August 2018
Do His Personality Traits Match the Stereotype?
Janet Tilden
Take a minute to think about how
attorneys are typically portrayed in
movies and TV shows. More often than
not, they are egotistical, fast-talking, and
arrogant. (Of course, real-life attorneys
are individuals like anyone else, not two-
dimensional caricatures.)
Specimen A was written by a 31-year-old
attorney. Do his personality traits match
the stereotype or depart from it? Does he
have traits that help him succeed in his
chosen field?
The small capital letters (including the
personal pronoun Is) show low self-
esteem, a trait that contradicts the
stereotype of the egotistical attorney.
Looped d-stems show sensitiveness to
criticism regarding personal matters such
as his appearance and lifestyle—further
evidence of vulnerability.
However, three of the nine i-dots show
idiosyncrasy, a desire to stand out from
the crowd.
Possibly he wants to be unique but is
worried that he might be criticized for
being different.
The t-bars are placed rather low on the
stems, indicating self-underestimation.
Taken together, the traits described above
suggest that this attorney is far from
arrogant.
(Continued on page 3)
Specimen A
CLASSIC GA
Why Do They Skim
the Surface?
Janet Tilden
A superficial thinker tends to be satisfied
with surface information instead of
probing more deeply. This trait is shown
by spread-out ms and ns as well as a
general sprawling appearance of other
letters. Evidence of superficial thinking
can be found in the writing of people of
any degree of intelligence.
People can develop superficial thinking
for different reasons. In some cases, a
person may get into the habit of glossing
over topics that cause anxiety, such as
global warming or a precarious financial
situation. More often than not, however,
superficial thinking is related to
familiarity with a subject. A person may
have become so well versed in topics
related to her work that she has developed
(Continued on page 3)
 GA QUIZ

Tenacity

Imagination

Clannishness

It has been said that the best Graphoanalysis is a well-explained one. Write a good, thorough description of the traits of
Imagination, Tenacity, and Clannishness using the second person singular. (Writing to a “you” out there often makes us feel
we must make an extra effort to “get across” our message in an understandable way to our reader.)
The answers to this GA Quiz are on page 10.

THE IGAS JOURNAL IN THIS ISSUE

The official monthly publication of
IGAS Do His Personality Traits Match the
842 Fifth Avenue Stereotype? .........................................1
New Kensington, PA 15068
(724) 472-9701 Classic GA: Why Do They Skim the
Founded by M. N. Bunker in 1929 Surface? ............................................1
President: Greg Greco GA Quiz.....................................................2
E-mail: support@igas.com
Co-Editors of the IGAS Journal: Bill Harms and Janet Tilden IGAS Seminar: Looking for Administrator
Function: IGAS is a professional association that trains handwriting analysts, performs Qualities..............................................4
continuing research in the field of Graphoanalysis, and serves in an advisory and
supervisory capacity to organized groups of handwriting analysts. Explaining Emotional Responsiveness to the
Circulation of The IGAS Journal is limited to members and students of the International General Public ....................................7
Graphoanalysis Society and is part of its service. No individual copies or subscriptions are
Trait Match ................................................8
available to non-members.
Opinions expressed in the articles in this Journal are those of the authors and not August Study Kit .......................................9
necessarily of IGAS.
Question Box ...........................................12
Trademarks: Graphoanalysis®, Graphoanalyst®, Graphoanalytic®, IGAS®, ®
are
registered marks of IGAS, Inc.
Copyright © 2018 IGAS, Inc. All rights reserved.

2
 Why Do They Skim the Surface?
(Continued from page 1)

mental shortcuts for processing information to reach a

conclusion quickly.

The writer of Specimen 1 seems to fall into the latter category.

Superficial thinking is clearly evident in most of the ms and ns,
and the “humps” of the hs are nonexistent. Inattention to Specimen 3
details is indicated by the dotless is. Yieldingness intensifies
the writer’s inclination to “go with the flow.” A touch of fear Keep in mind that people tend to develop escape and resistance
could be involved also; note the cramped a in line 2. Fear is traits in response to fears—in other words, where there’s
not a major influence in this personality, however. smoke, there’s fire.
(Continued on page 11)
________________________________________

Do His Personality Traits

Match the Stereotype?
(Continued from page 1)

Specimen 1
The ns in Specimen 2 are spread out, but the hs are not.
Inattention to details is shown by the dotless i in This. The h
humps are larger than other mundane structures, echoing the
defiant buckles in the ks.
Does he have traits that are likely to help him succeed in his
chosen profession? Yes. Persistence is one of his assets. It is an
important success trait in any field, including legal work. He
will not give up easily.

