation and Comparative Study. The empirical method consists in extensive study and comparison of handwritings. Thus the hands of persons of known common traits are compared and a conclusion drawn as to the way in which a given psychic character man- ifests itself in script. Or a certain grouping of hands re- sults from one's study and may lead to a cataloguing of die mental traits possessed by the penman in order to determine whether there are any that are common to the group. Scholarly graphologists amass collections of writing speci- mens whicfh may be utilized in the twofold way mentioned above. Thus they may institute comparison between the hand-writing specimens found in collections coming from the intellectually inferior and the intellectually superior and seek the graphic symptoms of intellectual superiority or in- feriority. They may compare the chirogntaRhy of criminals with that of moral reformers and so'on. This method may be refined to any degree, with an application of the classic method of agreement and difference. GRAPHOI,OGlCAr, METHODS 21 In any case a criticism urged by Mr. Osborn is undoubt- edly valid, namely, that too little information is current among graphologists as to the general effect upon script of the writing system learned. These systems vary not only from one nation to another but within a given country from one decade to another. Thus in the United States alone it is possible to trace the vogue of at least five systems ; name- ly, the old English round hand; the modified round hand; the Spencerian system; the modern vertical; and, in addi- tion, an angular style taught in schools for girls. Differ- ence in designs of letters, difference in proportions between letter-parts, difference in slant and shading will character- ize the script of those taught different systems. Moreover, mannerisms from foreign systems may cling to a style ; thus the influence of German script on writing is a very percepti- ble one. The unsophisticated observer may find striking similarities and differences in two writings that have no sig- nificance whatever other than witnessing similarity or dif- ference in the system of writing that was learned originally. As an outcome of this masking of the ihdividual chirography by national and epochal habits it would seem that we must seek for the distinctive graphic sign of say diplomacy or candor or imagination in penmen who have learned differ- ent systems of writing or we may institute a comparison of hands for determination of a particular difference only when confident that in general the penmen have learned the same system of writing. But there are other factors which might influence the grouping of a collection of samples btif whicHTiave only a Timifed psychodiagnostic "signrficahce. The best grapholo- gists are perfectly well aware of these contributing elements and have given us a more or less detailed treatment of them. W may list these factors as follows : education and amount of practice in handwriting ; professional requirements which determine the vertical hand of the librarian, or the print- like hand of the engineer; age; sex; fatigue; and disease. A word as to the significance of each. 22 GRAPHOI,OGY AND THE PSYCHOLOGY Of HANDWRITING A number of observations point to a fairly general rec- ognition of certain differences between the writing of the educated and the uncultivated. -The chirography of the lat- ter shows an unaccustomedness, an awkwardness, an inex- pertness that marks it rather unmistakeably. But one can- not always apply the contrasting adjectives to the hand of the educated except in so far as accustomedness is concern- ed. It too may be both awkward and without grace, al- though usually rapid. The fundamental difference grows out of amount of practice in using the pen. Practice is evi- dent in the greater speed and smoothness with which the graphic product is produced. There exists, however, a so- called cultured hand which indicates breeding to a very high degree. It possesses both grace and distinction as well as the facility that is the result of much use of the pen. With the increasing utiHzation of the typist such hands are be- coming rarer and the educated man is satisfied with a scrawl as a mark of identification. Since practice is so great a factor in development of graphic virtuosity, we are not surprised to find certain lines of work leaving an imprint upon chirography. The teach- er's hand is conventional. The clerical hand is marked by ease of manner, speed and greater or less conventionality. - Even more conventional, very deliberate and slow is the ver- tical hand of the cataloguer. The telegrapher's hand is rapid, fluent, marked by a definite style and exhibiting cer- tain mannerisms as to the number of words per line and the like. Such hands are often cited in support of the position that handwriting individuality is the product of objective factors only. Graphic virtuosity, with its accompanying speed and satisfactoriness of outcome, is the result of cor- rect and prolonged practice. All of us might, it is assum- ed, acquire the rapid business hand or the artistic print of the mechanic. The assumption is a big one. As have been urged before, hands that show to a very high degree the pos-, sibility of voluntary control undoubtedly exist, but not every one can produce them. Not every one can acquire as a per- GRAPHOLOGICAL METHODS 23 manent possession the smooth, rapid, highly legible clerical or business hand. A process of selection goes on so that the individual who finds himself limited on the side of graph- ic facility drops out of the race early. As the reverse to this picture we may point out the existence of families of clerks, one of whose assets is a rapid legible hand, pleasing in appearance. I could cite many instances in the commun- ity with which I am best acquainted where the easy acquisi- tion of a ready handwriting has been noted for many mem- bers of the same family, and for two or three generations. In one case this graphic ease has determined the line of work adopted by many of the group. Age is also a very definite factor conditioning handwrit- ing. In part, of course, it is a question again of amount of practice. With increasing age comes increased motor skill. In part, it is a question of varying degree of dominance of a hand by the conventional standards of the system learned. The young hand is less individual. In the decline that comes with old age indicative signs appear in the writing. Loss of motor control may be manifested by tremor ; often writ- ing is increased in size, because of failing eye-sight or as a compensation for ataxia; there is an approximation to the so-called masculine type. Very real as these symptoms are, the deduction of age of penman from a given handwriting is by no means easy. Binet in his test of professional graphologists found that age could be determined with some degree of accuracy, on the average within about ten years (3c) but that there were many specimens that gave little indication of age or even gave a false indication. I have already spoken of the curious dif- ference in the time at which writing sets, as a family char- acteristic. In the case of a late maturing, or setting of hand- writing we may get the impression of immature or child- like hands from specimens produced by well-developed indi- viduals. I have long been curious as to the explanation for this late setting of handwriting. Instances that have par- ticularly attracted my attention include three cases of very 24 GRAPHOLOGY AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HANDWRITING brilliant young men, gifted in law or literature, whose in- tellectual development has been remarkably precocious but whose hands have "ripened" very slowly. I am inclined to think that a late maturing of a hand is an indication of a "sensory" make-up ; an early maturing of a "motor" make- up, a distinction to which we shall return later. Sex as a determinant of handwriting has been dealt with at some length by investigators. Mostly, graphologists are somewhat conservative concerning the possibility of de- ducing sex from handwriting. Binet's test of graph- ologists showed that their successes in detecting sex from handwriting ranged from 63 to 78.8 per cent, and under favorable conditions might reach 90 per cent (3c), figures which were confirmed by a later experiment by myself. (14c). Curious inversion of sex-signs were, however, discovered by experimentation so that many women are found to write hands that are unanimously chosen as mas- culine hands and a few men write unmistakeably ladylike ha,nds. The interpretation of the situation is somewhat am- biguous, since sex in writing may be largely an outcome of social factors which emphasize neatness, grace, convention- ality in the woman's hand and speed, force, and originality in the man's. On the other hand, Meumann (32) reports a masculine and a feminine type of hand, dififerentiated by the appearance of characteristic pressure curves, types which if confirmed would evidence rather fundamental differences in kind of motor control. The effect of fatigue and of disease upon writing opens up an extensive field for exploration. Professor Janet, of the College de France, urges that experimental graphology should begin with studies in pathological graphology, stud- ies on the effect upon handwriting of diseases of motility and sensibility, or of specific diseases, such as those of res- piration and of circulation. From the more pronounced modifications of handwriting transitions may then be made to its more delicate inflections. This recourse to pathology bids fair to prove increasingly fruitful and deserves treat- ment in a separate section. GRAPHOWGICAl, METHODS 2$ Within these generic types as outlined above, the graph- ologist must conduct his search for character-complexes, guarding always not only against confusion of the generic with the individual but also against the accidental variations that are due to purely objective factors such as writing ap- paratus, illumination, haste, social requirements, etc. It is the complexity of the problem that leads many psychologists to question the possibility of a serviceable psychodiagnosis from handwriting. They may grant the revelatory character of movement and yet despair of any very specific utilization of it so far as writing is concerned. Yet precipitates from the extensive study and comparison of handwriting specimens by able observers certainly deserve consideration. If noth- ing else, their conclusions afford suggestions for an experi- mental program. If I may judge from my own experience, observation of handwriting results in what may be described as concepttial precipitates, composite images, very similar to the generic images of facial types. I find myself mentally classifying hands as belonging to the "smooth flowing" type or the "labored inhibited" type or the "rapid, explosive" type. Such categories have developed from my experience quite without deliberation, althoug'h I find that I possess fairly clear-cut visual images of one or two specific hands that may stand as representative of a particular type. My men- tal fixation of a hand involves its classification with a par- ticular group. My failure to note details is surprising but in spite of it or perhaps because of it I have a rather unus- ual capacity for recognition and memory of hands. My composite images of hands have developed in connection with study of individuals so that as part of my classification I am apt to question myself as to whether the penman in question belongs temperamentally with the group in which his writing places him. Thus the "flowing" type of hand has so often in my experience been produced by the socially tactful, adjustable, often charming, sometimes merely plaus- ible, individual that I find it creates a definite expectation. 26 GRAPHOWGY AND tSt PSYCHOtOGY OF HANDWRITING In addition to these "generic images" of hands that hav resulted in part, from a native interest in graphic expres sion, and, in part, from extensive preoccupation with chir ography as a material for experimental work, I find a sec ond factor involved in my sensing a personality from hand writing. This second factor may be described as an attempt although not an overt one, at motor mimicry or imitativf interpretation. I find myself imaging kinesthetically the type of movement suggested by a given handwriting. The imitation results in a feeling of the assumption of a foreign personality. The general method is similar to an attempt to get a clue concerning the permanent temper or casual mood of another by mimicry of his walk or his attitude. Whoever| has tried copying another's carriage, his manner, for ex- ample, of carrying his crooked arms with elbows outspread in true Irish fashion or hugging the body in diffidence is aware how enlightening such mimicry may be. The sup- pressed mimicry of a graphic pattern is, of course, a much more subtle matter. In my own case it is released only by very individual hands and only when I am in certain frames of mind. I have, however, seen such a method utilized in very explicit form by a little girl of ten years who once served me as subject. This child had recourse in the most naive way to mimicry by facial expression and bodily contortion of the handwriting she was observing. 