Vast research was done among several psychoanalysts and psychologists into human figure drawings. The subject would be asked to draw a person, being given as little information as possible in order not to lead the subject in any particular way. The subject nevertheless would frequently ask the following kinds of questions and make several comments. Whom should I draw, should it be a stick person or the whole body? I don't know how to draw. I hope you don't show it to anyone, etc. When the subject does draw, he is actually revealing how he sees himself, as this is a picture of the self. The following is a list of personality traits and how they are identified in a sketch. For the highest degree of accuracy, the subject should draw two or more sketches. Identical drawings, especially those that deviate from the norm, are regarded as conclusive evidence that the subject possesses the trait.

- Affection deprivation/dependence/possible identification with mother: button on clothing over chest of figure; pockets.

- Aggression/ambition: more than five fingers.

- Aggression/criticality/masculinity: angular shaped body.

- Aggression/depersonalization fears: heavy thick lines in formation of body.

- Aggression/poorly adjusted: few curves, many sharp edges in formation of body.

- Aggressive content: daggers, guns, spears, etc.

- Aggressive/energetic: strong arms, male subject.

- Aggressive/expansive: large, same sex figure.

- Aggressive tendency/anti-social personality: heavy shading, figure clothed with toes exposed, gun.

- Aggressiveness: powerful hands, toes exposed, squared shoulders, weapons, well-defined teeth, and straight lines in formation of body.

- Aggressive use of sexual characteristics/coquettishness: emphasis on female sex characteristics (female subject).

- Ambition/drive: firm lines.

- Ambition for accomplishment or acquisition/overt aggression: long arms.

- Anti-social personality (psychopath): hands in pocket, heavy shading, and large figure.

- Anxiety/aggression: shading.

- Anxiety/depression: clouds.

- Anxiety/emotional dependence/feeling of discomfort and restriction: small figures.

- Anxiety/insecurity/repression/particularly with reference to area reinforced: reinforced lines.

- Anxiety over difficulty with interpersonal relations or masturbatory guilt/ overt aggression: hands shaded.

- Anxiety relative to sexual functions: shading in "private" area.

- Anxiety/restlessness, possible neurotic tendency, conflict area: erasures.

- Anxiety/uncertainty: short, sketchy strokes.

- Apprehensive, neurotics, catatonics and chronic schizophrenics: faint lines.

- Aspirations exceed opportunities/environment viewed as excessively constraining: figure too large for page.

- Assaultiveness: hair, eyes and arms reinforced; large fingers; foot emphasized; large legs and arms of male figure; stands with legs far apart.

- Assaultiveness/infantile aggression: fingers; no hands; arms and hands of male figure large.

- Assertiveness: straight-lined strokes in formation of body.

- Asthmatic tendency: long and thin lines; mouth omitted.

- Auditory eroticism: hand at "private" area; well-defined teeth.

- Auditory hallucinations/paranoid or schizoid/ear injury or hearing disability/sensitive to attitudes of others/passive homosexual conflict or tendency: ear emphasized or enlarged.

- Awareness of physical impulses with effort to control them: excessively large neck.

Joel Engel is the author of "Handwriting Analysis Self-Taught" (Penguin Books)
http://careertest.ws
http://www.learngraphology.com