Diplomacy helps him get along with clients and make a

favorable impression on judges and jurors.

Specimen 2
He pays close attention to details, a trait that is very important
This writer is mentally sharp, as indicated by his strong in his line of work.
abstract understanding, concentration, and steady rhythm.
Sensitiveness to criticism can be seen in looped d- and t-stems,
but this trait is not strong. More than likely, this person has
been dealing with the same kind of information for a long time
and has formed a habit of skimming the surface to form
conclusions more quickly. Evasiveness is indicated by tucked-in hooks in some of the
circle letters. Lawyers cannot always be frank and outspoken
What about the writer of Specimen 3? In this personality, fear in expressing their views, so this trait can be useful.
is likely to be a more significant cause of superficial thinking
than familiarity. In addition to sensitiveness to criticism, self-
consciousness, and worry, we can find escape traits such as
self-deceit, intentional deceit, and vanity. The slashed dot over
the j in project shows strong irritability. This attorney may not fit the TV stereotype, but he has many
traits that help him succeed. Attorneys are not all cut from the
same cloth!
3
4
 Looking for Administrator Qualities
Bill Harms
Are administrator and manager interchangeable terms? Many
think so.
Generally speaking, administrators are links between senior
management and employees. They should treat workers the
same and fairly, and listen to others to get their inputs. They
need to be well-organized and have good attention to details.
There should be a good flow of communication between them
and the employees. Ideally, they can identify employees who
are good at certain parts of an operation, and get them into
those positions. Then, giving praise for a job well done builds
employee loyalty.
On the Internet we may read that objectiveness is called for in
administrators, and tremendous numbers of people today are
cool-headed. However, this highly responsive person has
emotionally controlling traits along with many qualities
desired in an effective administrator.
Age 34 at the time of the writing, she had been an
administrator in Illinois for 10 years. Her biographical form
says that she had taken four years of college, not going on to
the higher levels that an MBA degree provides. However, her
education had a plus—she studied sociology. Sociology is said
to help administrators develop analytical thinking; it helps
them become aware of people’s wants and needs.
If we consider all of the qualities desired in administrators, we
have to conclude that this person was well-suited for the work.
Her communication factors look good. There is a good degree
of talkativeness in the open circle letters—the desire to orally
communicate, to physically speak out on her real thoughts and
feelings. Employees would not be left in the dark as to what
the manager thought about them, as they would if this person
were extremely reticent. Because the writing is loose and
shows fluidity, words will come easily and not be held back by
conservative restraint. Also, there are many es which show the
ability to listen to employees’ ideas. Finally, she will be able to
use diplomacy whenever she wishes. We can find these several
effective communication qualities in a single word, because, at
the start of line 9.
Fluidity appears in the flow of the b into the first e. We see
diplomacy in the decreasing height of consecutive small
letters; talkativeness in the a; and broad-mindedness in the
second e. Also, there is no rigid rhythm shown, which you can
see in the gentle ups and downs of the base line. This means
that she can easily change her train of thought to attend to a
variety of situations that may pop up.
Does she have sufficient organizational ability and attention to
details? In the words farm of Marvin, line 3, we don’t see
complete organizational ability (how seldom we do), but since
the upper and lower segments of her fs are of approximately
equal length, we can say that she is orderly, able to keep
simple order.
The lower portion of the first f shows a slightly aggressive
desire to press forward, while the second f has a broad lower
loop, showing that sometimes she wants to consider a broad
range of ideas for carrying out a plan. The size of the lower f-
loops varies in her writing. As for attention to details, the
placement of the i-dot is at a typical distance from the tip of
the stem. This shows not close attention to details, but
attention to essential details.
Strengthening the quality of her work is a generally strong
desire for approval, which may go beyond that into the area of
mild vanity (d- and t-stems about 3 times the typical height of
the mundane area, which is 3/32".) See postponed, line 8.
Intensifying factors are the slight sensitiveness to criticism and
her strong emotional responses. So it does hurt if she is not
sure that people are happy with the quality of her work (ts) or
her personal self (ds).
In the words pen making, line 8, we find the only strong
confusion of interests stroke. Based on the writing as a whole,
we wouldn’t expect this.
5
 In the Escape section we want to look at the circle or
communication letters. We’ve noted the high frequency of
circle letters which are open, and felt it was good for sharing
information liberally with employees. The other circle letter
trait we notice is shown by the many small hooks indicating a
desire to not talk about some issue. Possibly it is something
from upper management that she thinks she should not share
frankly with the employees she deals with. In line 3, Marvin
and make a have these small hooks on the left side of the circle
structures.
But it’s plausible that her very strong desire for approval could
sometimes cause her to take on too much.

