INTEGRITY Commitment to truth and fair play based on high moral standards, self-discipline and emotional stability.

OTHER ATTRIBUTES OF INTEGRITY Sincerity Honesty Honorable Reliable Virtue Straightforwardness Balanced Personality Good Principles Good Code of Ethics Act on what you say you will do (keep your word) Do what is right.

GOOD INTEGRITY Would include all of the above mentioned virtues.

LOW INTEGRITY May bow to temptations to gain something at the expense of others.

INDICATORS OF GOOD INTEGRITY

Balance of Form, Space and Movement Baseline Steadiness Good Gestalt Good Organization Legibility Legibility of signature Personal Pronoun I (normal in size and shape) Regularity Simplification Size Upper Zone Height

GOOD GESTALT A good gestalt resists having anything added or subtracted to make it just right. (Sheila Lowe Independent Study Course - Lesson One page 9)

Writing that is pleasing in appearance having nothing jump out at you indicates good gestalt.

RENNA NEZOS In her book Graphology- The Interpretation of Handwriting Volume 1 indicates several aspects attributed to integrity:

SIMPLE FORMS Letters that are restricted to their elementary form and have no ornamentation or superfluous strokes. Simple writing is not to be confused with simplified writing, where the letters are reduced to their essential structure. If the form is simple and organized it indicates: Sincerity & modesty. If it is associated with clear, spontaneous, rapid writing it indicates: Honesty and moral integrity. (If it is also horizontal and well-spaced out) it indicates: Moral principles and self-control.

Male in his 50s

HARMONIOUS FORMS Good layout, clarity, simplicity and freedom of movement are basic elements of harmonious writing.

It indicates good things about the writer: Positive thinking, good attitudes, cultivated mind, sociability, self-control, distinction of character, sensitivity and clarity of thinking.

A harmonious writing is above all a balanced writing. It indicates successful graphic gesture in an overall clear, orderly homogeneous context with good proportions, sufficient suppleness and no superfluous effects.

Male in his 60s Nobel Prize winner for literature in 1963.

CONVENTIONAL FORMS Shows regularity in most of the categories of graphology.

If harmonious and rhythmic, it shows attachments to principles, moral and emotional stamina and a stability of character.

Female in her 30s

PROPORTINATE LETTERS According to Creieux-Jamin (graphologist 1888) proportionality is the principle condition for harmony. The letters will have small differences and no disproportion.

Proportionate letters show: Moral superiority, order, sense of justice will-power, sense of duty and self-control. Woman 67 years old r

CLEAR WRITING LAYOUT The writing is legible, simple and regular. The letters, words and lines do not mingle and the dimensions are normal, matching the size of the whole.

The writer has very distinct notions of differences between things: between what is mine and what is yours, what is correct and what is incorrect. The writer also shows sincerity. If the lines are straight, the letters precise and the pressure in relief, then it shows nobility and purity of character with a high level of intelligence.

Male in his 60s Nobel Prize winner for literature in 1963.

SINCERITY

It would be fair to say that a writer who is insincere would show low integrity, therefore, I have included signs of insincerity based on Max Pulvers list, and he was the first to introduce psychoanalysis to graphology.

Artificial, fabricated or designed writing Covering strokes Arcades: either within words or as final strokes returning leftward Double jointed ovals Fragmented letters in two or more parts Missing letters Reversed movements, ovals open underneath Leftward tendencies of Capitals and final strokes Ambiguous forms of letters, one letter for another

HONESTY - Would be a very strong indicator of integrity. However, very little has been written about honesty. It has been learned that adult honesty is a conscious moral quality. Some signs that attribute to high moral values and we would think of the writer as being honest:

Respect for our-self and others (Clarity) Self-assurance and self-confidence (Spontaneity, tension, rhythm) Courage (Firmness in the direction of the stroke, stability, consistency) Pride (Proportion, simplicity, some aesthetic super-elevation in a high Form Level) Strength of character (Firmness, precision, dynamism and high Form Level)

Eldene Whiting CG & Jean Lowerison CG indicate in their monograph Honesty page 3

They talks about honesty What does honest writing look like; Honesty is a lack of fear and requires a stable ego. It encompasses these personality traits:

Integrity, Stability, Vitality, Reliability, Courage and Openness

Honesty looking writing has:

Straight baseline Right Trend Freedom from movement Even middle zone letters Regular letter shapes Firm, consistent pressure Simplification Simple, clear PPI Clear ovals Legibility Even Middle Zone Height

They also go on to point out signs of dishonest:

Uneven baseline Varied pressure Left trend Illegibility Cramped, Slow Hooked Initials Uneven Middle Zone Height Extremes PPI Inconsistency Ovals embellished Looped on left Looped on right Double looped ovals Open at bottom

Jim Commandant jcommandant@hotmail.com