Scientific Validation of Handwriting Analysis
Handwriting Analysis is an old practice which, as in many other fields, modern science is coming closer to validating. The brain still holds many secrets concerning it’s workings (i.e. where a novel thought comes from, how a thought is transferred into action, and how hundreds of neurons work together to write a paper) but MRI, ECT, and PET brain scans are revealing information that is ground breaking. MRI’s, ECT’s, and PET’s give us somewhat crude pictures of the brains electrical activity but none-the-less, let us know as never before, what activity is occurring in the brain, where, and to what stimuli. Neural cartographers have identified not only the regions responsible for general functions such as seeing, hearing and feeling, but for almost ridiculously specific jobs, such as recognizing faces, playing Tetris, generating verbs, solving math problems, and creating metaphors. A few highly sophisticated mental health centers are now conducting MRI scans of the brain to diagnose mental health disorders and determine whether treatments are effective or not. Many neural scientists, psychologists and graphotherapists believe the day has arrived when science is able to correlate specific chemical and electrical activity in the brain with specific emotions and behaviors. Unfortunately, at this point nearly all of the information is contained within the research communities and society is not yet reaping the benefit of it.
Research has shown that the brain is rather plastic and that one’s experiences actually change the brains electrical and chemical activity. As early as the 1960’s researchers at Berkley University were discovering that mice raised in environments that included toys, had larger brains, better memories, and were able to learn new skills more easily than those raised in barren cages. Of course we now have incorporated this information in the care of infants, and make sure babies and small children have enriched environments with lots of color and stimuli. In 2004, scientists reported that cabbies in London developed an enlarged area on the hippocampus structure of the brain, due to the “experience” of navigating the city by an intricate and complicated internal map. (I believe something similar happens in each of us when we learn to navigate life by obtaining a college degree or learning our lessons at the school of hard knocks. We avoid those tasks, which we are not good at, and compensate with skills in those areas where we excel.) Another example of the brain’s plasticity is found in the recent treatment of stroke victims. The medical profession says that if treatment and training begin immediately after a stroke, victims are often able to retrain the brain and completely recover physical and mental function. The damaged parts of the brain do not rebuild themselves, but healthy parts of the brain can learn to do the work of the damaged parts due to the brain’s plasticity.
Over a period of several years in the late 1990’s, at the Dali Lama’s urging, several Tibetan monks participated in research investigating the electrical and chemical reactions of the brain during meditation, and the changes that occurred in the brain as a result of 20+ years of practicing meditation. (The Dali Lama was interested in proving scientifically that something beneficial happens during meditation.) In 2001, the mental activity of the monks was compared to the mental activity of college students who had received one week of training in mediation with a focus on contentment. The conclusion of the research was that: “People can train their brains to be happy, just as an athlete can train his body” and that practice creates permanent changes in the brain. This is very similar to the premise supporting graphotherapy, which is that: “People can train their brains to adopt a whole host of positive mental states by training their themselves to make letter formations in specific ways” and practicing the letter formations permanently changes the brain. Consequently, the resulting attitudinal changes can be maintained far longer than any “good intentions”. This should not be surprising. We have long taken it for granted that “Sports build character.” It is really quite similar.
Frank Wilson in his book “The Hand” claims that the human mind works the way it does, with a consciousness different from that of other animals, because of the small muscle development in the hand, which began when ancient man began using tools. Moreover, this specialization in our method of thinking continues with the “experiences” involved in the daily use of our hands. Making controlled hand movements is one of the “experiences” that shapes the brain, whether it is hitting a keyboard, preparing food, swinging a hammer, working in a garden, or writing a note. Furthermore, those of the same profession, who use their hands in the same ways, tend to have similarities in their method of thinking and in the way they write. Have you ever noticed that those who type 100 words a minute are quick thinkers, that chefs not only know how to use a knife but also have a way with spices, or that carpenters know how to use a hammer and like to construct all sorts of things, or that gardeners like to “dig” into topics that interest them? These examples demonstrate that use of the hands contributes to the way one thinks.
One last bit of research relevant to our discussion was conducted at the University of California, Mindscience Institute, in the mid 1990’s. The fingers of different groups of monkeys were taped, restricting certain fingers and requiring the development of greater dexterity in the untapped fingers. Those monkeys whose fingers were taped in the same positions developed similar neural circuitry and similar personality traits. It seems a small jump in logic from the research findings that “Manual dexterity influences the development of specific personality traits.” to “Manual dexterity, as demonstrated by specific letter formations and handwriting styles, influences the development of specific personality traits.” Hopefully, scientific researchers will soon find more ways to get usable information into the hands of the people. And perhaps the final validation of finger movements effecting personality traits is not so far away as some may have believed.