Graphology: Studies as a science to PhD level in many universities in the world, and how it’s used in identifying forgeries and personality traits in corporate organizations

In India Graphologists are well-regarded, whereas in so many countries, they are regarded as just handwriting experts because they don’t know that Graphology has a wider scope and a world of its own.

Till now, there is no such way that we can avoid forgeries, but we can secure the signatures and rely on them, including those on some digital platform, to an extent. But today’s technology is able to hack it too. Hence, there is no particular way to avoid forgery.

Handwriting is a neuromuscular process that originates in the brain. Any human writing something is representing himself/herself on the paper. Hence, handwriting is called brain writing.

Graphology is the subject that can be used to identify the personality traits and characteristics of humans. It gives a clear picture of any writer’s positive or negative personality traits, including health.

Graphology is a specialized course where we can identify a person just by observing their writing without even knowing them.
Graphologists study handwriting before making any deductions. Their studies cover all handwritings, paintings, drawings, doodles, etc.

It is studied as a science in many universities around the world.

In India you cannot be a good handwriting expert without studying Graphology.

Prof Michael Nwokolo (2025) defined Graphology after 26 years of studying Graphology, ‘Graphology is the study and analysis of patterns, structures of handwriting, as to ascertain the authorship of a document, the psychological state of mind of the writer and his or her personality or behavioral traits’.

There is clear evidence of epistemological shifts in the definition and study of Graphology now. It was regarded as junk science or pseudoscience, but it is quite amazing and incredibly true in its new definition, study, growth, and also it is beyond the study of handwriting to infer personality characteristics

Any person from any domain can learn Graphology and implement it in their daily lives. For example, Graphology is used in educational counseling and correction of handwriting in children according to their requirements.

Graphology is widely used in psychology for assessment.

It is also widely used in Corporate organizations in hiring candidates for different positions.

However, technology is growing and can identify human capabilities. Graphology is used in evaluating the client’s or candidate’s ability to suit the particular position. It helps to identify the person’s organizational skills, leadership skills, loyalty, thinking capabilities and so on.

Where there is no particular academic subject, Graphology can be used to identify these traits.

Whereas a Forensic Document Examiner differs from a Graphologist in the following ways:
Here, the Forensic examiners investigate the handwriting on calculations & techniques to just compare handwritings and signatures, and they won’t do anything related to identifying the writer’s personality traits, whereas Graphology does these.

Furthermore, Forensic means it will be directly connected to the legal aspects and any Forensic examiner should know how to prepare the reports effectively, which should be valid in the courts.

Here, Graphologists must have in-depth knowledge and Forensic Document Examination knowledge, training and certification to qualify as a Forensic Document Expert.

Forensic studies deal with the investigation process, scientifically proven evidence and high-resolution magnifications used for deeper studies.

Moreover, Forensic experts will have to know about the evidence and the law regarding it in the cases they deal with and have to represent the court as expert witnesses.

In India, any Forensic expert has to be qualified with a Science background with a Bachelor’s degree related to Forensic Science having an academic degree in Forensic science.

Also Forensic experts may also qualify if they are or the person is from a medical background or in pathology, where they deal with investigations.

Hence, every subject has its essence and values.

Here, we bring in Graphology for Forensic experts to enhance the skills of the investigators to identify the writer’s personality traits and comparison techniques, which go hand in hand.

This helps the Forensic experts to identify any writer or so-called criminals with their hidden intentions, their habits and their nature along with comparative studies.

Hence, any Forensic expert can produce reliable and effective reports on an investigation.

In a deep state, one can investigate the pen used, the ink color and also the comparison of natural pressure exerted in the questioned signature.

Here, the age of the ink & document matters and the usage of instruments :
You might have the hand magnifier with 5x magnification, which is very good for Fingerprint identification and classification.

And also to analyze and compare legible handwritings and signatures. This is used only to check mild comparisons of Handwriting and signatures.

But for advanced studies, we need a stereoscopic microscope which has 100 x and 200 x to identify very minute structures or remnants left on paper. Stereoscopic microscope is highly used for advanced investigations like measurements of lines, dots or the width of lines, the angles, spacing, even

In micrometers, this helps a lot to investigate and study the damaged documents, too.

It can also identify the document or paper, its structure, currency notes and even coins..pen pressure, pen lift, pen pause.

Any magnifying instrument should be secured carefully as much as we secure our babies.
Each instrument has its own temperature to maintain. Its lenses are super sensitive and need to be taken care of without any damage or scratches on them. It is always advisable to shield or close the equipment after its use.
Make sure the power supply will not fluctuate the system; hence, the UPS or any alternative is a must.

Likewise, the Forensic Document lab has to follow strict rules & high quality of maintenance to safeguard the instruments.

Handwritten Q&A at the bottom:
Q: How do you detect lying (lie) in Handwriting?
A: Through the loops of the middle zones in writings of lower case m, o, a, words

Q: Which instrument do we use to detect the age of writing and the type of pen used to forge documents?
A: VSC 500

Finally, Graphology is regarded as a Science and studied in many Universities in the World. It is regarded as Science because (1) Systematic Study: Graphology involves a systematic study of handwriting patterns and structures.

(2.) Empirical Evidence; Graphology is based on empirical Evidence from numerous studies and research papers. (3) Testable hypotheses; Graphology involves testing hypotheses about personality traits and behaviors through handwriting analysis. (4) Replicable results; Graphology studies have produced replicable results demonstrating the reliability of the field. (5) Peer-reviewed journals; Graphology research is published in peer-reviewed journals, ensuring the quality and validity of the research.

Graphology as a Science is studied in so many universities in the world as Certificate, Diploma, B.Sc, M.Sc, PGD and PhD… Numerous Universities in the world that study Graphology as a Science include, but are not limited to, these under mentioned Universities. (1) University of Hamburg in Germany, (2) University of Barcelona, Spain studies Graphology as a Science to PhD level. (3) University of Madrid, Spain (PhD in Graphology) (4) University of Vienna, Austria (PhD in Graphology) (5) University of Mumbai in India (Certificate in Graphology) (6) University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Certificate in Graphology.

The knowledge of Forensic Document Examination and Graphology has greatly revolutionized my experience as a Handwriting Expert/Fingerprint Expert /Security Expert and a Professional Graphologist.

Prof. Michael Nwokolo,
PhD, M.Sc, PGDBA, B.Sc+ CSS, CFIP, CPI, CFP, CPSM, CSSSL, OSHS, HSSE, FDE, PFSO
Senior University Lecturer in Criminology.
He is the President, Institute of Public Safety and Security in Work Environment (IPSS) www.ipss.org.ng and Higher Learning Upliftment (HLU) www.hlu.com.ng
+234812628XXXX, +234803303XXXX
michael.nwokolo@yahoo.com
profnwokolo@gmail.com