4. The Method of Intuition. In the section on the concept of the graphological portrait we saw that there is a point at which graphologists aban- don an analytical for a synthetic method of procedure. In dealing with handwriting as material for study I am, there- fore, tempted to discuss a little more fully the opposition be- tween a deliberate and an intuitional handling of material. This discussion is motivated by two observations, first, the extraordinary differences that normal individuals show in their capacity to recognize and remember handwritings; and, secondly, by the distrust of the handwriting expert of judgments based on general appearance of writing. GRAPHOIvOGICAL METHODS 2,"] Binet in his investigation of the extent to which age, sex, intelHgence, and morality could be told from script found that such measure of success as was achieved by profession- als could be approximated by amateurs. My experience with reagents in an experiment on the sex judgment result- ed similarly. (14c). R, in particular — a highly sensitive young woman with decided literary and artistic gifts — gave evidence of extraordinary facility. Her record is very nearly as accurate as that of Crepieux-Jamin, the French ex- pert. R. reported a very definite sensing of personality from writing, the accuracy of which could not be tested as her help was available only for the one series of experi- ments. In a number of other experiments in which handwriting has been used as material a great individual variation in facility in handling it is evident, quite apart from training or extensive experience with it. In an experiment in which reagents matched pairs of addresses written by a given num- ber of penmen, I found not only a wide range of variation in ability but also an approximation of the best record by a girl of eleven years. In an experiment on disguised hand- writing I found one wholly unpracticed reagent whose pene- tration of a disguise excelled that of very careful students of the subject. Osborn found a practical application for such individual difference in its negative aspect; failure to see similarity in handwriting often makes it impossible for a judge to follow the line of argument presented by a hand- writing expert in court. The Osborn test for determination of what he calls form-blindness — ^namely the search for samples of words written by the same penmen — revealed a wide range of variation in individual records, namely, from ICO per cent accuracy in 8 minutes and 35 seconds to 65 per cent of accuracy in 9 minutes and 55 seconds." (36:6) Bingham (4) reports, in comparison with other tests, a very high coefficient of variability for the Osborn test. That the amateur should so closely approximate the rec- ord of the professional points to an interesting problem, if 28 GRAPHOtOGY AND THU PSYCHOLOGY OP HANDWRITING only the identification of a field of work in which practice effects are at a minimum. It raises the question, for a spec- ific situation, of the value of the intuitional method. Dear- born (lib) has recently analyzed in most profitable fash- ion what he conceives to be involved in intuition and he has urged the psychologist to enter upon a scientific investiga- tion of this very promising concept. Rather than approach the problem as a variation in sex-intelligence, as Dearborn suggests, it would seem more auspicious to map out the field on the basis of different materials. Specialized virtuosity in any field and, in particular, the automatic processes of art would suggest themselves as promising material for analy- sis. The contributions of both original capacity and exten- sive training could possibly be laid bare. In my experience with reagents in tests on handwriting I have noted two varying tendencies ; one a preoccupation with graphic details, the other a preoccupation with the gen- eral appearance of the hand in question. I cannot say on the basis of the results which is generally the more success- ful; but there can be no question that in some instances a preoccupation with details has completely blinded a reagent to very striking individuality. It is with considerable aston- ishment that I have observed the insensitiveness to general appearance of certain very careful and highly intelligent reagents who compare varying details with most painful exactness and yet totally miss the graphic pattern. This point I have discussed elsewhere (14,d) but only in such a way as to set the problem. Possibly we have here an in- stance of judgment of general likeness (impressionistic) versus one based on specific difference. The problem involved is very extensive in its application. Work in systematic botany and zoology reveals, I am toM, the same sort of distinction in scientists. A too-great pre- occupation with similarities may lead to an oversight of dif- ferences that may prove basal from a classificatory stand- point, while preoccupation with differences may result in the endless splitting of subdivisions. In an experiment on GRAPHOLOGICAI, METHODS 29 handwriting similarity and difference I sought to determine whether there existed an individual difference in the readi- ness with which difference or similarity was perceived. The results seemed to indicate that most reagents are able to shift somewhat easily from one mental set to another but that there were reagents who were actually more successful in maintaining one or the other of the two sets. The most striking example of facility with likeness and incapacity to handle differences occurred in the case of a girl whose fail- ure in botanical classifications was in great contrast to her usual a:cademic success. The handwriting expert in court procedure is most dis- trustful of a judgment based on general appearance of hand- writing. In study of handwriting he recommends placing word by word and letter by letter the material from the dis- puted document and the possible original. His judgment is the outcome of the most refined measurement and com- parison of details. There can be no question of the just- ness of the expert's insistance upon the methodical and ex- acting testing of a questioned document nor his scepticism of the unchecked and biased testimony of the average un- discriminating witness. But it would, none the less, be of great value to institute a comparison under controlled conditions of the judgment of a picked reagent based on general appearance and that of the expert based on a com- parison of details. The latter method makes possible a simpler process of presentation of proof, although enlarged photographs might serve in the former case. 5. Experimental Graphology. Graphological exploration has not been conducted solely by empirical or intuitive methods. Actual experimentation has been resorted to, although it has only been by slow degrees that a critical understanding has been evolved as to the precise problems under consideration and the control of conditions necessary for satisfactory work. But a grad- ual refinement of method of experimentation with increas- ing understanding of the points at issue is, of course, in- herent in the development of every investigation. 30 GRAPHOLOGY AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HANDWRITING Basal to every attempt at experiment has been the idea of concomitant variation, change in writing with change in conditions under which it has been produced. Thus the concept of graphic variability is found to be essential to the general hypothesis of grapho-psychodiagnosis and not a mere embarrassment as many critics have assumed. The earliest experiments, as resumed by Crepieux- Jamin, impress us as extremely ambitious in intention and vague in execution. (9:127f). Yet since the question at issue is that of the revelation of a personality through writing it is not surprising that early attempts at testing this assumption in the experiments conducted by Ferrari, Heri- court, and Richet consisted in seeking to determine the effect upon handwriting of suggesting successive personalities to hynotized subjects. They conclude that "the written ges- ture is transformed as is the gesture in general" (9:128) and that, in consequence, it is proved that variations in writ- ing are a function of variations in personality. The vague- ness of the conception of personality renders such experi- ments of little significance. In a later attempt to render ex- perimentation more definite comes the device of suggesting to the hypnotised subject that he assume the personality of a historic character of very definite individuality. The writ- ing produced under such suggestion may then be compared with that proceeding from the character thus simulated! Crepieux-Jamin recognizing the limitations of the hyp- notic method, in so far as the subject never completely loses his personality, rejected the method as unnecessarily com- plicated and used simple persuasion. The reagent, unac- quainted with graphology, is first asked to write a given phrase in his natural way, and then, under definite emotion- al suggestion, is asked to write it again. The method is said to be usable only when the subject is both susceptible to suggestion and intelligent. It is scarcely necessary to enter upon criticism of the at- tempt to alter the fundamental individuality of a hand. In addition to difficulties in the way of manipulating the reagent, GRAPHOLOGICAI, METHODS 3I the subjective element in interpretation of results would be overwhelming. But where deep-seated changes in person- ality actually occur, as in alternating personalities, a detail- ed comparison between the handwriting in the two states should prove most illuminating if there be anything at all in the graphological contention. But the material at hand is very meagre. Dr. Prince records instances of "Sally's inability to write when badly 'squeezed.' She was then obliged to resort to printing; sometimes both printed and written characters were illegible. Ordinarily her handwrit- ing is like that of the primary personalities — "(40:561f) De Fursac, commenting on the modifications from the normal in the case of mediumistic writing, reports that they are more apparent than real. They result often in writing being larger or smaller than the normal writing or in the slant being modified. But the modifications are for the most part said to be superficial so that it is not difficult to recog- nize the fundamental characters of the normal writing of the medium. Unfortunately, however, we possess only a few reproductions of mediumistic writing submitted with copies of the normal chirography. An extensive collection might prove of great interest. Experimental graphology must, however, content itself with a more modest procedure than an attempt to solve all problems by one device. It has, as a matter of fact, made slow but real progress by attacking three topics which may be listed as follows: (a) The limits of objective conditions as determinants of individuality and the specific variations for which each is responsible ; (b) The range and explana- tion for variation in the writing of a given individual — apart, of course, from variation due to objective conditions — and the range of variation from one individual to anoth- er; (c) The range of voluntary control, with specific de- termination of the graphic elements that may be easily mod- ified and of those that resist modification. (a) It is not difficult to list objective factors which might affect handwriting but it is very difficult to determine the 32 GRAPHOLOGY AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HANDWRITING range of effect. Some of these factors have already been mentioned. They include such conditions as quality of ink, quality and size and position of writing surface, fine- ness or coarseness of pen, objective illumination and tem- perature, external pressure in the maintenance of speed or legibility, form of movement employed, — finger, wrist, or forearm. Our estimate of the actual effect of such factors on writing is, to be sure, somewhat crude. Other factors more intimately associated with the penman's make-up would include influence of unconscious imitation (43 ), effect of written content, effect of bodily fatigue and of specific drugs such as alcohol. (30 ) Crepieux-Jamin has reported var- iations in his writing under changes in weather, fatigue, il- lumination, visual supervision and the like. (9:136f) He has also cited changes produced by various emotional con- ditions. (b) This last marks a transition to the second topic, namely specific variation under specific changes in sub- jective conditions, variation in mood, emotional excitement, sensory control and varying degree of impulsion. In such an investigation, if anywhere, graphologists must find a justification for assigning specific significance to specific graphic traits. But variation is two sorts ; variation from one individual to another and variation in the written prod- ucts of the same individual ; there is inter-individual and intra-individual variation. Can one conclude because the writing of a given individual varies in a characteristic fash- ion under given conditions that one is justified in a similar interpretation of variations in different hands? The question is a vital one. To give a definite example, There can be no question that the handwriting of a given individual varies in size with Change in sensory control. With increased attention to writing we get a decrease in size, except under certain conditions which need not be specified here, while with distraction of attention from writ- ing we get magnification of script. This outcome of exper- imentation enables us to explain some interesting variations GRAPHOI^OGICAI, METHODS . 