Every classroom, office and meeting room seems to have one person like this. They write incredibly fast. Their notebooks fill up quickly. But when they look back at their notes, even they sometimes struggle to read their own handwriting. For years, people have attached stereotypes to messy handwriting. Some say it is a sign of intelligence. Others say it means someone is disorganized. Psychology suggests the reality is much more complicated. Handwriting is not a personality test. Instead, it is a complex interaction between thinking, memory, attention and motor coordination. For many people, writing too quickly simply means their brains are prioritizing information before it disappears from their working memory.
Here is what psychology says may actually be happening.
