THE EMPIRICAL STUDY OF SIGNATURE SIZE

This paper is a summary of a series of studies which have related signature size to various situational and personological attributes. In general, these studies have produced a consistent set of findings, all pointing to a positive relationship between the size of one's signature and one's status, one's self-esteem, and even one's temporary feelings of success or failure. These findings are somewhat surprising when one considers the frequency and routineness with which we sign our names. As such, the signature represents an unobtrusive expressive movement, evidence not only of what John Doe's name is, but also of John Doe's status, and how he feels about himself.