THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, December 4, 1995 TAG: 9512020679
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY ALEXIS SMITH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 175 lines
You can dress for success and have all the right answers when questioned, but when it comes to discovering the true you, Jack Donovan believes the answers are hidden in your handwriting.
Donovan and colleagues Robert Tripician and Dixon Ogden have developed a method of analysis to unlock personality and psychological secrets embedded in handwriting.
Organized as Datagraph Inc., a Virginia Beach evaluation company, they want to change the way employers evaluate employees and screen prospective job candidates.
``We are looking at a major change in psychological testing procedures that were considered normal and will completely change them throughout the world,'' said Donovan.
Datagraph users swear by the results, but others remain skeptical. Critics say scientific testing is needed, and possibly some government regulations to protect workers.
Donovan and his colleagues know they face hurdles in convincing folks their program works.
They've contracted with the College of William and Mary's Applied Social Psychology Research Institute to conduct a study that they hope will scientifically validate Datagraph's methods.
``Broadly speaking, I think the technique that is being considered has potential,'' said research institute director John B. Nezlek. ``It's interesting and we feel there might be something there.''
An extensive study began last spring to see if different people trained to analyze handwriting provide different analyses of the same sample.
``At this time, there isn't enough data for me to say yes or no, but I can say maybe,'' said Nezlek. ``If it works, the world will beat a path to their door.''
Up to now, the path hasn't been crowded. Datagraph, founded in 1987, has been researching its methods. Only now has it begun a widespread solicitation of customers, reaching out to security firms and even retired FBI agents.
``This is our first real attempt,'' Donovan said. ``We're going on the Internet this month. This is our first real marketing attempt.''
Datagraph's test - called the Shanan system - requires a person to answer three short essay questions in handwriting.
The analyst measures each letter with a template and ruler, deciding the slant, height, width, pressure, margins and 49 other characteristics.
Each is then broken down into 450 handwriting features, such as large, medium, small and irregular.
All the measurements are numbered and lettered for identification and fed into a computer program that processes the information into three graphs.
The computer analyzes the frequency and repetitiveness of the letters and produces one personality and two psychological profiles.
Using graphs to chart their way through the psyche, Donovan said, provides Datagraph analysts a glimpse into the subconscious mind and enough information to tell if the person is ambitious, creative, self-motivated or has tendencies toward becoming a child abuser, sociopath or pedophile.
The theory behind handwriting analysis is that when a person takes pen in hand, his or her conscious, subconscious and unconscious combine to portray a personality on paper, which then reveals a history of the psyche.
``Pedophiles will share all the same handwriting characteristics to a certain degree,'' Donovan said.
Donovan placed examples of a woman's handwriting in the center of a large desk. There were dark spots, large letters and scratched out words. Some writing slanted to the right and some went straight up. The pressure of the pen dug into the paper as the handwriting changed from page to page.
The handwriting, Donovan said, belonged to a woman outside Virginia convicted of a murder-for-hire scheme involving her husband.
Her penmanship revealed she was independent, self-reliant and exhibited an inner conflict and erratic nature.
The woman's parents submitted her handwriting to Datagraph to determine if her conviction should be appealed.
The results suggested that the conviction should not be appealed, said Donovan, pointing out the analysis should be construed not as a diagnosis but only as a measuring tool.
Donovan's fascination with handwriting analysis began years ago. He had worked as a launching control officer at an Army missile base, and later in Navy telemetry, only to leave these engineering specialties and become a headhunter for a recruiting firm in Norfolk.
He soon began to wonder why some clients rejected numerous candidates who were technically competent, and realized personality was the key. The people who landed jobs had a personal style that fit within the organization.
To narrow the number of candidates he'd present to a client, Donovan began to use body language and handwriting analysis as personality measures. The number of rejections soon dropped.
Handling a personnel contract for a Chesapeake company, Donovan had an office next to Tripician, an electronics engineer and project manager who came to share Donovan's interest in handwriting analysis. They came across Ogden, a former logistics administrator in the Texas oil industry who was lecturing in the field of handwriting analysis.
They formed Datagraph and began soliciting business on a limited scale.
Florida psychoanalyst Ronald P. Ouellette has seen enough cases to make him a believer.
Ouellette saw a Datagraph ad in a Florida newspaper for a handwriting analysis course and thought he could use it in his practice. He has used the testing about 40 times and finds it reliable.
He uses it in the beginning of therapy to test a client, and during counseling to determine if the therapy is working. He says he can clearly see if a person is telling the truth because handwriting can change from day to day depending on the circumstances.
For example, a person may claim to have quit drinking when, in fact, he hasn't and may even have gotten worse. Basic personality traits don't change when handwriting is analyzed, but if a person changes his actions it is reflected in his handwriting, Donovan explained.
``This testing can also be adapted to develop a profile for employment to any profession,'' Ouellette said.
Ellwood T. Risk Jr., retired owner of Bayshore Beverages in Virginia Beach, said he used the handwriting tests a few times to help select truck drivers.
``I wanted to screen my drivers. They were my biggest liability,'' Risk said. ``I wanted to make sure I could rely on them.''
After hearing about Datagraph, Risk hired the company to do profiles of two different job applicants, then relied on the results to make his choice.
Risk said he had seen some earlier analysis of people he knew and after having worked with them on a daily basis the traits that they revealed were realistic, he said. The person's weaknesses and strengths were revealed in the analysis.
Risk said he did not tell the people he screened he was doing it.
``I would say there was going to be a background screening,'' he explained.
That approach concerns some experts.
Employment attorney William M. Furr of the Willcox & Savage law firm in Norfolk said he foresees problems with the handwriting analysis as a hiring tool.
He compares it to the use of polygraph tests on employees.
It used to be fairly common to use polygraphs, Furr said. Companies would decide to hire an applicant based on the results. A recent statute, however, prohibits employers from making employment decisions based on polygraph results.
``The law says you cannot do it unless you have a suspicion of employee theft,'' Furr said.
Furr also cautions that the test must be proven scientifically before gaining widespread use.
``Even though it's a legitimate goal, the concern is whether the test is scientific,'' he said. ``And if it's not accurate in the slightest respect, you have problems.
``You have to have a consensus among the scientific community, or you're risking having the tests outlawed by the legislators.''
William G. Harris, vice president of research and development for Pinkerton Services Group in Charlotte, sees some potential in Datagraph's service, but like others he first must be convinced.
``I would have to have adequate scientific documentation that it can be replicated over a series of trials before I would use it,'' said Harris, whose company is contracted by others to perform pre-employment and background screenings. ``I know that other countries are using handwriting analysis, but that doesn't mean we will without empirical data that proves it works and is consistent with our labor laws in pre-employment assessment.''
Harris said he would be concerned about invasion of privacy issues and whether the method is in line with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Donovan says that handwriting analysis does not violate the ADA, adding that Datagraph has a letter on file from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to prove it.
Eliminating discrimination in hiring is one of the primary benefits of handwriting analysis, Donovan said.
``From the unconscious to the conscious, your handwriting cannot be skewed,'' Donovan said.``We can take an individual's handwriting and give them a psychological and personality profile without ever meeting them or talking to them,'' Donovan explained. ``There is no possibility of discrimination based on age, race, sex, nationality, religious affiliation or socio-economic status.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos [no cutline information]
[Larry Joliff is an analyst for Datagraph]
[Photos: Measure, Identify, and Analyze]
Datagraph Analysis of Text Sample
Analyst Notes
KEYWORDS: HANDWRITING ANALYSIS by CNB