The article below is a professional handwriting analysis which was published September 2002 in The Journal of Graphoanalysis -- a professional journal for the professional graphoanalyst.

Contents:

• Introduction
• Figure 1
• Emotions
• Mental Processes
• Imagination
• Forces to Achieve
• Fears
• Defenses
• Adjustment Traits
• Resistance Traits
• Escape Traits
• Integrity
• Social Traits
• Aptitudes
• Notes

Letter from author to lecturer Delores Warner

Our thanks to long-time member, professional graphoanalyst, Delores Warner, Auburn, Wash., for sending us Butch's writing specimen. While lecturing on the cruise ship Norwegian Star, Delores received a request to analyze the writing of one of the entertainers. His full name is in the heading of the article.

What is frustrating for technical analysis is the same thing that adds to the attractiveness of the writing--the choice of pen. Lesson 20 of the Graduate Course has a specimen of similar writing, don with what was called an "italic nib straight pen." With this type of pen point, strokes made straight down will have good width, while horizontal strokes, and those angling up and down will be rather thin. Because of that thinness, how can we know the actual weight of these strokes? (Remember the Bunker's "If you're not sure, don't say it.")

This limitation expressed itself in another way in the word seen, at the end of the last full line of the specimen. The long caution final will naturally be a thin line. But now look what happens when the stroke tuns upward--it's much heavier. With our GA training, the thought of 'bluntness' may well come to mind. But no, it is the change of direction in the penstroke which starts to produce the wider line, no matter what the natural pressure is--again, with this calligraphic penpoint the strokes moving straight up or down will naturally be heavier than those moving horizontal. See Figure 1.

Figure 1: Imagine that the thin rectangle is a cross-section of the italic nib penpoint. When the pen moves straight downward (a), it will leave a full width trail of ink behind it. But when it moves horizontally, or at an angle (b), the trail of ink is inevitably slender.

Not wanting to guess the actual weight of the light strokes in this specimen if it were written with a common writing instrument, we will at least note that the writer shows decisiveness in the final strokes which move straight down, and leave it at that.

Now we will go through the regular areas of personality as we investigate this abundantly talented person.

Emotions

As our eyes fall on Butch's slant tendencies, we start thinking of him as a variable-slant writer because of the combination of strong forward slant in the mundane area and rather vertical ascender strokes. Variable-slant writing has some rhythm, as does predictable slant writing, it does not have the disrhythm of unpredictable slant writing.

His thinking will be swayed by emotional arousal. Checking the slant of his communication letters (a-d-g-o), we see that there is good responsiveness in the a's, with talkativeness regularly appearing in these letters. The o's and d's are quite different, showing cool, head-controlled responsiveness. Notice how reticence is the rule here. You will find a few o's which are not closed, but the trend is clear.

Thinking about just the a's and o's for a moment, we see that he will be talkative and emotional about some things while wanting to be more 'in control' and not so sharing of what he really thinks/feels.

As you look at the d's you can see a reason he may want to be in control (AB) and reticent- he suspects someone will disapprove of what he is personally or what he does in his routine life.

As for emotional depth, the special pen interferes with our assessment of many strokes. It seems that the depth, if the writing were done with a normal pen, would be in a range were moderate-heavy is shading into heavy depth.

What about his controls? Some looseness in the writing suggests expressiveness, and there is much DE slant in the writing- controls are needed. Depth, plus rhythm, decisiveness, and determination combine to give Butch the poise to seem at ease even when things are churning inside him. Caution, or awareness of possible danger, holds him back from expressing some impulses.

Mental Processes

How does Butch think? We look for the most frequent mental process indicators first; Mr. Bunker said to count the occasional ones as backups. Therefore, Butch's primary habit is to do a lot of inquiring or checking- not to much depth- he gets what he wants to know right now. You will find a few n's showing superficial thinking. Intelligent people who are very familiar with their work often develop degrees of superficial thinking, just needing a look at the surface to recognize how what they see connects with their knowledge which has been built up over the years. Have you observed this?