33 in size of writing for a given individual but what bearing has it upon variation in size of hand from one individual to another? The parallelism is not as simple a one as ap- pears upon the face of it. Is one justified in concluding that a hand relatively small is a sign of preoccupation with writing as a process and that large writing is due to autom- atism of control? The question can be answered only by an extensive comparison of the handwriting of reagents of known mental habits. But in any case how set up a group standard for size, particularly in view of the fact of individ- ual variation in the expressive threshold ? If one may parallel group and individual variation, it would seem that the interpretation of the significance of size, pressure, slant and alignment should be determined by study of their variation in the individual and that the sig- nificance of proportion and continuity should be deternnned by inter-individual comparison. (c) The question of the range of voluntary control for writing as a whole and for each graphic sign has been test- ed in the experiments on disguised and retarded handwrit- ing. A summary of these experiments will appear in the experimental section. Suffice it to say here that, according to Meyer, such experiments enable us to determine which elements are produced under supervision of attention, which are spontaneous products of motor-impulses. Thus slant, size, and form are found to be more artificially produced than proportion, degree of continuity and alignment. More- over, by noting the specific effect of increased attention upon writing — which is a result of an attempt at disguise — we are enabled to determine just what traits characterize the controlled hand in contrast with the spontaneous one. Size and slant, for example, are decreased in the disguised hand, and there are more breaks in continuity with an emphasis of the long down-stroke, results which lead us to attribute to such a hand when it occurs under normal conditions a higher degree of self-control (inhibition) than we attribute to larger, more inclined, more continuous script. 34 GRAPHOLOGY AND THE PSYCHOI,OGy 01? HANDWRITING One word more, it is not easy to say where graphological experimentation— testing the hypothesis that writmg may be used in psychodiagnosis— ends and psychological experi- mentation begins. Certainly the psychology of handwrit- ^ ing as such should be utilized by a scientific graphology, I while grapho-psychodiagnosis if ever substantiated would become a part of applied psychology. We shall find in our more specific discussions considerable overlapping of fields of work. One very great difference in point of view should, however, be pointed out. The psychology of handwriting is concerned mainly with a study of the writing movement; graphology is concerned with the written product. The former method is highly analytic and has worked out ac- curate methods for observation as detailed in the Kraepel- inian studies where precise instruments for registration of pressure and speed and srze are described (13:22:30). Freeman's fine investigation of the writing movement also necessitates a command of instrumental technique. (16ac), Psychologists interested in such detailed analyses are apt to dismiss the graphological program as premature in its interest even if not absurdly ambitious in design. Even- tually, perhaps, the psychology of handwriting may have something to offer in the way of psychodiagnosis. Mean- while there is much elementary work to be done. For practical purposes, however, judgment must be passed on the graphic product, not the graphic process. This has been evidenced by the evolution of handwriting scales as a pedagogical device. (2:46a). Nor can the utilization of writing in psychodiagnosis proceed far unless transition is possible . from the movement to the product of movement. Freeman, however, is reported as directing a handwriting investigation by means of the kinetoscope which suggests far-reaching possibilities, one of which may be a convenient jTiethod of studying many individual hands in the process of making. (Note.) Note— See Journal Applied Psychology i, 1917, p. 298. M GRAPHOLOGICAI, METHODS 35 6. Pathological Writing. Graphologists and others interested in handwriting have ' long realized that in pathological writing they have a fertile field for work. We have already seen how Janet urged that investigation of the significance of graphic symptoms should begin with determination of the changes in writing that take place under definite pathological conditions. Graph- ologists have also realized the value of such material and usually include in their discussions some reference to patho- logical writing. Pathologists, approaching the subject from a totally dif- ferent standpoint, have sought to utilize writing in differ- ential diagnosis of disease. They have had little interest in psychodiagnosis as such ; they have, rather, been searching for signs of specific disturbances in the writing of patients. Such a collection as the most interesting one by Dr. Koster had this for its object. He gives characteristic hands for patients suffering from chorea, hysteria, senile paralysis, dementia precox, etc. (27) Clinicians who present speci- mens of this sort in connection with case histories often fail to make any distinction between utilization of graphic ele- ments as such and utilization of the written content. rOften, of course, disturbances of attention, of memory, and of., speech-function are evident in the written content quite apart from any specific grapho-motor disturbance. Pen- lapses are usually analyzed as a product of mental disor- ders and not scrutinized for evidence of concurrent disturb- ance of motility. Not only do workers in this field fail at times to discrim- inate between graphic and contentual disturbances but, in general, they fail to realize the necessity of presenting the normal writing of a patient for comparison with the patho- logical. For adequate comparison one should have a series of samples showing the progressive effect of the disease upon the writing. So inadequate, however, has been the conception of the requirements for satisfactory comparison that much of the material that has been published is of very little value. 36 GRAPHOLOGY AND THB PSYCHOLOGY OF HANDWRITING The same situation is evident in study of pathological drawings. Nacke (35b) has drawn attention to the need of samples of normal drawings by the patient for comparison with pathological productions. He makes the particular point that inexpertness or lack of training may give a draw- ing an appearance of being pathological or atavistic in in- tent although it might be duplicated easily by drawings from the mentally normal. Nacke's strictures are worth heeding. None the less, there seems a residue from the work on pathological drawing that indicates the possibility of utiliz- ing in some degree drawing in diagnosis. The stereotyped productions of the catatonics, and the symbolistic pictures of the dementia precox patient probably have symptomatic value. The application of conclusions derived from study of pathological writing to psychodiagnosis in general is not a simple one, and certainly not to be settled by a priori con- siderations. Whether or not pathological writing exhibits psychomotor correspondences writ beg is a question to be answered only after elaborate study. De Fursac, without attempting to pass judgment upon the outcome of graphological observation, remarks that in any case the correspondences reported for normal cases do not hold simply under pathological conditions and he presents his material in such a way as to make comparison with the traditional treatment of the graphic signs easy to achieve, (18 ). Hirt (23a) makes a threefold distinction of obvious im- portance but one that is frequently ignored. Quite apart from physical conditions the writing-act can proceed ade- quately only if the integrity of the motor apparatus be pre- served. Hence it is necessary (a) to study the physiolog- ical conditions of writing and tonote those cases of patho- logical writing that indicate structural changes, gross an- atomical changes possibly; (b) to work out in detail the psychophysics of writing, the correlation of determined men- tal conditions with peculiarities of action; and (c) to con- GRAPHOtOGICAIv METHODS 37 sider characteristics of pathological writing that are more specifically psychological, independent, that is, of physio- logical conditions. From the physiological side the investigation of writing demands consideration of the general conditions of volun- tary movement and of motor coordination, including the part played in coordination by visual sensations and sensa- tions from the moving parts. Clinical experience shows that insensitive limbs may be brought under eye-control. Skill once acquired is lost only under certain conditions, as in ataxia. The writing of the ataxic, both with eyes open and eyes closed, merits careful study. The psychophysics of writing involves study of individual variations in both reflex and voluntary movements. Through observations of the tendency to and intensity of movements which a man employs in order to gain a certain end, important conclus- ions may be drawn relative to his personality. Individual types of behavior are to be sought in the temporal relations of movement ; in the writing reaction-types, where the auth- or claims to have found experimentally a sensorial and a motor course; in pressure-types, corresponding to the sen- sory and motor reaction-types; in rhythmic peculiarities; and in variations, in rapidity of writing and in fluctuations in rapidity. Numerous problems are raised, as, for ex- ample, the cause of the increase or decrease of writing-size when writing is produced with the eyes closed. In dealing with mental diseases that are characterized largely by mental symptoms, Hirt appears to find a point of departure for the characterological study of handwriting. "How discriminate with security," he asks, "the writing of a maniac or melancholic from that of a motorly excited or motorly inhibited man?" In the majority of cases, patho- logical writing is differentiated from handwriting marked by personal peculiarities only by the heightening of such peculiarities. Such comparison of the handwriting of tem- peramental and insane subjects raises a question which psy- chiatrists are still debating, the existence, that is, of certain 38 GEAPHOI,OGY AND THE PSYCHOIvOGY 01? HANDWRITING make-ups which are basal both to character varieties and anomalies, and to specific forms of insanity which may re- sult in case of strain. (33:42). In any case it is urged by competent authority, in agree- ment with the experimental psychologists, that the study of pathological writing should not be based on observation of the graphic product but that there should be regression to analytic registration of the graphic movements of the pa- tients who are under investigation. It is thought that such utilization of writing-movements may have actual diagnosS; tic significance. ! chapte;r IV. '•■ THE GRAPHOLOGICAL ELEMENTS. it i In order to confine our discussion to certain definite issues jlet us now consider a few interpretations that have resulted eES a precipitate from graphological analysis. And in order ito give these interpretations background let us attempt a •rcomparative survey by means of which we may bring into relationship the different possible methods of approach. Our procedure will be as follows. Out of the myriad in- tricacies, the subtle distinctions, given us in the treatises on the subject we will choose a few graphic elements and sub- ject them to definite scrutiny from the following points of view: (i) the graphological; (2) the pathological (follow- ing de Fursac) ; (3) that of the handwriting expert (fol- lowing Osborn) ; and (4) that of experimental investiga- tion whether motivated by