Graphology has zero validity (it’s rubbish)

According to this report on BBC News there are 3,000 businesses in the UK that use graphology (handwriting analysis) as part of the recruitment process. I am astounded.

Back when I was at school, I had an English teacher who was learning graphology. She took a look at my scrawling and told me that I was becoming more outgoing. I was astounded, how could she tell that just from handwriting? Then she stopped, looked at it again and corrected herself. Or, she said, perhaps it’s the opposite.

Obviously this is only anecdotal evidence, but what else is there? Well, after reviewing the research, the British Psychological Society has ranked all the procedures used in personnel selection in order of validity. Graphology shares its ranking position with astrology: zero validity.

So if your organisation uses this as a method of selecting new recruits, and you don’t work for the British Institute of Graphologists, then it’s time to think again.

» Read on about the connections between handwriting and personality.


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Hello, and welcome to PsyBlog. Thanks for dropping by.

This site is all about scientific research into how the mind works.

It’s mostly written by psychologist and author, Dr Jeremy Dean.

I try to dig up fascinating studies that tell us something about what it means to be human.

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Author: Jeremy Dean

Psychologist, Jeremy Dean, PhD is the founder and author of PsyBlog. He holds a doctorate in psychology from University College London and two other advanced degrees in psychology. He has been writing about scientific research on PsyBlog since 2004. He is also the author of the book "Making Habits, Breaking Habits" (Da Capo, 2013) and several ebooks.