Butch has that most valuable mental process, analytical, and it appears often. Neither the analytical nor the investigative wedges are narrow, which means that both the depth and speed of mental penetration are less than they are when wedges are narrowed. However, Butch has that great mental intensifier, habitual concentration. Even though it is not intensely shown, which is probably good in his vocation, the tendency to focus- to not waste mental energy- intensifies all his traits. Whatever depth Butch inquires, and analyzes to, he will pick up more that the person with similar wedges be larger writing.

His writing has an occasional cumulative hump, so a methodical mode of thinking is available if he wants to be sure of what he has found by inquiry; this counted as a backup mental process. "Let's see- this plus this equals that. Okay, I guess I've go t it..."

Butch's interest in details varies quite a bit; we would suspect that the closer i-dots will involve the are he loves- musical performance. (He has said that he plays music to make the world a better place.) But whatever the size of the detail he attend to, essential or smaller, he will have a sharper perception of them due to his trait of concentration.

We are just beginning to see the mental efficiency of this bright entertainer.

Rhythm, another global factor, is strong. Therefore Butch will be consistent in applying his other mental intensifiers.

The trait of fluidity speeds up the flow of thoughts as they move along rhythmically. We find plenty of directness, which adds efficiency in its own way. Directness says "Let's get right to it- let's think this out now. What the problem?" Time is saved.

Not so strong in frequency but always strong in value is intuition. Provided the writer is open to intuitions (breaks not concealed by overlapping strokes from adjacent letters), he can sense good answers. It looks like Butch has nothing against using his intuition.

We know he has decisiveness, while we are unsure as to how much there is in the fine horizontal lines, which so often end in small, partly retraced tenacity indicators. Decisiveness add efficiency because it resolves issues and lets him move on to his next concern.

Positiveness, also concerning firmness, is clear and strong in each indication. Students should train themselves to think "conviction" when they find this trait. Confident of the soundness of his decisions, he will "stand tough" by them if someone resists him. The stronger the resistance, the stronger he will stand.

When checking for "mindedness"- broad or narrow- watch out when the writing gets smaller and heavier. Don't assume narrow-mindedness just because you see no daylight in the loop. Make your eye follow the contour- the outer edge of the e. Think of that outer edge as your loop. Now- is that loop actually average in width? If so, you cannot count it as either broad or narrow-minded. (That is why, if you 1 to 10 trait scouring, your scores for broad and narrow-mindedness do not have to add up 10!)

Butch has a wide range of e-widths; most are in an average range. The letters which do show broad-mindedness should logically apply to areas where he has an interest. With the strength and stability showing in Butch's mental intensifiers, it's no surprise to find loyalty. Based on a desire to belong, loyalty is a stabilizing trait. His thinking won't change due to shifting loyalties.

As for tenacity, I personally find it tough to positively identify it in many of Butch's descender strokes. For example, look at the f in magnificent. Superficially we have a large hook at the bottom of the stroke. But do we? Look at the f in fish in the last full line. Doesn't it look like the pen, curving on the paper and then briefly in the air, was meaning to form a loop?

This same tendency appears in many lower loops; I would rather look for tenacity elsewhere to feel sure. It turns out that there are many small tenacity "snaggers" at the ends of words and individual letters. This will meant a tendency to not "let go" in thinking about little things.

Butch is "loaded" with mental intensifiers, which is why we can safely call him bright- if not brilliant. Though the confusion of interest trait is strong, it cannot overturn the strength, stability, and intelligence shown by all of these intensifiers. His keen intelligence plus some organizational ability will help him "right the ship" quickly. And certainly, after all these years, he has to be aware of his huge imagination and the fact that not all of his ideas will work.

Imagination

Entering the Imagination area of personality, we see that the abstract is not nearly as active as the material, which is good. There are interesting variations in his abstract structures (Have no noticed how real variations in indications of single traits are commonly found in variable-slant writers?) Butch's highest reaching ascenders are the h's. In some part of his life, he shows a broadly tolerant philosophy, accepting of beliefs different that his. A few h's show little if any imagination, however. The l's, b's, and k's, directness indicators, also mean that he doesn't use imagination to make a principle or concept fit his own individual life. Rather, he takes a principle developed by someone else and tries to apply it in his life.