As we scan the long Defenses column of the green sheet, we

look for traits that we have not commented on. Intuition, not an
actual ego defense trait, is in our Adjustment list because it is
useful in alerting a person to possible trouble. And we haven’t
mentioned it as very useful in her mental performance. This
talent-indicating trait is here, even if we discount the breaks
that happen where is are dotted. Some writers will lift their
pens to make sure the is get dotted, and then they continue
making joined letters. And they may also stop to cross their ts.
See heard, line 1, and hand and had, line 6, where no i-dotting
or t-crossing is involved.
In concluding this limited analysis, we’re going to call
attention again to the intuition showing in the specimen. One
important point regarding this trait is that intuition raises
aptitude to the level of talent. We have seen administrator
aptitude in her personality, and the intuition makes her very
good at what she does. All of those long descenders back up
the willingness to work hard to get the approval she craves.
The strokes are straight and have good length. Again, as
Eleanor Vivian wanted to remind us, determination is not
active all the time; if things are sailing along there is no reason
to trigger the intent to finish a project. But if she feels things
are not going well she will bear down and focus her energy to
In the Resistance or hostility traits section we can find stay at it for quite a while, to get the project done. See story,
evidence of weak irritability and some sarcasm, which Fears line 12, and Your guess, line 13.
and Defenses tells us is really about frustration with oneself.
See in, line 1, and met at, line 2.

6
 Explaining Emotional Responsiveness to the General Public
This article will explain the writer’s responsiveness to an
average reader, covering every slant area. This writer is not
“unpredictable”—he is a variable-slant writer. He has a wide
range of response, but there are consistencies of slant in
thinking structures, in abstract structures, and in the
communication letters. The prime focus of this article is giving
a more extended explanation of responsiveness than we might
give otherwise.
As Graphoanalysts we have to be communicators too; we have
to get across our findings to clients who are not trained in
Graphoanalysis. When we explain emotional responsiveness,
for example, we can communicate very quickly to our
colleagues by referring to the relative amounts of DE, AB, and
other slants. But explaining to the general public is another
matter.
In writing a Graphoanalysis we may feel that two sentences
should do the job in describing our writer’s range of
responsiveness. But if we took our own survey, showing many
people our description and asking them to tell us their
understanding of it—there would be many rude awakenings!
For one thing, readers may ask just what this “emotional
responsiveness” term is (if we used it)—and they may not
understand that it is connected with the statements directly
following.
Refresh your understanding of emotional responsiveness by
reviewing your original lessons. Does a two-sentence
description of responsiveness still seem sufficient? In the
following paragraphs, we will introduce the reader to the
concept of emotional responsiveness in our report before we
get into the various slant areas found in the writing. We will
finish with a tight summary and end on a positive note.
Each of us possesses a unique personality. To a great extent,
these individual natures of ours are based upon our emotional
approach to life; for this reason we say the emotions are the
foundation of personality.
To the degree that the events and situations of life arouse
emotional reactions within us, we are said to be emotionally
responsive. Those who feel the force of emotion with each of
life’s events are highly or extremely responsive. Their first
response to environmental stimuli is to feel. Those who react
to situations with more of a realistic or logical approach are
less responsive. Their first reaction is to think: they consider
the wisest course of action without interference from the
buffeting of their emotions. There are several degrees of
responsiveness between these two extremes. There are also
those who react in neither of these two ways, but relate life’s
events inward toward themselves and their own self-interest.
(Continued on page 11)
7
 Trait Match
Study the trait descriptions given below and attempt to match
them with specimens A through E. Write the letter of the
correct specimen in the blank provided. Enter only one
specimen letter per blank. The answers are on page 11.

___ 1. The writer’s mind can grasp abstract concepts in areas

that interest him. His thinking often is based on extremely
practical principles, and his beliefs are closely related to the
realities and routines of daily living.

