It's a habit that extends from the classroom to the boardroom, and those who partake have little control over it.

Not an illicit behavior but the time-honored tradition of doodling.

Words. Geometric shapes. Squiggly lines. Think of any image, concrete or abstract, and there's a good chance someone's doodled it.

"It's like freedom of expression without a goal. We do it simply for the pleasure and hopefully we're not judging ourselves as to how it looks," says Katherine Q. Revoir, a San Francisco-based creative mentor and author of "Spiritual Doodles & Mental Leapfrogs: A Playbook for Unleashing Spiritual Self-Expression" (Red Wheel/Weiser, $16.95). "There aren't a lot of things in society that aren't judged on how they look."

Laura Newman, a public relations specialist in New Canaan, figures she fills one to three legal-size pages with her doodles daily. In her case, it's random words and letters, squares and geometric shapes. The words have no significance, yet she can't stop writing them and embellishing their shapes. "I have to force myself to get the pen out of my hand," she says. "It's almost like biting my nails. I feel this need to move pen to paper."

It hasn't been hard to find habitual doodlers; our own newsroom has several. Their creations, they say, are both subconscious and random, usually geometric and not something they think much about. They also say that, despite conventional wisdom, they are listening pretty intently while the subconscious impulse takes over.

"It's like a release outlet and it actually helps me sometimes, thinking of things that someone hasn't thought of yet," says Charlie Ponger, general manager of interactive for Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc. "I'm always thinking of things from a different perspective, not thinking of anything new about drawing."

Joe Fucigna, coordinator of the art department at Norwalk Community College and a member of the Stamford Loft Artists Association, says he consciously draws and subconsciously doodles.

"Your mind is relaxed when doodling and you can have the opportunity to stumble upon ideas," he says. "But you also look at people who doodle and they doodle the same thing all the time so you wonder if they stay within a familiar territory."

He doesn't believe his own doodling has led to any grand ideas in his art career but thinks it must provide seedlings. "If people looked at their doodling and looked at it just for the sake of visual thinking, they might be surprised at how well they do it. In many ways, we all draw. It's one of the first things we do as children."

Doodling is a right-side-of-the-brain activity, the half associated with creation and intuition. What is important about ride-side exercises, according to the author Revoir, is that they temporarily shut out the more analytical and regimented left side. "Doodling is such a great thing for people who don't think they are creative to be creative," Revoir says. "The truth is that we are all creative but we don't take creative risks and we don't try out avenues of creative expression. People say, 'I'm not creative,' or 'I'm not an artist.' That's just not true. We're creative about how we get out of bed in the morning."

Fucigna also likes the freedom it represents. "A lot of it has to do with pattern and repetition but I don't think there's any pressure on anybody because doodles aren't thought of as anything important," he says.

They can be important to someone like Mike Kahlowsky. He is certified by the National Society for Graphology, works for Handwriting Profiles International in Florida and has studied writing habits for 10 years. He says random sketches can tell as much about a person as his penmanship.

"When you find someone doodling, it can because they find it a fun method to relax and release energy," he says. "They are doing things on their own terms and there's no rules."

By examining a mindless drawing, Kahlowsky can derive information about someone's physical condition, health, whether they are under the influence and their integrity level.

For instance, he says someone who doodles heavy-handedly isn't releasing enough energy through natural ways, or is stressed. Round shapes typically indicate an easygoing, flexible personality, while straight lines signify an analytical, rigid mind. Someone who draws the same thing over and over might be compulsive. Boxes are often a sign of organization.

"There's a lot of different angles you dive into when you analyze a doodle," he says. "It's not linear, it's the overall picture."

It might also be a matter of stunted creative development.

Revoir says that during adolescence, people trade their outlets of creative expression for a will to conform. Ask a 4-year-old if she can sing or paint, and the answer will invariably be yes. Ask a 15-year-old and the opposite response is almost a given. The author believes this has to do with good intentions gone awry. A youngster may paint a purple tree only to be told trees aren't supposed to be purple.

"We arrest ourselves at that place," she says. "If we ever go back and want to draw again, we will start again at that place where we left off. That's why most adults will draw a stick figure."

Copyright © 2004, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

The following handwriting traits were all independently evaluated against the (MS) Diagnosis Category:

• Rhythm
• Legibility
• Stroke Quality
• Tremor
• Irregularity
• Form

Based on the "ordinal data" that was being measured, the Spearman Rank-Order Correlation Coefficient was determined for a bivariate set of paired XY rankings. The results were as follows:

MS Diagnosis Category (x-axis) / Rhythm (y-axis): Correlation Coefficient = -0.0431
MS Diagnosis Category (x-axis) / Legibility (y-axis): Correlation Coefficient = 0.0922
MS Diagnosis Category (x-axis) / Stroke Quality (y-axis): Correlation Coefficient = 0.1669
MS Diagnosis Category (x-axis) / Tremor (y-axis): Correlation Coefficient = 0.1302
MS Diagnosis Category (x-axis) / Irregularity (y-axis): Correlation Coefficient = 0.0963 MS Diagnosis Category (x-axis) / Form (y-axis): Correlation Coefficient = 0.1827

Due to the relatively small same size of n=54, the five of the six independent studies that proved a positive correlation were not significant. If the trends that were found in this study continue and the aggregated subject size expands from 54 samples (for all the studies except the "Stroke Quality" which only had 35 valid samples) to between 100 and 150 samples, two to three of the six handwriting physiological aspects that were measured would prove to show a significant linear relationship with the change in MS Diagnosis Category.

If a significant relationship can be established for any of these handwriting characteristics, the next step would be focused on a predictive study such as Logistic Regression.

A project looking to correlate physiological traits in handwriting with physical/neurological illness was approved on September 25, 2002 by the Institutional Review Board for Research with Human Subjects (IRB).