Butch's great, restless material imagination gets all kinds of ides for uses to make of material objects and experiences to have. His mind often fails to get hold of all of them. Graphoanalysis says that latent imagination has some fears as its because.

Imagination, of course, is a major component of creativity, which comes up much later in the Aptitudes area.

Forces to Achieve

Beginning the Forces to Achieve area, we see that the materially very busy Butch is steadily concerned with immediate goals (such as his next performance). Because he is an emotional strong, secure person (self-esteem and other qualities), we cannot call the low t-bars evidence of a fear of aiming higher.

You may think you see a few t-bars indicating goals that make him stretch. But no, these are found in words beginning a sentence. Printed capital T's call for a bar placed at the top of the stem.

When it comes to will power, we will not guess as to what it really is- horizontal strokes made with the italic nib penpoint are going to be thin strokes not mater what. (Detail: Low goals do not require strong will power.)

Butch's determination to finish projects is vigorous and very long-lasting. The straightness of the downstrokes shows that he will bear down and stay with it till it's done- no yieldingness here (or elsewhere) in his personality.

Now let's examine the Forces to Achieve intensifiers. Since self-esteem is of cardinal importance in a personality, let's look at it first. The capitals are 3 times typical mundane area height, so the self-esteem is a at a good, healthy, level. It should enable him to not be afraid of setting higher goals if he develops an interest in doing so.

Supporting his determined drive is a degree of enthusiasm, indicating enjoyment of something he does- while of course, we cannot see the force behind the enthusiasm in these horizontal strokes. Butch clearly show alertness to opportunity. Initiative is common in very responsive writers with good thinking. When identifying initiative in a writer, students should make it a habit to immediately check for weaknesses which can easily make the writer hesitate, and therefore lose the opportunity that he or she has spotted. Look especially at the Fear traits.

Rhythm has been added to the new green sheet as a Forces intensifier. The tendency to perform with consistency is a part of many success stories.

His material imagination gives him lots of ideas for what he might do in his material world to achieve what he wants.

And while the trait of pride is technically not shown, the desire/need for approval in his mild vanity is strong. When we come to the Defenses in the green sheet, I will make and argument concerning mild vanity. I believe that the writer will still try for some approval from others. Naturally, it makes Butch want to perform well.

Adequate attention will be given to details; awareness of them will be increased by concentration. The function of tenacity in this area of personality will be to further strengthen his efforts to achieve, though its influence will not be great in the overall picture. Again, it will be with small things (or small actions) where he will show tenacity.

As for influences taking something away from achievement potential;, the confusion trait and latent imagination are the eye-catchers. As we said a while ago, we will not count his low t-bars as self-underestimation; there is too much evidence to the contrary. Regarding caution, Graphoanalysts know that although the trait is listed in the "Reductive" column, whether it really is reductive in a given personality must be determined by evaluation. Butch is essentially very responsive, somewhat expressive, and his mind can exaggerate experiences. These are reasons to believe that caution does not hurt his forces to achieve.

Butch's confusion of interests/latent imagination are outweighed by his highly effective thinking and powerful battery of positive achievement forces.

Fears

Looking at the Fear or common anxiety based traits, we see some degree of desire for attention, which could have inclined him toward entertaining in the first place. Some self-consciousness is visible, primarily in the v's and y's, which is unusual. There is some sensitiveness coupled with low responsiveness shown in his d's. But in no way can we rate him as an inhibited person- he has too much impelling him forward and outward.

Defenses

Now we begin the Defenses. If you are a student., you have probably not heard this;: lots of the traits listed in this column are not direct evidence of insecurity in the writer. In the Adjustment category, bluff does indicate insecurity, and perfectionism can indicate a re inner struggle in the writer; but then it may be picked up by the child of a perfectionistic parent, who imitates the mother or father, figuring this is the way things should be done. In the Escape category of defenses, superficial thinking and the desire for change and variety are not necessarily being use to protect the ego. The major point is this: all of these traits in the Defenses column are listed there because they CAN be used in some way as ego defenses.