graphological or psychological interest. We will carry our schematism so far as to attempt a tabular summary of this comparative survey. The graphic elements chosen for such exploitation are the following: (I) Size, or dimension; (II) Pressure and line-quality; (III) Direction, including slant and align- ment; (IV) Continuity; (V) Proportion. Some violence is done the graphological position by an undue simplification of it but a certain amount of simplification is necessary in the interest of a clear-cut presentation. I. Graphic Dimension. I. In this_2resentation we will limit ourselves largely to disctission of letter^size. "The graphologists tell us that a "bi g" han d is a si^i_of imagination, or ambition, or pride. The particular form that ambition or pride may assume will be determined by the general setting in which size is only one element. M inute writing is-a^sym^m o^-fireoccttpa- tion with min utiae ; of fine sse ; of miserliness or, sometimes, myopia. Again, the general setting is important. Varia- 39 40 GRAPHOI.OGY AND THK PSYCHOLOGY OF HANDWRITING tions in size are also significant ; diminution in size as writ- ing proceeds indicates ambition or ardor that plays out ; in- crease indicates waxing ardor. -The determination of whether letters shall be considered large or small offers considerable difficulty. "Miniscules" less than two millimeters in height may, however, be cited as small; and capitals that are less than eight millimetefs, ' Small letters that run above three millimeters are big and capitals that are more than twelve millimeters high. (Note) Often, graphologists appear to utilize the capitals alone as sufficiently indicative of character traits. In this connec- tion they also make much of the variations in form of 'the capital and the possibility it offers for excess decoration. - The characterological interpretation appears to be based on feeling for size as contributing to prestige ; the more "consequential" a conscious state is felt to be, the more im- petus toward "large" expression. 2. Let us turn now to pathological writing. Is increase or decrease of graphic dimensions indicative of any particular mental condition? De Fursac writes (18:13f) : The di- mension of letters is in large measure a function of the psychomotor activity or energy. Psychomotor exaltation or hyperkinesis manifests itself under two different forms which may be combined in variable proportions, increase in rapidity of the graphic movements and increase in the ex- tension and energy of these movements. Specifically, so far as extent of movement is concerned, we find that aug- mentation of extent of movement leads to an increase in the height of letters. The extent of such magnification is clearly evident when the normal writing of a patient is com- pared with that produced in a state of maniacal excitement. Increased rapidity of writing as shown by timed records is also an outcome of such excitement. The relation of such increased speed to amplitude is of great interest. When increase in rapidity does not exceed certain limits it remains Note— Cf . Graves, S. M. "A Study of Handwriting," Journal oi Educational Psychology, p. 483-494. THE GRAPHOLOGICAI^ EI-EMENTS 4I compatible with increase in the height of letters, and am- plitude and speed are associated. But when speed becomes very great the inverse phenomenon occurs, namely, a dim- , inution in size of letters, a diminution which may result in certain words being reduced to vague undulating lines, quite illegible. Often in the same specimen we find both manifestations of hyperkinesis, — increase in height and diminution of movement due to excessive speed. I The enfeeblement of psychomotor activity manifests itself, I in general, in a diminution in the height of letters, conjoined inot with increased rapidity but with retardation of the graphic movement. Specimens are given of such decrease in size under conditions of melancholy depression. (18:15) Sometimes a sample of writing from the same patient shows great variability in size. Fatigue, for example, may lead to writing that becomes progressively more diminished in amplitude, while under the influence of automatism writ- ,ing increases in size, a fact strikingly evident in stereotypy. . Extreme variability in size may be the outcome of variation in speed or it may be determined by diminution in the power 'of attention. (18:19) Specific mental disorders furnish examples of such shifts in size. Thus the writing of the dementia precox patient may be normal in size or very large or very extenuated de- : pending upon the dominance of automatism or hyperkinesis or fatigue. (18:151). Even the manic does not always .produce greatly magnified writing; sometimes irregularity in size is more characteristic than is increase in dimensions. 1(18:198). Very great decrease in size from the normal jmay occur in the case of melancholic depression, such de- crease being greater in spontaneous writing than in writing under dictation, because of the greater mental effort involv- ed in the former case. But, as before, irregularity in size testifies to the disturbance of attention. (18:21 If.) Other specialists on pathological writing are in pretty fair agreement, with de Fursac. Both Koster (27) and Hirt f(23a:399) reproduce specimens showing magnified writing 42 GRAPHOLOGY AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HANDWRITING when the patient is in his manic period and very minute writing produced under conditions of depression. DecreasI in size through fatigue is substantiated. Koster reports, also, an increase in size of writing resorted to in an uncon- scious attempt to mask lack of motor control — a device that I have noted in elderly people. Gross (22:498), following the more exact technique of the Kraepelinian investigations, found retardation of speed, reduction in size, and sub-normal pressure during depres- sion in circular insanity. Writing characters became pro- gressively smaller instead of showing the more normal in- crease in size. In mania, Gross reports that results were less clear-cut. With rising excitement there was, however, a tendency to increased speed, increased size and increased pressure. Hirt (23a:397f) reports: The melancholic patient enters upon the writing act with great slowness and with anxiety. The stroke of single lines is at times surprisingly weak and the letters not seldom exceedingly minute. The maniac, on the contrary, seizes the pen boldly and dashes off the given proposition in large energetic strokes. On the mental side the melancholic gives a picture of inhibition, pedantry, anx- iety, poverty of thought, self-depreciation ; the maniac ex- hibits want of consideration, thoughtlessness, incoherence, self-exaltation. 3. Letter-size, the expert informs us, is largely dependent upon the writing system which has been learned. Varia- tions in this respect are not significant in identification of writing unless they are extreme. Many external factors in- fluence letter-size. Thus the fineness or coarseness of the pen with which one is writing will influence the size of graphic product. Often, too, the amplitude of the sheet upon which one writes is a significant factor. Everyone produces a microscopic hand in addressing a doll's envetope, and a large one in labelling an express package. It is fairly easy to alter size voluntarily and within wide limits. THB GRAPHOtOGICAI, ELEMENTS 43 Spacing, Osborn tells us (36a: 149) "is mainly changed by the slant of the upward or connecting stroke," a habit which is also dependent upon the system of writing which one has learned. The old round hand and the modern ver- tical show greater compactness than a Spencerian hand. 4. Size, together with speed and pressure, is a graphic element that has been subjected to considerable experimental observation. The Kraepelin studies (13:22) have given particular attention to it and Freeman (16c) has contributed a detailed analysis. There are some interesting relationships observable be- tween size and speed. A graphic rhythm develops in which there is an attempt to keep the time element constant for a given form even under changed conditions of size. In gen- eral, we find increased size correlated with increased speed : there is also progressive increase in size as writing contin- ues, closely related again to developing speed. As attention is withdrawn from writing there is an increase in size, par- ticularly evident in automatic writing. Writing that is pro- duced with the eyes closed also shows, normally, an increase in size, although there are many exceptions to this state- ment. Decrease in size of graphic movement is an outcome of lessened speed or of INTENTIONAL increase in speed. It occurs, in general, whenever effort is involved in handling the situation. The direction of attention to the writing movement as in disguised writing leads to a decrease in size, although this tendency may be overcome by voluntary increase of dimensions and in exceptional cases the slow writing approaches the conventional standard and therefore becomes larger. Cutting through these results we find, moreover, small writing as an outcome of graphic expertness. Illiterate writing is large because of lack of motor control. All of the above statements, it should be observed, refer directly to changes in the extent of graphic movement when we are dealing with a particular individual under given ex- 44 GRAPHOLOGY AND THfi PSYCHOtOGY 0? HANDWRITING perimental conditions. To what degree we are justified in attempting to, apply any of these experimental findings in an inter-individual comparison of hands is very doubt- ful. An extremely large and free hand may, however, in- dicate general freedom of impulse while an abnormally small hand would lead to suspicion of the presence of in- hibitory tendencies which might vary considerably in nature, Small writing may be due to excess of control or to economy of effort as an outcome of practice and skill ; it may indicate self-consciousness and inhibition or it may evidence expert- ness. Dearborn (11, a) in a series of experiments in which a fig- ure was learned by motor tracery found that concentration on the conscious movement-sensations led to decreased extent of movement. He concludes that the conscious movement sensa'.ions are inhibitory in fimction. There are, he thinks, two phases of kinesthesia, one unconscious and actuating, the other conscious and inhibitory in function. From this it may follow that large writing is, in general, produced by the less controlled, more automatic penmen, while small writing is indicative of concentration on the writing move- ment or, perhaps, on the external product. THB GRAPHOLOGICAL ULEmBNTS 4S 9i ^ ^■o S " ffl 0) 3 o) S cfl bo ta ^ cQ (U ri £ 0) tH 03 h ^ fl ^ 0, g a ^ Sa . 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The reference^is to intensity or stteogth af_movement_as india- ted by heaviness or^delicacY_pf the Jine^;;3uality, i ts sm ooth- ness and~regularity. Involuntary placing of empha|^, as distinguished from conventional shading, is in question. The general graphological assumption appears to be that strong firm heavy lines are the outcome of actual^essure against the surface of the paper and that this, in turn, is an expression of strong will-impulse. Force of will is deduced from emphatic and firm movements ; weakness of will from delicate and tremulous line-stroke. Transitional forms oc- cur; persistence is shown by regularity of pressure; spurts of energy and force by abrupt pressure. The club and stac- cato strokes as they appear in the crossing of the "t" or in punctuation marks are thought to be significant. The explanation for such interpretation is cited as self- evident; namely, that strength and energy of will express themselves in forceful and energetic movement. It is, how- ever, observed that heavy wide lines in contrast to fine trac- ery are not always the outcome of resolute movement. The writing materials, such as the consistency and quality of ink and. quality of ink and of paper, the kind of pen used, and the position in which it is held, obviously condition line-quality. A very thick stroke points to materialism ; while a writing in which there is no distinction of ground and hair stroke (the so-called "teigig" or "pateuse" hand) indicates sen- suality, a love of physical pleasures. The reason for con- necting materialism with unusually heavy ■ stroke is not given ; it is, probably, purely, analogical. Preyer states that the interpretation of the "teigig" hand is supported by ex- perience but that the explanation is in doubt. The explana- tion sometimes suggested is that such a writing is produc- ed by holding the pen at a very low angle with reference to the paper and that such holding of the pen is itself indica- tive of indolence and relaxation. THE GRAPHOI^OGICAI, HII^BmENTS 47 2. From the pathological standpoint we are told that var- iations in motor energy are reflected in thickness of strokes but in very different forms, depending upon pathological condition. Hyperkinesis produces, in general, "weighted" writing, the result of which is an increase in thickness of stroke. The pressure is often so great that the pen pierces th^paper. When, however, speed passes a certain limit, such pressure is less evident. E)imunition in energy of movement may have contradic- torjWfeects : it may result in writing that is abnormally heavy or in an excessively fine stroke. The former result appears when both reflex and voluntary reaction are enfeebled as in epilepsy ; the latter when the psycho-motor inhibition affects voluntary contractions only, as in melancholia (18:15, 89). Variability in pressure may result from failure to graduate pressure in consequence of attention so enfeebled as to fail to distinguish between the principal and the accessory lines. (18:89) Gross, from actual registration of pressure, reported sub- normal pressure for the graphic movements of patients in the depressive period of circular insanity (22:498). In mania there appeared great fluctuations in pressure; often extreme pressure was associated with extreme speed and size as a manifestation of rising excitement. (22:509). 