【英文原文】

摘要：笔体学旨在研究人的笔迹以提示人的性格。虽然大多数科学家称之为伪科学，笔体学在欧洲仍然流行。美国有些公司在雇佣员工时也要征求笔体学家的意见。

Graphology is the study of a person’s handwriting to reveal something about his or her personality. Although most scientists regard graphology as a pseudoscience, its practice is widespread in Europe. Many American business firms consult graphologists for advice about which people to hire.

Some principles of graphology are true. For example, handwriting can show whether a person is sick, old, or nervous. But most of the other principles of graphology lack scientific proof. For example, graphologists claim that lines slanting upward indicate high spirits, and that lines slanting downward show low spirits.

The serious study of the relationship between handwriting and personality has been more widespread in Europe than in other places in the world. In the last 19th century, the French psychologist Alfred Binet tested seven graphologists. He asked them to distinguish writing samples of average man. All the graphologists performed better than expected, and one scored correctly on 92 per cent of the cases. But most other attempts to prove the exact relationships between personality and handwriting have not been successful.

Though graphology probably has limited value, many psychologists consider the study of handwriting a useful method to obtain information about a patient’s personality without asking direct questions about it. Several universities in Europe still teach graphology courses now.