Adjustment Traits

Starting with the Adjustment traits, we see that the social skill of diplomacy is prominent. In many places, several consecutive letters attenuate -- they get progressively smaller in height. With all the people this outgoing man must have met and interacted with in his life, and considering his desire for favorable attention, we can speculate that this helped him develop his diplomatic skill to the point where it comes easily.

Fluidity, letting Butch flow from one thought to another, can help him if he gets into a situation where talking could get him out of trouble. Imagine it in combination with his fine diplomacy.

His intuition can be valuable in letting him sense what to do in situations of stress or conflict. His loyalty will make him want to go beyond the call of duty in support of a person, employer, or because. Loyalty is said to be connected with the human desire for belonging.

Butch's emotional, restless nature makes use of caution at times. The strokes are long, so the awareness of possible danger lasts for a good length of time once it is triggered. (We do not know their true weight or heaviness.)

Butch shows none of our carefully defined" supportive philosophical imagination" indications. Often there are no loops, showing that he does not customize a concept to fit himself as an individual; he takes a principle and lives it. The abstract loops that appear are considerably broader than average as a rule, and fairly tall. His abstract imagination is active and very tolerant, not at all selective

When Butch is decisive, he can face stressful situations and make a definite choice between coursed of action. Positiveness is another stabilizing trait, giving him all the strength he needs to stand up for a conviction in the face of difficulties.

There are some narrow e's to be found. But I wouldn't put him down for this- with all the restless mental activity going on in this talented person, I can see a use for shutting out some outside ideas. He's too busy! Butch could use this trait to shut out consideration of disagreeable opinions from others.

And finally, though pride is technically not shown because of the d- and t-stem height, I believe that the strong approval need has not turned him into a strutting peacock with a disdainful, "superior" attitude. Traits shade into each other. I believe that as the stem height rises into the slow end of vanity territory, there is still some desire to seek others approval, while the writer's way of getting it is changing- from working for approval to giving himself approval. To the extent that Butch still seeks other's approval, he will want to do the approved thing even in difficult situations.

Resistance Traits

Looking for resistance traits now, we can find a number of temper ticks, while being unsure as to how heavy they would be if a standard pen were used. Butch's poise and diplomacy go a long way toward controlling expression of his rises in blood pressure.

His other noticeable resistance trait show in many d's- a feeling of mild stubbornness that does not last long. (The tent-like stroke formations are not very high or wide.) Immediately we connect this with the strong approval need- he doesn't want to "lose face." Again consider his controls- other may be scarcely aware of his brief stubborn stances. Butch can feel a little desire to debate, and his ease of expression and imagination can give him much to say.

Escape Traits

Looking at the Escape traits section, concentration and the desire of change and variety are two qualities with major impact on the personality. But in this vigorous, positive nature we don't find a need to escape reality. Butch could use concentration to shut our awareness of a problem, and he could take his mind off a troubling situation by getting lost in a flurry of activities.

Integrity

Our first overview impression of Butch's integrity is that it is strong, but a few intense traits prevent the personality from being fully balanced, as we would have with a personality showing ideal integrity. Integrity deals with issues of basic honesty, dependability, and social maturity.

Butch tends to be honest because of his frankness, sincerity, and directness. Qualities of dependability include rhythm, determination, and loyalty. However, his confusion trait takes something away from his reliability, even though its effect is reduced by his fine mental qualities. The social aspect of his integrity is strong, as we shall see in the next area of personality. Expression of the sensitiveness and resistance traits is controlled.

Social Traits

The social aspect of personality is a reality startlingly complex. Traits from all over the green sheet can be shown to feed into the impression we may make on others. Therefore the Social Traits column on the green sheet is a selected list of traits, to be sure.

Based on this trait list alone, Butch looks like a social dynamo. He is emotionally expressive and very animated (large p-loops). His frankness and directness are softened by diplomacy, and he has poise as well. He is open to a great range of experiences and friends. Life cannot be dull for him!

He is talkative too. Check the writing for frequency and intensity of talkativeness indicators. You will see many circle letters open, yet not excessively open. Therefore Butch very frequently wants to "orally communicate" - speak his real feelings - but he does not tend to go overboard, telling people more than they could possibly want to know.

We cannot determine self-confidence from his t-bars, of course. But considering his good self-esteem and strong, driving personality, we can easily evaluate it.