The research will take place in 2002 and 2003.

The principal investigator is Dr. Jennie Q. Lou, M.D., M.Sc.
The co-investigator is Michael S. Kahlowsky, NSG Certified Handwriting Analyst

What if you could determine whether or not someone is compatible with you before you wasted your time going out with them?

This is no futuristic concept; it is actually a reality thanks to Boca Raton-based HandwritingProfiles.com – a handwriting profile company specializing in personal and corporate-based assessments founded in 1999.

Sheryl Smith, 37, of Boynton Beach, who had her handwriting analyzed by certified handwriting expert and founder of HandwritingProfiles.com Michael Kahlowsky, said that having one’s handwriting analyzed has definitely become a trend.

She said she was amazed by how accurate he was in telling her what personality traits she had, why she had them and how they relate.

“As far as I can see, it was definitely right on the money. When you see it in front of you, it solidifies what you already know about yourself – the areas you are most strong in and the areas that you need to improve in,” she said.

“We all think we know ourselves pretty well, but it is nice to have an expert tell us what’s going on.”

After breaking up with her boyfriend, Smith decided to have his handwriting analyzed without his knowing, which is legal. It confirmed some of the things that she already knew about him, but just wanted something to solidify it.

“I needed to prove to myself that it wasn’t all in my head. Wouldn’t it be great to know these things beforehand?” she replied.

But according to Boca psychiatrist Dr. James Cocores, M.D., medical director of South Coast Psychotherapy, anyone who bases their selection of their spouse on his or her signature is being very much zealous.

“It is well known that certain personal characteristics are portrayed or shown in the way a person writes,” he stated.

“As far as using it to hire someone, it can be used as a sample among other tests, but should never be used as the only test.”

Kahlowsky said that he started the company because he realized the practical benefits that handwriting could show not only in screening employees for hire in the corporate environment, but also for potential partners in the dating environment.

“First I had to prove it to myself that there were enough case studies done to validate in my own mind that it is real,” Kahlowsky said.

After he confirmed his suspicions that there was indeed a real connection between one’s handwriting and personality, he decided to start his own company.

Kahlowsky began to perform handwriting analysises for local social events and for companies who were either in the process of hiring new employees, or who just wanted to see what vocation current employees could excel in at their company. It was at one of these social events in 2003 that he used his talents to find his wife.

“We were at a young professionals social and she knew of me from the previous week’s event. She asked if I would do her handwriting and when I did, I saw a lot of desirable traits that made me want to pursue her. And then we started dating in the beginning of 2003. We got married at the end of 2003 and now we are expecting our first child,” he remarked.

And though more women are apt to use his services to find out about their partners in the early stages of dating, he also does deal with many males in the corporate realm that are looking to screen potential employees.

Dr. Steven Magill, PhD, a psychologist in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, said that the people that he’s hired based on Kahlowsky’s graphology results has remained true almost three years after the fact.

“It is a relatively inexpensive tool used in making hiring decisions. I think it should be a requirement when hiring someone. It’s a very accurate way to analyze potential employees,” said Magill.

According to Kahlowsky, the way a potential employee acts in an interview is usually premeditated, and resumes and applications can easily be manipulated.

“But you can’t fake your handwriting. By incorporating handwriting analysis into the hiring process, you can evaluate both the integrity level and the skills of an individual simultaneously,” he remarked.

“And since a person’s handwriting is public domain, as ruled by the Supreme Court, it is perfectly legal to conduct this test without their knowledge of doing so.”

Marcia and Henry, a Boca couple who have been together for the last nine months and who got engaged three months ago, just recently took the compatibility test online after someone mentioned to her that you can find out things about each other that you weren’t aware of before.

“It pretty much gave us personal traits that we knew were evident. But there’s something more concrete and solid about it for us. It pretty much solidified what we knew about each other and made us feel better,” she replied.

“You really can’t fake the results because it is a person’s handwriting, and it is something honest.”

Copyright 2004 - Boca Raton News

There are a number of ways an organization may choose to structure their employee hiring process. Usually, this includes resume evaluation, in person interviews, and in some cases psychological testing will be used.

For each of the aforementioned methods, there is one fundamental concept that does not exist; complete objectivity and spontaneity!!! Resumes can be easily manipulated. Interviews can be carefully planned for and rehearsed ahead of time. Psychological testing consists of a series of written questions that the job candidate can think about prior to answering.

Handwriting analysis… the professional handwriting analyst (a.k.a., graphologist), evaluates each handwriting sample without ever meeting the prospective employee keeping the evaluation completely unbiased and objective. Legally, it is not required that the candidate know that their handwriting is being evaluated. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a person's handwriting is public domain. Thus the spontaneity remains. The above substantiates the reasons that handwriting analysis is such a valuable tool in the screening process.

What are the legal considerations that an organization should be aware of when using handwriting analysis? An organization will remain within the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines if the following fundamental hiring practices are maintained: The organization must not discriminate by treating any minority group unfairly. The organization is required to limit the collection of information about a prospective employee to the job at hand. This can be done if the organization provides a job description and specific skill sets that apply for the job description to the handwriting analyst with the handwriting sample. It is equally important that the organization omit giving any personal information (e.g., gender, age, etc.) to the handwriting analyst. Is handwriting analysis legally sound? Yes, it is legally sound from an employee screening perspective when the organization and the handwriting analyst stay within the fundamental framework discussed above.

Resumes and interviews should still remain an integral part in the employee hiring process. By taking the extra step to evaluate the underlying qualities (e.g., integrity level) and skill sets (intelligence and judgement, motivation level, competitiveness, communication skills and social effectiveness) of a prospective employee, substantial cost savings will occur by hiring the right person the first time around.