Why do we all have different penmanship?

Question

Is good handwriting hereditary, and we get it from our parents?
Is it something we get from the writing we see as children, then just pick up like accents?
Is it a physical thing in our hand that makes us write a certain way?
Is it related to coordination?
In kindergarten, everyone is taught the same basic shapes, so why is it that everyone has their own unique style of penmanship?

Oh, and why is it that you can look at somebody's handwriting and tell about they're personality???

Answer 1

Handwriting originates in the brain when a mental picture of letters and words is formed. The signal to try to duplicate the mental picture is sent to the arm and hand through the muscles and nervous system. The actual output is almost never an exact match of the original mental picture.

Handwriting is a free-form activity, and there are an infinite number of ways to write even the simplest letter combination. It is highly unlikely that any person will write his or her own name exactly the same way twice in an entire lifetime.

Actually, every person has a range of handwriting variation determined by his or her physical writing ability, training in "penmanship", and other factors. To the experienced expert, a study of known samples of writing reveals individual writing characteristics which can allow the expert to identify or exclude an individual as the author of some questioned writing.

Handwriting characteristics come in two categories - general, or class characteristics, and individual characteristics. Depending on the cultural setting (time and place) when writing is learned, entire groups of individuals may be taught or trained to write in the same way. When these individuals are first learning to write, there are differences in their ability to do the task, and the results are not all the same, but the true individualizing differences appear over time. As we grow and mature physically and personally, our handwriting becomes more of an individual product - through conscious changes made to fit a mental picture of how we want our writing to appear, or unconsciously.

Answer 2

Very good question! Our penmanship depends largely on simple practice and how much importance we place on our handwriting. The next most important factor is our personality. We all have different personalities based on heredity and our history (nature and nurture). Very interesting work has been done on handwriting and what it tells us about the person. That's because of the relationship between personalities and handwriting. We pick up styles from others but we cannot help but put our own "signature" into our writing.

To your addition:
The WHY is just because it is. That's like asking why do we all have different personalities. It's part of our physical expression the same way our non-verbal communication is. Why do you think so few people are so good at poker? Because it takes legitimate effort and determination to change what is an unconsious reaction to our hand or thoughts. Pick up a book sometime about the handwriting analysis. It's fun and interesting. You'll be amazed how you can tell significant things about the person without knowing them like if they're flighty (prone to go off on tangents and not finish things), strong personality, prone to emotional outbursts or influence by emotions, etc.

Answer 3

Penmanship does not indicate a person's personality. It is habit honed in first, second, third and fourth grade by the teachers and further shaped by the parents. Just like a person may have a drawl or accent or other language differences from someone who grew up in the same town, penmanship is individualistic.

Accents, that is a new one. I do think people who are thorough and meticulous to detail have very distinctive ways of at least signing their names but it is not related to corodination, genetics, etc.

Answer 4

There are a lot of factors.

For one, everyone holds the pen differently, it may not look like it, but it's true.

Secondly, people have different coordination. Hand eye coordination and whether or not your dominant eye is the same hand you write with. People who's eye and hand are opposite usually turn their paper.

Penmanship is not genetic, so it can be anything your body makes it.

People's hands shake very often. This affects penmanship.

Good question!

Answer 5

Like fingerprints and DNA, no two people have exactly the same handwriting.

It's possible that the penmanship of our parents and teachers rubbed off somewhat.

Answer 6

the is a strong psychological influence upon penmanship

Answer 7

its the same as every artist draws a different way or, cant draw at all. true, coordination comes into it, but you have to take into consideration your perseption of the shapes how fast youre writing ect ect....

Answer 8

thats because its our own personal trademark, and even to our self when wer in the mood its hapens that our penmanship change also

Answer 9

I think, personally, it depends on dedication. If you were intent on writing well when you were learning to write, you spent more time making each letter right.

As you grow, it stays with you, only how you write changes, not how well.

Answer 10

We have different hands, different pens, different attitudes to writing.