3. Osborn's discussion of line-quality and pressure is en- lightening. Line-width is dependent to a great extent upon pen-position. A nearly vertical position gives a fine line of nearly uniform width without shading and with a tendency to a broken effect. It is usually associated with finger move- ment. A nearly horizontal position gives a broader line, with frequent shading, and is often associated with free arm movement. Pen position "can be determined by the loca- tion of the emphasis of shading." Because of variation in pen pressure on the nibs of the pen we get, when writing is viewed under the microscope, three classes of writers: "those who make the majority of pen strokes rougher on the left, on the right, or those whose strokes show uniformity — 48 GRAPHOIvOGY AND THi; PSYCHOLOGY 0^ HANDWRITING right slant writing more frequently shows an excess of roughness on the right and lower side of pen strokes" "The character and extent of the roughness of the line edges are greatly changed by changes in the character of the sur- face of the paper, in its sizing, and in the materials of which it is made. The result is also affected by the character and condition of the ink used and by the rapidity, direction, and weight of the stroke." (36:131f.) The involuntary placing of emphasis is one of the most personal characteristics of writing and one that "afinost baffles simulation." "The weight of hand, graduation of pressure, and placing of emphasis radically change the ap- pearance of a writing as a whole without changing the form in any way," (36). There may result a hand that sug- gests strength, one that is the record of rapid, nervous move- ment shown in irregular broken lines; or one that shows in the heavy, ragged, uneven line lack of skill and constant variation in pressure. Pen pressure reveals the degree to which writing is free and unconscious or labored and halting. 4. In the experimental investigation of writing, distribu- tion of pressure in graphic movements is one of the prob- lems which has been attacked by the Kraepelinian methods. Gross reports a distinctive curve for every subject tested but warns the reader that this curve can be detected only by instrumental analysis. (22:555). Diehl reports that light pressure and high involuntary speed may coexist. For example, practice leads both to acceleration of graphic speed and decrease in pressure. VOLUNTARY increase of speed is accompanied by increased pressure. The relation- ship between speed and pressure is somewhat indirect ; in- crease in pressure is due to increase of effort of will (Antrieb or Anregung) ; zeal for work is indicated by rising pressure (13:51f). Hirt's investigations (23a:370) indicate that writing pressure obeys certain fundamental physiological and psychological laws. It increases (i) in a given direction of movement; (2) under influence of rhythmic tendencies; THE GRAPHOWGlCAt ELEMENTS 49 (3) at conclusion of a series of movements (final em- phasis). It is, however, impossible to determine variations in pressure from bare observation of writing-product. Only in part does it parallel thickness or width of line-stroke. Such divergence between actual pressure and line-quality is involved in the structure of the pen-point, since strokes which are perpendicular to the transverse of the nibs of the pen are necessarily heavier than those which parallel in direction the moving pen point, even tholigh the pressure be the same in the two cases. Apart from general laws governing pressure, individual differences are apparent in the distribution of pressure. Two main types are observable, correspondent to the motor and sensory reaction types. The first or motor type makes the writing movements in one impulse; the second, or sensory type, fractionate these movements. The impulses of the motor type are simpler, more continuous, more uncontrolled than those of the sensory type. The first make movements ; the second, signs. Writing size, duration, speed, and pres- sure vary from one part of manuscript to another. At the beginning, writing is proportionately small, slow, and weak in pressure. As writing continues there is an increase to a maximum. Each line is a unit in itself as well as a part of a bigger whole. Fluctuations in pressure give evidence of renewed will-impulses. The attempt to produce writing of fine quality causes more than the usual fluctuation in speed, size, and pressure, for attention is on the form of the indi- vidual letter. Writing becomes more uniform in proportion as it is allowed to proceed automatically. (23a:383) Meumann on the ground of difference in degree and dis- tribution of pressure distinguishes three types of writing characteristic of men, women, and children respectively. The concentration of attention upon writing movement causes an increase in pressure as is evident in disguised and retarded script, and, in general, increase in effort means in- creased pressure. 50 GRAPHOLOGY AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HANDWRITING THE GRAPHOtOGICAI, EtfiMENTS 51 3. Direction. A^lant^ I. T^ grapEblogical interpretation ^f^ slant_js pretty uni- form. Slant to tlie. rightJs natural and sponlaaeous. The degree of slaQt indirates im puls iveness, emotional suscepti- bility ; the greater the slant the greater the emotivity. Ver- tical writin g shows self-control, with the head ruling the "Tieart. Back-sjaflt is indicative of diffidence , reserve, a maskin^'or the self, which may be carried so far that it shows disguise of the self, or even deceitfulness. Excessive slant to the right is found in the chirography of novelists, artists, and women. Verticality characterizes the writing of scientists and thinkers. Actors, diplomats, politicians may slant their writing to the left, and such slant may also be indicative of pathological hysterical tendencies or of criminal tendencies. Great variability in slant is thought to show variability of mood. Extreme right slant may in- dicate pathological lack of control. Three suggestions are found in the literature of the sub- ject as to the possible explanation of the correlation of slant with various emotional temperaments. (a) Preyer's (39) explanation is the common one. Nat- ural writing slants towards the right as shown by the re- version to such slant on the part of those taught a vertical system. Vertical and left-slanted writing demand more time and effort than natural writing and, therefore, indicate control and inhibition of natural impulses. Such writing is evidently self-conscious. Vertical writing may have been acquired during school years, but is usually replaced by a more rapid form of writing except in the case of those in- hibited individuals who refuse to permit themselves to follow natural impulses and who continue to obey the compulsion of school or other authority. Back-slant is taught in no school and utilization of such an uncomfortable method of writing shows impulse toward concealment or repression, or it may indicate vanity. (b) Schneidemuhl (42) has recourse to the general prin- ciple of expression, namely, that friendly, objective interests 52 GRAPHOLOGY AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OS' HANDWRITING are manifested by centrifugal outgoing gestures and atti- tude ; and the erect, or withdrawn, posture is expressive of emotional withdrawal or reserve. In other words, slant to the right is likened to eccentric attitude or gesture ; vertical or left slant to erect and concentric posture. (c) Klages (26a) utilizes the principle of spatial Einfiih- lung in his characterological interpretation of slant. A nat- ural slant to the right is not considered significant but the production of a vertical hand is held to be indicative of stability and self-control inasmuch as it reveals a feeling for space symbolism which associates fixity and self-mastery with erect position. Back slant is cited as a sign of extreme emotionalism with actual repression, rather than as an indi- cation of extreme coldness of nature as many graphologists think. The graphologists cite as evidence of their contention specimens of writing from persons of known characteristics. The prettiest bit of evidence is furnished by Preyer who claims that with advancing age and the loss of emotive sus- ceptibility, writing formerly slanted shows a tendency to be- come vertical. His material included two thousand letters from his father which showed in their sequence an increas- ing verticality. Furthermore, Preyer cites a case of slant shifted towards verticality during a period of stress de- manding self-control and concealment on the part of a young woman of his acquaintance, a verticality preceded and fol- lowed by slanted writing. 2. De Fursac tells us that slant is often modified in path- ological writing, the normal inclination toward the right be- ing replaced by vertical or back-slanting writing. Some- times this modification is systematic; the patient seeks to disguise his hand or give it a touch of originality. At other times, generally when there is weakening of attention, such shifts in slant are transitory and casual. In general, slant is extremely variable in all conditions in which attention is pro- foundly disturbed. Great variability in slant from right to vertical and left is cited as characteristic of writing produced the; graphoIvOGical ei =• d ® l> Q.M CI ^£ ag. (u bo Q :3 5.3 SS5 S> Mi Ma S <1> C3 [» tO 1=1 s a "I tw CO 0^3 as |§.S O rt ■*J t- to fl.-^ bO >■ -- s a rt .2 ■ «"ls h^ •- CO u ^2 ^ 0) to as .2 "^ S CO M cj S » a J; -M +^ +J 00 M«." a H»'0 C? CO 13 o » fl s ►^ 2 ^ p> ra O Sm£ (7a'° ■* S 2 jsa - tT Q) H S^ M O; o n r o OQ ^"^ S «-< o .t; iH o. g ::> . ^ w - d o ^ QJ 9 O+J g O4J H > P.S St; rt o d o g Q. g, V p, a*^ '='■0 •^:3 " d OQ al Sll " tn *;■" 2 q ^« o a o >, .2*^ 01 h s u S o t! OS ? ■£■: . 5SSg " » lo"" ^ to P!> l| Sail s» a J1 a a ^1 S 00 ty H 3 PiK* m I h 'I •J a •a a «J tj gto ^ S * oj to -^ p ags -S a ;: s§- o.