__ 2. It’s surprising to find strong argumentativeness

combined with imagination in this writing. This person Specimen B
probably uses imagination to win all of her arguments. This
writer’s resentment is rooted in something that happened well
in the past, perhaps as early as her childhood.

___ 3. The writer feels a strong sense of self-consciousness in

situations that she considers important. This person believes
that other people are observing him and forming negative
impressions.

__ 4. The writer is consistently argumentative but that she

doesn’t always bring imagination into her arguments. Often
she prefers to get right to the point.
Specimen C
___ 5. Jealousy is well established in the writer. A desire for
responsibility could be developing. Self-concern is shown.
There is a jealous awareness; this inclination toward desire for
responsibility will include a tendency to keep an eye out for
possible rivals.

Specimen D

Specimen A
8 Specimen E
  

 
AUGUST STUDY KIT

Situation

Specimen Analysis

Assignment

Write a brief evaluation of this writer’s social nature—the impression she is likely to make on people.

(The answers for this Study Kit are on page 11.)

9
 Answers to GA Quiz
(Continued from page 2)
Imagination
Imagination is an important component of the personality. It is
the quality that makes it possible for our minds to relate past
experiences to present events. It helps us visualize what is not
currently perceivable, and it opens up new avenues of action
to us. Without it, we are forced to face the here and now with
our wits alone, and our possible courses of action are limited.
Imagination thus broadens the possibilities for enjoyment and
effective performance in life.
Abstract imagination makes us receptive to various theories,
philosophies and concepts of a spiritual nature. While your
writing gives evidence of strong abstract understanding, with
definite ability to understand abstract concepts, your
imagination varies from restricted to moderate. You have your
own strict moral code and spiritual values, and while not
totally intolerant of others’ philosophies, you are not apt to
give much thought to other philosophies or spiritual systems.
Your moral code and values provide a definite guide for
living, and you are aware of them as you direct your life, but
philosophical matters are not a strong part of your
consciousness as you go about your daily routine. Your basic
orientation is not to the abstract, but to the practical.
Concrete or material imagination involves creativity,
originality, wide scope of interest, and ability to bring sparkle
and variety into daily experiences. Your writing gives
evidence of much material imagination. You are a creative
and vibrant person, able to use your imagination to add extra
zest to your life and the lives of those around you. Your
conversation is entertaining and rich with references. You are
able to think of new and fresh ways of doing things, both with
your hands (for you are physically quite capable) and socially.
Though imagination enriches your life and those of your
friends and family, however, you do not get carried away to
the point where you lose touch with reality. Your feet are
planted firmly on the ground at all times.
Tenacity
10
Your writing reveals that you have a strong desire to hold on,
to cling to things, be they material objects or ideals. On a
strictly material level, this tenacious quality combines with
your frugality to reinforce your ability to hold on to your
money. You spend very wisely, though you are not stingy,
since your writing shows generosity as well.
This same tenacity lends stability to your life. You hold onto
friendships and relationships for a long time or forever. The
rhythmic pattern of your writing, combined with your
tenacity, reveals that you cling to your daily routine, to your
established values and ideals of what society should be, to
tradition, and to all that is familiar. And this same tenacity
gives you the ability to hold on when things go wrong,
because you will not give up what you believe in or love.
Such tenacity can also have a negative effect when you cling
to a hurt and let it affect future actions, or when you cling to
an idea which no longer applies, simply because you cannot
let go. While tenacity can be a most desirable trait, too strong
a dose can limit horizons and narrow the scope of one’s
vision. Sometimes relaxing and letting go just a little opens
the way for fresh ideas and more variety in life.
Clannishness
Your writing reveals that you have a strong tendency to limit
your friendships to a small circle, probably just one or two
people. With these individuals you feel secure and are able to
communicate your innermost thoughts. Beyond this small
circle, you are fearful of general social activity and of the
outside world in general. You erect a symbolic wall around
yourself and these few friends, shutting out the rest of the
world and shunning other friendships.
You may even tend to be quite possessive of these friends. If
they resent your possessiveness or wish to expand their
friendships, or if they break off the friendship, you may feel
deeply hurt and lost. If they feel the same distrust of the
outside world that you do, then you and they will continue to
shut out other people.
This trait is a very limiting one. It is based on fear of
participation in life; the false security of the restricted
friendships only tends to feed that fear and make such
participation all the more unlikely. You would do well to try
