The psychology of scribbles - what does your handwriting say about you?

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Does the way you write really reflect how you are as a person? 

If you scrawl with large, flamboyant and curvaceous script does that mean you're a naturally outgoing person?

If your handwriting is tiny, neat and restrictive, are you a shy, reserved sort of character in real life?

Thankfully, the folks over at The Pen Warehouse have created a detailed infographic on the topic - as an alternative to our slightly primitive pop psychology.

Their illustrated diagram draws together statistics and insights from a number of respected sources on the psychology of handwriting.

Analysts look at three different factors to determine traits about the person behind the handwriting: letter form, line form and formatting.

Apparently, even non-experts can identify the gender of a person from their handwriting 70% of the time. So it's perhaps no surprise that those in the know can read more than 5,000 personality into handwriting, in the art of analysis known as graphology. 

Here are just a few characteristics that may be seen to reflect personality features.

Little line spacing: Can indicate poor time management skills.

Small letters: focused and concentrated.

Larger letter spacing: enjoys freedom; prefers time alone and doesn't like crowding.

Looped "L": ambitious; spontaneous yet relaxed.

Pointy "S": intellectual, likes learning new things.

Long shaped "Y": adventurous, loves to travel. 

Looped "T": paranoid and sensitive, doesn't take criticism well.

Slants to the right: open-minded, reacts strongly to emotion; a social person. 

Disconnected letters: Imaginative; impulsive; you act on intuition.

Find out more in the infographic, below. 

Photos: Getty Images

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Stylist Team