^-a -.3 "§5 56 fslpl THE GRAPHOWGICAI, ELEMENTS 57 B. Alignment. I. Variations ji_alignment are ^Iso correlated by the. graphologists vdtb—geaeraL temperamental traits_or with emotional fluctuations. Rising alignment indicates optim- ism, self-confidence, or anlbiTiion : falling alignment, pessim- ism, depression mediated by outer conditions, or sickness. Convexity and concavity of line indicate waxing and wan- ing ardor, that fluctuates as work proceeds. Serpentine lines evidence stippleness of mind, skill in finesse, falsity; serpentine words, quick sensibility, agitation, nervousness. Modifications of these traditional interpretations appear in the standard texts. Preyer, for example, fails to find ser- pentine alignment in the writing of many clever politicians and diplomatists and, on the other hand, discovers it in the writing of many persons who are totally devoid of such a make-up. Nor does Preyer find straight alignment corre- lated with equability of temperament. The explanation suggested for the graphological inter- pretation is that of emotional mimicry. In joyous excite- ment there is an inclination to raise the arms upward, in general, to aspire. The sad let the arms fall. But Preyer observes: "These and also many other mimicry sig^s have only a superficial analogy." (39:185) He also calls atten- tion to the fact that what in writing is called upward or downward alignment is in reality centrifugal or centripetal movement; only when writing on a vertical surface do we actually get rising or falling movement. Preyer accepts, largely on empirical grounds, the traditional assertion con- cerning rising and falling alignment and instances differ- ences in alignment in a letter of condolence from that in a letter of congratulation. The bar of the "t" furnishes another example of align- ment, and the interpretation of an up-stroke, a down-stroke, a serpentine stroke and the like is the same as for direction of line of writing. In this instance, however, alignment is complicated with variations in extent and force of stroke. S8 GRAPHOLOGY AND THE PSYCHOLOGY 0^ HANDWRITING 2. DeFursac, commenting on alignment in pathological writing, remarks that one might expect that pathological conditions would have the same graphic expression as the correspondent normal states, that in the maniac pride and self-exaltation would produce rising lines and that humility and discouragement would in the melancholic produce fall- ing alignment. Unfortunately the case is not so simple. It is, he asserts, impossible in the present state of our knowl- edge to determine any constant or necessary relation be- tween alignment and mental disturbances. (18 ) The following observations are, however, justified : ( 1 ) Undulating lines are significant from the motor side of incoordination of movements and from the psychic side of feebleness of attention. (2) Falling alignment is seen often (but not always) in conditions of motor weakness, in particular in the post- paroxysmal exhaustion of epilepsy. (3) Rising alignment appears in the writing of certain patients who through lack of initiative fail ■ to give their paper the desired inclination and permit their hand to move in an automatic fashion. Rising alignment in such a case is usually combined with a curved form of the line. (4) The curved form of the line is associated with the undulating in certain maladies that are characterized by automatic reactions, notably in the case of the catatonics. The forearm remains immobile ; the hand moves around the wrist as a center. (18:llf.) Specifically, in general paralysis lines are often more or less undulating, due both to enfeeblement of attention and motor incoordination. Falling alignment frequently occurs in melancholic and depressive forms of nervous disease but there is no fixed rule. In dementia precox, the direction of lines varies from a perfect horizontal in some to a rising or falling alignment in other cases without any possibility of establishing a relationship between the direction of align- ment and the clinic character of the disease. (18:147) THE GRAPHOLOGICAI, ELEMENTS 59 In manic excitement, also, there is no constant relation- ship of alignment. Rising alignment occurs but so also does horizontal and falling alignment (18:197), a statement which also holds true for melancholic depressive insanity. (18:211) 3. Osborn finds that alignment is largely the result of pivotage of movement. The writing of the illiterate usually'' shows an up-hill tendency. The "arm is so held that the center of motion is so far to the right that as the hand moves along it is inevitably raised above the general line of writ- ing." (36:121) Perfect alignment results when the elbow is the center of lateral movement and the arm at right angles to the line of writing. With the wrist as center of motion there may result lines of writing equal to short arcs of a circle representing the reach of the hand with the wrist at rest. Most uneven alignment is due to the fact that the arm is too far around to the right or the paper too far to the left. Deviation from alignment in individual letters is often due to the design of letter acquired when writing was first learned. 4. From the experimental side there is little to report. It would appear from Woodworth' experiments (48 ) that vision functions somewhat in control of alignment and re- sults obtained from writing when the eyes are blindfolded confirm his conclusions. Often a loss of alignment is the only noticeable result with loss of visual control. Writing disguise affords little material so far as align- ment is concerned. Alignment is an exceedingly variable element and one which can be manipulated with ease. It would, perhaps, seem on general principles that falling alignment might be cited as evidence of inhibitory tendencies and Klages in fact lists falling alignment as one characteris- tic of the inhibited hand. In experiments of my own on re- tarded writing a decided fall in direction appears as one out- come of excessive control. The assertion is frequently encountered in the literature of experimental graphology that the contents of an emotion- 6o GKAPHOI,OGY AND THB PSYCHOLOGY OF HANDWRITING al letter or other manuscript influence alignment. Such re- ports are of little import in the form in which they are given for there is no narration of the conditions under which such observations were made. Comparison of alignment in epistles of contrasting emotional content emanating from different penmen is of dubious value unless one have, also, specimens of the normal writing of each. In this instance intra-individual variability under prescribed conditions is the point at issue rather than inter-individual variability. The problem is a difficult one to attack experimentally since it is not an easy matter to tap emotion for experimental pur- poses. I have tried the following test. First, I obtained from a number of subjects specimens of their normal writing on the blackboard and determined the error in alignment. Then at short intervals I have had memorized and written sentences of two or more lines each (i) prophesying a gloomy out- come of the world war; (2) suggesting encouraging pros- pects in the war situation; and (3) commenting on certain amusing aspects of food conservation. Precautions were taken that the first and second sentences should be writteri at the same height and relative position on the board and that the lines should be approximately of the same length (one meter). Using the natural writing as the standard of comparison (in every case there was falling alignment) I found that out of fifteen items (three averages each for five subjects) the gloomy content resulted in an increased fall in alignment twice out of a possible five times ; the cheerful content in a decreased fall in direction or even in rising alignment seven times out of a possible ten. The subjects were, of course, absolutely unaware of the purpose of the test. They were adults seriously interested in the war con- ditions. A somewhat similar experiment with students, but less satisfactorily controlled, gave increased fall with gloomy content three times out of a possible four and one rise in the THE GRAPHOWGICAI, EI^EMENTS 6j contrasting test out of a possible six. Such results are in- conclusive. In Part II, observations are reported on variability in slant and alignment under normal changes in mood. Anti- cipating conclusions, I may say here that there was some evidence of increased slant and unstable alignment under heightened emotional conditions but that these modifications were so deeply embedded in general slant and line variabil- ity as to make practical utilization very uncertain. Results suggest de Fursac's report with reference to alignm'ent in pathological writing. Under hyperkinetic and hypokinetic', conditions alignment departs from the horizontal but with little consistency as regards direction. Rising, falling and undulating lines are recorded. 62 GRAPHOLOGY AND THE PSYCHOI.OGY OP HANDWRITING h^ S a; f=l en .2 f^ ^ AM .9 S ""S >a^ 3 « , ^a t, 29 u R oi « 9 W -U OS 2 Q^ " ^" f s Sai-i 60 3:1 "J .5? a -« a a ■§ « S !2 t> >- K u a THE GRAPHOLOGICAI. j;i,EM]5NTS 63 4. Contmmty. I. Tfietraditional interpretation of the graphic sign that we may call conrinui tv, or the d egrep tn which-letters are co nnect ed withinjmrds, isJJaat connected scripLJs_.syni2to- matir of 3 Hediictivp, _hahit of tVijngVit^ and a hrok en or_dis- connected hand oljan inducti ve hab it of thinking. Careful reading, however, indicates that the terms induc- tive and deductive are not to be interpreted in the technical sense in which they are used in logic. The adjective "de- ductive" seems to imply a practical realistic type of mind in contrast to a visionary theoretical type. The " deductive" thinker does not originate ideas but is thoroughly well able to assimilate and turn to good account the ideas of others ; he exhibits a high degree of practical judgment and is inter- ested in application. In general, he may he described as reasonable, systematic, methodical, and prosaic. The "in- ductive" thinker produces original ideas which are the out- come of his intuitions and his lively imagination ; he is theor- etical rather than practical, visionary rather than logical. His feelings overbalance his judgment. Preyer (39:138f) gives us a fivefold division of hands on the basis of degree of connectedness as follows : (a) Pure "intuitive" hand, every letter detached, breaks sometimes occurring within letters ; symptomatic of originality, fertility of thought, one interrupting another ; no time taken to follow any to their logical consequences. Cited as the handwriting of such men as Chautaubriand, Victor Hugo, Mazzini, Verdi, (b) The hand that is more intuitive than deductive, sympto- matic of a mind that is productive of new ideas, reasonable or not, with greater inclination to follow now one idea now another than to compare ideas in a logical manner, (c) Equal number of united and disconnected letters, sympto- matic of possession of new ideas and capacity to unite them logically ; union of idealism and realism ; enthusiasm for the new and appreciation for the old; union of judgment and imagination ; balanced intellectual type. Within this group, however, there appears a subgroup in which the breaks 64 GRAPHOLOGY AND THB PSYCHOLOGY OF HANDWRITING within words occur in an illogical manner separating the words into bizarre combinations of letters, a trait which is cited as significant of impracticality. (d) If the hand is primarily a continuous one with few breaks, the penman is thought to possess the gift of synthesis with capacity for proper appreciation of new ideas. This is the writing of scientists and statesmen who excel in organization, but are accessible to new ideas, (e) The completely continuous hand, every word written without raising of pen, words bound together by the stroke of the "t" and the like, is thought to characterize the hand of the assimilative type who is neither critical, original, nor ingenious. Schneidemiihl, who cites this interpretation from Preyer, accepts it only with considerable reserve since his own ob- servations fail frequently to confirm it. This much, how- ever, he concedes, that the writer of the "deductive" hand coordinates and renders coherent the material with which he deals. Preyer's ground for such characterological interpretation would apj)ear to be empirical, just as Schneidemiihl's dis- sent is based on specific observations. I have found in these authors no psychological ground for their interpretation. Crepieux-Jamin cites the "hachee" hand as indicative of intuition but also on occasion as evidencing anguish, or cir- culatory troubles. The connected hand he finds significant of natural activity and of culture, or of precipitation and flight of ideas. 2. Turning now to de Fursac's treatment of graphic con- tinuity, we find that disconnected or even "hachee" script is found, on the one hand, when movements are hesitant or deprived of regularity and harmony, particularly in patients who are afflicted with trembling, and, on the other hand, when attention is profoundly disturbed. When associated with tremor, discontinuity may be the natural outcome of an attempt at simplification of movement. Script very mufch tied together is often produced under conditions of extreme excitement. Not only the letters of the same word but the THE GRAPHOLOGICAI, ELEMENTS 65 words themselves are joined. This tying together of words may be the outcome of excessive rapidity. But pathological writing shows no greater extremes of continuity and dis- continuity than does normal writing. (18:28) A more or less connected script instead of broken writing may occur in conditions of depression and motor enfeeble- ment, in which case failure to raise the pen is due to lack of energy sufficient to accomplish this movement. Sometimes in very great affective melancholia the pen loses contact with the paper and causes a break even within letters. (18:221 ; 213) 3. For the handwriting expert the degree of continuity is largely a matter of expertness. Osborn writes : "With those who write clumsily or with difficulty the pen is raised fre- quently to get a new adjustment — with most writers, how- ever, disconnections are more closely related to design of letters than with movement, and the habit controlling this characteristic were acquired when writing was first learned." (36:121) 4. From the experimental side there is little one can say about continuity. There is plenty of evidence to show that, in part at least, a flowing connected hand is the outcome of graphic expertness. Many breaks in writing may be sig- nificant of nothing more than graphic unaccustomedness. Klages shows, further, that breaks in writing may result from motor inhibition and from excessive attention to writ- ing. This appears from study of disguised and artificial writing. One may, voluntarily, introduce breaks into writ- ing but it is impossible to will extreme continuity. Release of the motor impulse causes increased continuity ; while in- hibition results in decreased continuity. It is difficult to see any connection whatever between these last observations and the traditional interpretation by graph- ologists of the significance of graphic continuity. The only possibility of alliance would be found in the determination of a possible relationship between attention types and a con- nected or disconnected hand. 66 GRAPHOLOGY AND THB PSYCHOI,OGY OF HANDWRITING >< M M IH Iz; o O to o Iz; o t-H w B! W a as a fc^-g B ^ 3 ■" <1) E3 ■a 0) ;a« &■« i5 5 5 s ■» a^«'2 fe £ M "aa H OJ o a -S S D* w o a> Jh 'i-i H =K«a S3 "^ ^^ 'ag S a" P m feii a o i; f-i O t> Q) *^ -p* C8 M C] a m © 0) ^ sa^'^iss £ a oj s £a B-a?, S.SBosI' rfeai 31- ■r .a o a.