Aptitudes

Looking at the Aptitudes area, we see Butch is bristling with traits in the Cultural section. His habit of concentration, though not intense, increases the efficiency of each trait.

There is good rhythm in the writing, as we would expect in a musician, yet we get no sense of it being rigid. Contributing to his ability as a performing artist are his showmanship, emotional expression, color sense, and fluidity in performance. Printed capitals suggest artistic inclinations, and directness in any artist gives the ability to convey the essence of a feeling or idea with economy. Intuition is a talent elevator, enabling Butch to interpret the intent of the music's composer. Intuition plus great imagination and an open spirit add up to strong artistic creativity. He has good line appreciation too, though that quality will lend itself to arts other than music. Certainly he has an appreciation of beauty.

In his writing specimen, Butch Niauhoe Kekaulike O'Sullivan chose to write about the beauty of one of the Hawaiian Islands. This career entertainer has put his rich array of gifts to use in making a beautiful life for himself as well as happiness for others.

• Any reference to "Bunker" is because Mr. Bunker is the person that started the science of Graphoanalysis.
• This article was written for the professional graphoanalyst and therefore has language, references, and terminology to the science of Graphoanalysis.

Hi Delores!

First, it was great to hear about your phone ringing -- this was from Washington Chapter members, I take it -- everybody getting their journals the same day? That's exciting! I haven't heard of this happening to a member before.

I got a surprise phone call yesterday -- it was Butch! And somehow his voice sounded like I would imagine it would. That sounds screwy, I know -- how could I sense that from a picture. (By the way, tell me if I didn't return his picture to you -- I have totally forgotten -- you know, middle-age memory. Thank God all the grapho material from my past and meetings with Eleanore is locked in the memory from younger years!) Tammy, our Journal production gal, believes she gave it to me at the office, and knowing me, I would have immediately got it into an envelope, protected in cardboard, and put it in the mail basket.

So it was a really enjoyable phone conversation yesterday with Butch -- we both kept finding interesting things to talk about regarding his writing. I was looking at his writing as we talked. When he told me about a reply of his to a person in an audience who said he thought Butch's name was odd, I recognized it as an illustration of his diplomacy, so I told him how he could identify diplomacy in his writing. He must have had the Journal article with him, so he could follow along. At this time of life both of us have rather open minds on various subjects, and I think we truly enjoy sharing ideas. He asked me about the meaning of his filled-up margins, both right and left. (When we put writing in the Journal, the true margins tend to get lost -- not represented properly as a box gets thrown around the writing.) I told Butch that it meant a thrift sense, which he agreed to. Then I said in no way was he Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens, either, which he agreed with.

I found out that his writing was actually slightly "hurried" writing! So he is a precise guy. Told him we preferred regular writing, and I certainly didn't know it was speeded up! Also I learned a lesson -- if I ever see calligraphic pen writing from someone again, I will not try to estimate the true emotional depth of the writer. Actually, Butch says he is a rather light writer, and the calligraphic pen is what he likes because he likes the "shading" of the writing stroke. This, of course, has to reflect his appreciation of beauty.

But there was more. Butch sounded relaxed, very easy to talk to, described how he behaved in actual life regarding some of his traits -- like how he worked in his yard because of the confusion of interest traits. I certainly wouldn't mind more conversation with him.

Then -- did you know this? He is interested in putting the analysis in his web page! Since GA is copyrighted, I hesitated and said I would have to ask the boss about it. Butch asked me to get an e-mail reply to him regarding this, and gave me the "aieauka" email address. Brett Hallongran said that Kathy K. would probably give permission for his, but Butch needs to put a request in writing and send it to us. I did an e-mail message and had Carmen send it, so that's done.

Also I told Butch that after mailing the Journal to him I had had second thoughts -- about the technical stuff that he wouldn't get. But he's fine by it, and seemed impressed by what he read overall because he knew I had never met him. Butch said he would mail something to me -- I think it involves his web site.

[...]

This was a lot of fun for me! Never knew it would result in this call. Thanks for submitting the writing, Delores! It's been a very nice experience for me.

Sincerely,

[Signature]

Bill