Does Handwriting Reflect Your Personality? An Empirical Study on the Validity of Graphology as a Valid Measure of Self-Esteem

Abstract

The objective of this research is the validation of handwriting as a measure of self-esteem. Handwriting analysis, is considered as indicative projective technique, which measures hidden and deeper aspects of personality structure, uniqueness of personality dynamics, and the reliable and valid tool for personality assessment (Broschk, 2003). It was hypothesized that handwriting analysis is a valid measure of self-esteem. Sample consisted of 106 participants (24 males and 81 females) age range from 19-38 years (M= 22.18, SD = 2.51), from different department of University of Karachi, Pakistan. Participants were provided with a consent form along with the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES) and two separate blank sheets and asked them to draw a human figure on one sheet and write one paragraph about that human they drawn on other blank sheet. Descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, and correlation were applied to calculate the convergent validity by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, V-25). The results showed that there is a significant positive but weak correlation between high self-confidence measured by handwriting and RSES. Furthermore, there is a weak positive correlation of low self-confidence measured by HFD and handwriting. Implications of the study has been proposed.