to expand your horizons and enter more into the mainstream
of life by making a conscious effort to develop new
friendships.
 Answers to August Study Kit
(Continued from page 9)
This person is emotionally warm and outgoing (intense
responsiveness, with expressiveness shown in looseness of the
writing). She shows real, lasting enthusiasm for goals, even if
she can’t quite see how they will be brought into reality (bars
not touching the stem).
Yieldingness is clear in the round-top s structures, and note
the great amounts of curved strokes in the writing, showing an
accepting nature, impressing others as a “nice” person. She
desires to do something to attract attention to herself, but her
pride, dignity, and diplomacy prevent it from being in bad
taste. Her open-topped as show that she wants to speak her
real thoughts and feelings at times, while having no trouble
being reticent most of the time.
_____________________________________________
Explaining Emotional Responsiveness
to the General Public
(Continued from page 7)
Some people are highly consistent in the amount of emotion
with which they respond; others may respond differently in
different situations. Most people tend to have the same
general type of response, with less frequent instances of other
types.
Your responses tend to vary in nature; you are a highly
emotional person. Most of the time, you react to the stimulus
of events with feeling. Easily elated or aroused to anger, pity,
or sorrow, you are someone who reaches out to life. You feel
a warmhearted empathy for people. Your feelings are easily
stirred, and there is no doubt you often react impulsively,
perhaps regretting your actions later. Your thought processes,
both in concrete and abstract matters, are strongly influenced
by emotion. When you think about philosophical matters, you
become emotionally involved. You are more likely to react to
a situation with your heart than with your head.
Though you feel much emotion inwardly, this does not mean
that your actions are ruled by emotion. When it comes to the
daily activities of the world, your emotionalism is balanced by
an ability to take the objective view so that your rational
behavior and general good judgment are ensured. In other
words, in daily interactions with people and events, you are
able to guide your actions by what is logically best rather than
by the force of emotion. Indeed, your emotional
responsiveness often serves you in good stead as you sense
the heart of a situation and apply your reserve of logic to
solving a problem. You are effective in emergencies,
possessing the necessary quickness of response combined
with the ability to take an objective course of action. True,
your impulsiveness can overpower you on some occasions,
even to the point where you might regret some words or
actions later, but your emotionalism is balanced by enough
objectivity and logic to ensure predominantly rational
behavior and generally good judgment. In your constant
emotional interaction with life, you tend to give out great
amounts of energy, sometimes to the point where you feel
emotionally drained. To balance this expenditure of self, you
sometimes simply withdraw into yourself. Friends and
relatives may deem you “moody” when they find you
generally so responsive and suddenly see you withdraw from
them, but you need these introspective moments of self-
centeredness to balance those times when you are feeling so
intensely. You lack a cautious approach to life and are not
prone to controlling yourself for appearances’ sake. So these
moments of turning into yourself help you collect your inner
thoughts and “regroup.”
_____________________________________________
Answers to Trait Match
(Continued from page 8)
1. B 2. C 3. A 4. D 5. E
_____________________________________________
Why Do They Skim
the Surface?
(Continued from page 3)
Specimen 4
The writer of Specimen 4 tends to focus on one topic at a
time, shutting out everything else. Superficial thinking causes
her to skim over topics that are not the primary focus of her
attention. As in Specimens 2 and 3, we can find evidence of
sensitiveness to criticism, but fear is unlikely to be the
primary source of her habit of superficial thinking. Many
traits support the effectiveness of her thinking processes,
including directness, broad-mindedness, rhythm, and
concentration. Superficial thinking probably allows her to
process information more quickly than she could if she had
not developed this trait.
11
 842 Fifth Avenue
New Kensington, PA 15068

Question Box
Janet Tilden

Does a tied stroke still count as persistence if part of the Other strokes in this specimen also fade out. See the 7 in line
stroke is very faint or even invisible? For example, do the t- 1 and the approach stroke of the w in write, line 4.
crossings in the (line 1), at the (line 2) and to (line 3) in
this writing have the same meaning as the tied strokes in
met (line 2) and to (line 4)?

Possibly the writer was using a pen that had an inconsistent

flow of ink. A pen that “skips,” combined with very light
pressure, could account for the faint or invisible strokes.

If we look closely at the incomplete strokes, it is clear that
the movement of the pen was the same as a regular
persistence tie.
The incomplete tied strokes support the other indicators of
persistence in this writing. Bear in mind, though, that the
light depth of the faint or missing strokes suggests a less
forceful expression of this trait than we would see if heavier
strokes predominated.