£;^ PQ.S .« THE GRAPHOLOGICAL ELEMENTS 67 5. ExafiartiQiLJib-Ove_aiui b elozv th e ba se lin e. I. The authorities are somewhat at odds in their interpre- tation of the significance of relative proportion of strokes above and below the base line. T wo tr aditional v iews em- phasize two related b ut so mewhat distinctjnterpretations. A long up-stroKC is correlate d by the fi rst with predi sposi- tion for mental activity and a long down-stroke with a pre- disposition for physical activity. The second point of view states that the long up-stroke signifies idealistic make- up, impractical and out of touch with reality (the real world) ; and the long down-stroke preoccupation with things material. Balanced proportion denotes power of organiza- tion and administration. Both Preyer and Schneidemtihl are sceptical of the tradi- tional beliefs. Preyer finds in his collection of specimens numerous examples of short upstrokes among penmen fol- lowing intellectual pursuits from motives distinctly not ma- terialistic. He has, however, more faith in the deduction of lack of foresight and circumspection from very short, in- complete, and attached down-strokes. Schneidemiihl from his study of specimens is inclined, on empirical grounds only, to assert a correlation of decreased down-stroke with impracticality, lack of foresight, irresolution, and failure in the execution of details. Normal extension above and be- low the base-Hne seems symptomatic of practical sense. He cautions, however, conservatism in such application and notes that there has as yet been no psychological grounding sug- gested for such an interpretation. 2. 'Pathological writing affords little information concern- ing the trait in question. One outcome of a hyperkinetic condition appears, however, in exaggeration of terminal loops, of capitals, and in excessive prolongation of move- ments of adduction. 3. In the general analysis of graphic elements by the ex- pert, relative proportion is cited as very simply dependent upon the system of writing learned. The Spencerian sys- tem was organized on a scale of fifths ; the vertical system 68 GRAPHOLOGY AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HANDWRITING in thirds. Prior to the adoption of modern Spencerian, Other proportions existed in relative height of small and loop letters. •4. Some experimental work has been done on ease of movement relative to the body as a center. McAllister found that "Free, full forearm movements in a horizontal plane are made more rapidly towards the body than away from it, up strokes taking more time than down strokes," (45:76) In disguised handwriting we find considerable attention given to relative proportion as of considerable importance in identification of a hand. While changes in absolute size are very easily produced voluntarily, certain changes in relative proportion are maintained only with the greatest difficulty; increase in the length of the up-strokes, for example. In- crease in length of the down-strokes, particularly in termi- nal loops, may, however, be imitated with considerable ease. Hands vary considerably in amount of difference in ex- tension of small and lower loop letters. Very extreme in- equality is usually found in minute writing, an inequality which Klages (26:37f) considers evidence of the presence of strong inhibitory impulses which operate in keeping the minimum letters small. Very long "long" letters in small script are interpreted as the outcome of intermittent freeing of the motor impulse. From Klages' standpoint it is possi- ble to make a connection between lack of circumspection and the short down-stroke. THE GRAPHOLOGICAI. SI,e;mENTS 69 'A O s o PM O O Z o < Ph w .2 ^.£2 (h qj (U O 4J 4-> o <» «8 (-.•■^ " p, w O to +j .i-i S" W ea-^ EJ Us o ■"■3S'°> .°- ~ •- 0. a .0) .2 t^ rt bo ■ " OS " ? -y ca tH fl >i w Q.'^H 2 ■5 S f ri ^1 D a""S .2 ° Di 0) 0< d) W ^ o nj 15 H ■-S M <-) (^ ^ ft tn o nl rn ^ 1-1 t O gj tn J3 Q H % . ■T3 ^ u U ■3 nl &^ s=» Sen T ti o U Q 1— ( ^ 7, S bo b£ 1- 4^ K'-n .s c be ir "(2 < « CO ■T3 s" O "-1 (I. g oo i3 »>, >• k u d o o o -•-> c oi S ^ § 1 cd Fh . 5 P ,a g ■ma •o g exhausted, ndency up tendency denoy up. tendency d ustion) a a) (11.^ ^ s«fl£: ^ Ixl d ? XI' 1 p. o p o\ \o iH •OOHO **1 CM § t-H rf) c*io»to»* oo f7\ N "* tMOOO ro to ^ ■^■^tnm en Pi 00 ft ■^ H »o O ajmmc-j Q >< n ■* VO »o vcnin > n < » 1 1 ^. 1 ^ 1 2: o B m sc H z; rn (D P •a « CD o + rt Q> H-t "o rt (J T) d -S-o-o:: rft S 0) bJ a! c8 o O 05 W feWPQO U bo a M ssion ssion ty-feeli ssion T1 r..° pre pre Ltili pre OJ Q) Si W Mfep QQ^Q •* CD Ot-HO rH H MrtNN . +j +j t> t> c5 u J Q O V oo 6Z;i5P INTRA-INDIVIDUAI, VARIABILITY 91 inBis ;il3!3H noisa3)xH XB^TIOZJJOH X3j9aS[ •si S'3 •a ^ u R E3 S2ii tOe ■23 ■OS! J laSd to O 'O 0^0^0 O ■* CTv O O 10 ^ 00 m oot^ «c t; '3 -5 O O o ^kI oJ O c o P O O w*^ ^ r- l><0inMOOM ■u fe Si a uO a; g rt 0! a o •a . a H •*• ►^ (^ <" fll fl c4 E] ^ O O Pi Oi Pi 0) O O "O »o o « 0\ OOiO o\o\ o + 1 + ++1 + 1 ^^fefe o u>>> » ais Oi Ed -tf t>> oozgn.? o o P d S f ^ S o«-fcrtOP. vooo ^oo^o :( I I' S P. « S* o*; -OQPOPos ^j t> > ►> > ti " Q O O 9 (D Sl^ 92 GRAPHOLOGY AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HANDWRITING Tables II and III summarize the results. Size and slant measurements were made on the autograph as ^ explained above. Under extension, the horizontal extension of the whole name is entered; under height the SUM in millimet- ers of the measurements on the four chosen letters; under slant the average degree of slant from the vertical for the chosen letters. Some interesting facts emerge from study of the individ- ual records. First, that of great variability in all the ele- ments measured. Thus for Subject I, length of name ranges from forty- four to eighty-three millimeters ; extension of the first initial from ten to twenty-nine millimeters ; aver- age slant on the chosen letters from sixteen to forty-two degrees. For Subject II, the length of name ranges from fifty-three to one hundred and ten millimeters, extension of the initial capital from five to twenty-six millimeters; and average slant from less than five to nearly fifty-three de- grees. Both penmen show, I suspect, an unusually exten- sive range of variation for the traits measured. Both show on occasion a tendency toward excessive slant; toward the left for I ; toward the right for II. The tabulation of the specific records indicates that results from Subject II offer some confirmation of graphological principles. Average extension, height and slant are all in- creased in a pleasurable state whether comparison is insti- tuted with the products of the neutral state or with those of depressed conditions. Not only is this true, but, further- more, depressive states also show, in conjunction with de- crease in amplitude, an increase in slant as compared with the neutral, quite in accordance with graphological expecta- tion. Alignment presents less straightforward results. In general, Subject II produces a very irregular alignment. One can assert this much only, that there is a trifle greater tendency to up-alignment when consciousness is pleasurably toned than is the case otherwise. Results from Subject I are very different. In this in- stance the records produced in the neutral or objective- INTRA-INDIVIDUAL VARIABILITY 93 minded states exceed the others in extension and slant ; there is very little difference in result between depressive and gay states. Alignment which is normally rising shows a con- siderable inclination to fall in depression. There was undoubtedly some difference in the significance of the so-called neutral state for the two subjects. For I, the real contrast between the first and the other two condi- tions is expressed by the terms Objective-Subjective (possi- bly extroverted-introverted). The objective state of mind is characterized by intense interest and absorption in work; it is unemotional but probably pleasant and is more charac- terized by energy than the contrasting states are. For Sub- ject II, the opposition is between indifferent and affectively toned states of. mind. States of great interest in work and of physical energy are happy states. Depression is, usually, the outcome of sickness. For both subjects, however, a re- lationship exists between energy and the resulting graphic expression. With high energy there is, in general, an in- crease in scope of movement. Anticipating a distinction to be emphasized later, we may say that Subject II writes a typically explosive hand, — large, light, rapid, centrifugal, tied together, with excess of occasional movements and little distinction in proportions. Subject I writes an inhibited hand, small, somewhat slow, centripetal and broken, with great distinction in relative pro- portions. Alignment is the contradictory symptom in each of these hands, since I shows a tendency to rising align- ment and II a tendency to falling alignment. Release of tension such as occurs in states of unself-conscious absorp- tion in work shows in I's case in the production of a hand more explosive than usual, increased in amplitude, speed, and continuity. Attention is diverted from the graphic product. II, naturally of a more objective mental set, ex- hibits under pleasurable excitement increasing impulse but under depression, restraint of movement. While such results are of very great interest they sug- gest from the practical side the difficulty inherent in any at- 94 GRAPHOLOGY AND THB PSYCHOLOGY O? HANDWRITING ASjanH IDBIS IbViiozuoh Z o ;3 ^ Tl a B 1 •a s a 1 £• ^ « . t-i o o O r. a ca s o In Oi h P4 b 11, Ph + + 1 1 + o-. 0-. n-- *^■. 1 - •o m ■* >n m vn c^ ■*f- fl CM CM t») « N CM CM n * s »o lO N O o\ m CO t^ r^ r^ *>. f^ r^ «o •o VO « vo a d O M Tl Q> (U u r. (I) tH IB tH 0) a 1 a 1— 1 M 1 t< xn e. a W o a a S tH « + ^■3 '3 "3^ §5;$«e + - I ,- ■+ I (M r^ W m N ? 5 INTRA-INDIVIDUAI, VARIABII^ITY 95 tempt at utilizing size and slant apart from an understand- ing of the particular case involved; only under prescribed conditions can increase and decrease of size and slant be revelatory. Fluctuations in alignment offer still greater difficulties in interpretation. As a second method of testing the records, I selected ma- terial for tabulation, starting not from the mood-side but from the measurements I had listed under extension. I took the highest and lowest ten per cent, of these measurements. Table IV. gives the tabulation with correlative data. This tabulation reveals little more than the earlier ones. As before, a greater agreement with graphological principles is manifest in the record of Subject II than in that of Sub- ject I. But the records of both subjects show numerous ex- ceptions to the general point of view. When energy is high and there is an active, working, happy mood, there is a ten- dency for Subject II to produce magnified writing but the same tendency is evident in nervous cross moods, and in the relaxed condition incident to day-dreaming. Subject I also, when nervously "on edge," indulges in excess movement. It appears from the figures that increased slant and increased horizontal extension are pretty closely associated, an asso- ciation which one might anticipate on mechanical grounds since the degree of inclination of the connecting stroke would greatly influence the extent of territory covered by the graphic product. A question suggests itself as to the possibility of untangling this mechanical relationship in graphological interpretation ! Just at present, however, we are not called upon to attempt such a feat. The record of Subject II affords, however, some interesting examples of slant and extension in mechanical opposition, since under depression writing may be at once more compact and more centrifugal than is usually the case. If we turn to extreme individual records we find several observations worthy of note. Thus the extreme up-align- ment for Subject II, a rise of eight millimeters, is recorded on November 8, just preceding a football game in which II 96 GRAPHOLOGY AND THE PSYCHOI^OGY OF HANDWRITING was intensely interested. The mood was characterized as one of strain and