What is Graphology?
It seems every day I see someone, somewhere claiming that by studying a person’s handwriting you can identify all kinds of useful information. This information can range from whether they will be a good employee to what type of personality they have. Handwriting, apparently, is a window to the soul. (See the most recent case in the magazine, Real Simple.)
So is this possible? Can you determine someone’s personality by their handwriting?
In a word: fat chance.
OK, that was two words.
The idea behind Graphology, or the study of handwriting, is that our handwriting reveals something about our personality. Graphology states that our handwriting is unique, much like a finger print. And if we can just look for the right clues we can identify personality traits and character trends.
But it just doesn’t work. In fact, studying handwriting is no better than flipping a coin in predicting someone’s success in a job (Psychology Applied to Work, 2007). The British Psychological Society goes as far to say that graphology is no different than astrology.
If that’s the case, why does it keep turning up? The answer lies in human behavior. Society is filled with quick fixes, magic pills, and 7-day miracle diets. We want quick fixes to complicated problems. Of course there is no such thing as a “quick fix”. If you dig yourself into a hole, it will take you as long, if not longer to dig your way back out.
Graphology may never go away completely. On a surface level it is very appealing. As Rowan Bayne, a British psychologist, put it, “It’s very seductive because at a very crude level someone who is neat and well behaved tends to have neat handwriting.”
We love the idea of gaining some clever insight into people’s behavior. But don’t be fooled. The rule we learned as kids that choices have consequences holds true as adults. There are no solutions on the cheap.
So if you’re thinking about using graphology as a way to improve your hiring process, think again. Don’t waste your money on something that is completely useless. Focus on something that has proven value like an IQ test or validate your hiring process. If those options don’t sound glamorous enough, just flip a coin. It’s cheaper.
photo provided by flickr
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