General Question

rebbel's avatar

Can a person have two different handwritings?

Asked by rebbel (35553points) June 4th, 2010

I am watching a show on Discovery Channel called True CSI where they are hearing suspects of a murder.
The suspects are ordered to give a sample of their handwriting (after the woman was killed, the murderer, apart from stealing stuff from her house, also tried to do credit card fraud, hence the handwriting sample).
My question: is it possible for a person to develop a second handwriting (the one totally different from the other), to avoid, in a case like this, being caught?

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22 Answers

chels's avatar

I suppose if you write something with your left and right hand that would be two different handwritings.

SamIAm's avatar

@chels : i feel like if you’re being questioned, they’re going to require you to write with both hands…

i feel like my handwriting always changes but I think there are always some similarities that remain the same always…

rebbel's avatar

@chels
I suppose you are right, but what i mean is, two totally different handwritings (written by the same hand) which a handwriting specialist could not tell they belonged to the same person.

Facade's avatar

I can write in several different ways. I thought everyone could… It all depends on how I’m holding the pen. I’d make a greats serial killer [evil laugh]

JLeslie's avatar

From what I understand certain habits are hard to break like how you end a word, how you dot i’s and cross t’s. Makes sense. When I write my hubsnad’s name it s hard for me to write our last name like he does, because I have a particular way of signing my last name.

cyn's avatar

I’m with facade, here. I write differently depending on my mood and circumstances. If I was a serial killer, I’d definitely change my handwriting to a different style. Right now, I can say I have about 5 different handwriting. From cursive to print. (:

Ame_Evil's avatar

I have two handwritings though they are probably similar under analysis.

A slow, large handwriting which is quite girly.

And a rushed thin handwriting.

rebbel's avatar

@cyndihugs @Facade
I do too have different styles of writing, but i believe for a specialist in handwriting it is provable that those different styles all belong to the same person.
Like @JLeslie said, there are certain habits that will come back in all your different styles.
Your periods, the way your start writing your A’s and Z’s, the pressure you apply, etc.

snowberry's avatar

My handwriting changes, sometimes so much and so often it almost looks like different people writing the same letter. It used to embarrass me. Now I just write.

lillycoyote's avatar

There is actually something of science to handwriting analysis and there are little “tells” in a person’s handwriting, even if they are trying to disguise it, that will give them away. Not an exact science, but people who do handwriting analysis are permitted to testify in court as expert witnesses. as @rebbel touched on.

warwickmcghee's avatar

I have two, depends on what I’m writing (rough notes or essays). I’m sure if they were analysed it would be found that it was written by the same person.
But I’m not trying to hide or create a new identity though. So perhaps it may be possible to develop a totally different style, if one were so inclined. Then again, I’m no expert.

perspicacious's avatar

Sure, neat and sloppy.

Response moderated (Spam)
lilikoi's avatar

If you’ve seen handwriting w my left hand vs right, you’ll know it is certainly possible.

cheebdragon's avatar

I have several styles of handwriting, I mastered my moms signature at a young age….

JLeslie's avatar

@cheebdragon Me too. She used to tell me to sign things if I needed her signature and it was inconvenient for her to do it. She is a lefty so her writing is so different than mine, different slant, totally different.

Pandora's avatar

I think a person with multiple personalities can change their writting. Of course I can also change my writting depending on how I’m feeling. Sometimes when I’m really happy I tend to write my letter rounder and fuller. When I feel a little artsy my letters are larger and more flamboyant and very slanted. When I’m tired or hate that I have to write something out my letters get smaller and thinner and really crappy and go up and down. I write my name 3 different ways.
Of course some letters can remain relatively the same. For me that is usually the small ‘a’ , r, n and m. and of course the o. Only because you can’t change it without it being unrecognizable.

zophu's avatar

I personally have several types of handwriting, each depending on how drunk I am.

MissA's avatar

As several have said, even when we think our handwriting is different, there are tell-tale signs that it belongs to us. Kind of funny…I’ve often had the comment, “Your handwriting is SO beautiful…but, I can’t read it!” When I was young, I had perfect penmanship…but, the importance of such was drilled into us. There you have it, I’m as old as…well…@lillycoyote!!!

polehead's avatar

Write with your right hand and then your left for every 2 to3–4 letter however,a good hand writing expert wouldn’t be fooled but the normal person would be.But what’s the point unless you want to create a forgery?

Katerinab's avatar

I think that’s totally possible. I have two really different handwritings, and which one I use depends on which one I want to use that moment. It’s not like I have one that’s really messy and a neat one, they’re both not messy at all, but just really different. Ofcourse I don’t know why I have two, and why I sometimes feel like using another one, but that’s how it is.

snowberry's avatar

My handwriting changes with my mood, how long I’ve been writing, my change of position, even how much I’m concentrating. The longer I write, the more it changes. Sometimes it really does look like several people are writing the same message.

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