Back in school, we used to take handwriting quizzes online that claimed to tell you if you were shy or outgoing based on how you write your letters. We treated it like a fun thing to do during class breaks, but I remember a few people actually believing what their results said. After learning about graphology in this course, I was surprised to find out there is no scientific evidence that handwriting tells you anything about personality or job performance. In fact, Dean (1992) analyzed over 200 studies and found graphology to be no better than random guessing. Yet it's still used in some countries, even in hiring. That was honestly shocking to me. I think people want to find hidden meaning in small details, and that’s what makes these things appealing. But wanting something to be true doesn’t make it real. This helped me understand how important it is to ask for actual data before trusting a system like this.
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You are right, and I totally agree with you on the fact that people will look into anything to find the hidden meaning or outcome that they want to see out of it. The manner in which a person's handwriting dictates their ability to acquire a job in some countries shocked me too when I found out, I was not aware that that was a still on going practice!
ReplyDeleteI agree with how important it is to ask for data before trusting a system like graphology. I do enjoy exploring the small details and it's perspective on people based on their handwriting. I even took a look at mine and see what I am. Apparently I'm very social and talkative just cause I have the O's not fully circled. It does shock me too on how some countries still rely on this system.
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