excitement, certainly hyperkinetic, but not describable as pleasurable or the reverse. On November 20, when the subject was ill with la grippe, the writing shows a falling alignment, varying from two to thirteen millimeters. The maximal slant (nearly fifty-three degrees) occurs for Subject II on two days when the subject was in a humorous mood, incident to editing the "yellow" number of the college paper. It is noticeable that often a given mood prevailed for a number of days and continued to color graphic expression. Thus, a number of II's extreme records fall in one and the same' week, a vacation period toned with a pleasant senti- mental mood that magnified and inclined his writing. Four of the contrasting records occur in one week and in the week following five others ; during this interval the subject was struggling with la grippe. A 'number of Subject I's most diminutive specimens are found in the first week of the experiment. The explanation is obvious. There was definite concentration upon the graphic product which resulted, as we have reason to ex- pect, in small, even, somewhat vertical writing. On the whole, the results of the experiment were most enlightening. _A.n increase__in graphic movement, accom- panies heightened energy, while changes i n slan t ajid align- ment appear influenced by emotional conditions but not in OH unequivocal way. CHAPTER VII. GRAPHIC INDIVIDUALITY. The assertion is frequently made that graphic individu- ality is but a specific example of a pattern that is impressed upon all the expressive movements of a given person. How may one prove or disprove such an assertion? Obviously not by casual observations which are subject to two very serious sources of error: (i) the difficulty of accurately re- porting on the individual character of expressive or graphic patterns and (2) the biassing of observation in both cases by a definite mental attitude which predisposes one to see simi- larity or difference between the two. As a control on such comparison it seems necessary that the observations on the graphic and expressive' pattern should be made by diiiferent persons. It would be well if each judge were ignorant of the specific point at issue, name- ly, the extent to which the two sets of judgments would be found to agree or disagree. In the simple test about to be reported, this ignorance of the purpose of the experiment existed only in the case of the observers of the expressive movements. I myself passed judgment on the handwriting pattern. My first attempt at handling the situation was unsuccess- ful. After careful study of the handwriting of fourteen students in one of my classes I attempted to describe the graphic individuality of each by five carefully chosen de- scriptive adjectives. From these adjectives I prepared a list of words which I gave to the class, requesting each member to choose three which should characterize as ac- curately as possible the carriage, walk, and manner of ges- ture of each member of the class. A comparison of these latter judgments with those I had passed on handwriting showed cases of both agreement and disagreement. 97 98 GRAPHOLOGY AND THE PSYCHOIvOGY OF HANDWRITING I had, for example, characterized P's hand as expert, graceful, mincing, rapid, and self-conscious. The following tabulation was made of the judgments on his expressive movements: Neat, 7; graceful, 3; mincing, 3; expert (in- cluding fluent), 5; energetic, 2; conventional, 2; easy, 2; diminutive, i ; decided, i ; affected, i ; smooth, 2 ; finished, 2; matter-of-fact, 2. The most frequently chosen adjective is "neat" which might have been applied to P's writing with great appropriateness. As his writing is small, "diminu- tive" might also have been applied, etc. But, obviously, the adjectives chosen were not sufficiently distinctive. In at least one case, a very evident disagreement between handwriting and type of movement is recorded. The ob- servers agree fairly well on Pt. Her manner and walk are characterized as decided, energetic, matter-of-fact, and rapid. Her writing was characterized as neat, unaggressive, unemphatic, and diminutive. On the whole, however, the test proved of little value, not only because of the vagueness of adjectives selected, but also because of the inconclusiveness of the judgments passed on the expressive movements. There are instances in which twenty-one out of a possible thirty- four adjectives were ap- plied to one and the samie person. Accordingly I planned a new experiment. In order to control observations more definitely I decided to submit contrasting adjectives, with instructions to apply one of each pair to the individual whose walk, carriage, and manner of gesturing were under observation. Furthermore, I adopt- ed as a general principle for choice of adjectives the dis- tinctions that seem to hold for the contrasting types of ex- plosive and inhibited writing. This resulted in a series of paired adjectives as follows: Rapid or slow; light or heavy; loose or compact; expansive or restrained; adroit or mala- droit; fluent or jerky (tense); angular or supple (round- ed); conventional or individual; impulsive or deliberate; concentric or eccentric. GRAPHIC INDIVIDUALITY 99 A blank record was prepared consisting of these paired adjectives under the instructions, "Hease study the walk, carriage, and gestures of the persons who are listed below and then classify their usual movements under one of each of the following terms." The list of names given was carefully selected and limited to twelve, as the passing of a real judgment demands considerable effort of attention. With this in mind I also selected my collaborators with care. Six student judges were utilized, five of whom carried out the exercise as part of their experimental work on the general topic of expressive movement, in connection with other experiments under the same general heading. Their work was done very conscientiously. In addition, I asked five faculty colleagues to pass judgment, selecting each for some definite reason; one, for example, was instructor in dramatics. My collaborators reported great difficulty in passing these judgments. Most of them observed for some weeks the in- dividuals listed before they recorded their impressions. The classification "concentric-eccentric" seemed particularly dif- ficult to handle, possibly' because the concept was a some- what novel one. A note had, however, been appended to the question blank, defining concentric as movement toward the body as a center ; eccentric as movement away from the body. "Notice, for example, whether the elbows are car- ried in or out, etc." Next to this division, that of "con- ventional-individual" was found most difficult to manage. The terms "adroit" and "maladroit" proved ambiguous ; either grace or skill or expertness might be emphasized. In some instances judges found themselves utterly unable to reach a decision on some particular point for some par- ticular person observed, so that there are inequalities in the number of judgments returned. Only seven judges return- ed records for P — not because of any particular difficulty in handling his case, but because of lack of acquaintance with him and failure in opportunity to study his form of expres- sion. lOO GRAPHOLOGY AND THB PSYCHOLOGY O? HANDWRITING Before giving out my blanks for these records, my judg- ments on the handwriting had been filed away. In some cases I found great difficulty in reaching a decision and at many points dissatisfaction with my record. I tried very conscientiously to dismiss from my thoughts any character- istics of an individual other than his handwriting, but it would be impossible to assert that I succeeded absolutely in such an endeavor. The rubrics which caused me the great- est .trouble were "Light-Heavy" and "Individual-Conven- tional." Note I. I had little confidence in either of these sets of judgments except in a few extreme instances. My judgment on the division "Fluent or Jerky (tense)" was in- fluenced by a study of the line-quality under the microscope. My observation on "Rapid-Slow" was based on general ap- pearance. But it was possible to obtain, later, timed records from all my subjects and to compare these records with an order of merit arrangement earlier made by myself. The correlational coefficient was .55 when the arrangement was based on the normal writing and .61 when the correlation was made with speeded writing. My biggest errors in judgment was underrating the speed of D3's hand and over- estimating that of P — errors which were not confirmed by my collaborators' judgments on expression. In passing judgment on concentric or eccentric move- ment I gave attention to slant. I grouped three specimens under the rubrics "concentric"; one was a backhand (L) ; a second (Sx) presented numerous examples of what the French call "ecriture sinistrogyre," that is, curves or termi- nal strokes turned in the reversed direction. S2 approached a vertical hand. D3 was classed as "eccentric" but after considerable hesitation; this hand will, I believe, become later a backhand, although as yet it follows the conventional slant. D3 has since, in fact, informed me that in very rapid and careless writing there is a strong tendency to slant toward the left. [Note I. I do not feel at all confident just what pair of terms should be utilized in discriminating between the explosive and the GRAPHIC INDIVIDUALITY lOI inhibited hand with reference to this point. In the present set of judgments I interpreted "individual" as equivalent to "easily identi- fied," but such a definition causes an inclusion in such category of hands that are stylistic (Si) as well as those that are original. A stylistic hand is, probably, inhibited. On the other hand, a careless hand (Wi), as such, shows explosive tendencies but it may not depart very far from a conventional style.] Table V gives a detailed survey of the results. The judg- ments on the expressive movements are summed under the appropriate heads while in the third column of each set the graphological judgment is indicated by the initial letter of the chosen term. A question mark after this initial indi- cates uncertainty in decision; a plus mark shows that the quality was evident to a high degree ; a minus sign indicates the reverse. As a rough approximation of the agreement between the two sets of judgments we may take the percentage of cases in which the graphological judgment is in agreement with the expressive judgment. Chance would account for a fifty per cent agreement; the actual agreement is 60.5 per cent, enough higher than chance to point an interesting problem. But such summary disposal of records is of much less in- terest than detailed perusal. For example, there are indi- viduals whose expressive movements are obviously character- ized with ease as shown by the preponderance of judgments in one direction or another; there are others whose move- ments are most difficult to classify. As example of the first type we have Ai, Di, D2, P, Si ; of the second, D3, H, L, W. Agreement of the expressive with the graphic judg- ment is fairly consistent for A2, Di, H, P, Si ; less evident for Bi, D2, S2, and W ; for Ai and D3 there is noteworthy disagreement between the two sets of judgment; the judg- ments on L are balanced. Agreement in the two sets of judgments is, on the whole, more pronounced in case of the men, (A2, Di, B, Si, S2, and P) than of the women, (Ai, D2, D3, H, L, and W). H is an outstanding exception to this statement. A greater degree of conventionality in either expression or handwriting on the part of women prob- ably explains this result. I02 GRAPHOLOGY AND THB PSYCHOLOGY 0? HANDWRITING jnaraasaausia c-co-ifimMt-'-i^^'^"* US noisio3p ON OOHOHOONOOHrt CD insrasajSy Mt-lrtt-«OMas-*CO00'»t-coi-i SniitiJ^ P3NOWS00"*lO SaniJAi. CD O CO :KOjpi!iBH CDt-NOjMMCON Oi-l'^'* > 1 «oapv ini-l00(NOlW"*t-(D 01^*> 1 SnnjJAi ^{^f=]pjHPJpE]P:;»pcjp^S t- O lO p^^IBJ:^wa I OAisnBdxa mt-Hat-OOWTprHHHC) 1 gnniJAi. uo^JoJh^JOhiojj lO i-t « J i ^DBdraoa } BSOO^ t-ollOOOt-CD-^HHMCD rH 1 SnniJJii lO rH ffl ) XAE3H O00«5 (WON«'»00^10'01« 1 1 ) »q3n WmW r^^ MOIS Pid^a + + 2-#iHrHOONWco001 H 1-1 ^ T-l i-J rH 1"* rH Agreement Expressive and graphic judgment 9 No decision Disagreement 3 GRAPHIC INDIVIDUAI) -^ « H HCO •COHCONHCOMM'* •A "W CO«NrHCO^ i-J HCC-^eOCOTifMTH H " NN CO rft NM « W H CO N »« Sni:t^^j lOTidsjf] ■A 'M Sun'BJ lOqdBjQ •A 'Vi japEiBqo SnnBj loqdBJf) •A 'W jdpBJBqo StiDBJ loqdBJQ nsmpsdg coeo'^c^coeo w w '-nm .co'coco co cowHcocdwHcocoNCOeocoo (*) CM -^ rO m (M «0 TO^NIO , ^ M lO fH tKM eg CO CO r*i rH iH C4 iH to (M *0 m i-''V^' l0N«55D00l>C0N'^^OmWa3 loegm^CMrH ^ ■* «*i **j (1903)- (b) Sur le grossissement provoque de l'ecriture Archiv de psychol., 4, (1904). 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Monog. 13, (1899). m a **. li' S*; *;' >vj-.- ft" L%' i?//*' Bil;^'?^^ m. :y!,i mm m ^M* ■&:m Cornell University Library BF891 .D74 Graphology and the psychology of handwrl olin 3 1924 028 949 984