| Abstract/Notes |
Objective: This is a study protocol for inferring dispositional orientations in historical figures through systematic analysis of archival texts—defined as biographical materials and primary writings authored by the historical figure under study—with the aim of exploring additional descriptive perspectives alongside established historical interpretations. The protocol is illustrated through a case study of D. D. Palmer (1845–1913), founder of chiropractic.
Methods: The proposed methodology integrates qualitative historiography with psychologically informed textual analysis, understood here as descriptive interpretation of how agency, authority, conflict, certainty, and identity are expressed through language rather than as clinical or diagnostic psychological analysis. Primary sources include autobiographical statements, correspondence, published writings, and contemporaneous accounts. Texts are examined for recurring patterns of self-representation, agency attribution, conflict orientation, epistemic stance, and affective expression, using established personality-oriented and language-based analytical frameworks. As an exploratory comparison, the text-derived dispositional profile is contrasted with an independent handwriting (graphological) analysis conducted by a trained practitioner; the graphological component is treated as supplementary and non-determinative.
Results: The protocol will examine 2 complementary forms of archival evidence. Biographical sources are analyzed to identify recurring behavioral patterns—stable modes of conduct, decision-making, and interpersonal positioning—suggestive of dispositional orientations. Authored writings are analyzed as discursive behavior, revealing consistent approaches to authority, knowledge, conflict, and audience. These analyses generate a synthesized dispositional profile derived from cross-source patterning, which is compared with an independent handwriting-based interpretation to document areas of convergence and divergence. This comparison may offer additional descriptive perspectives beyond prevailing historical characterizations. No clinical or diagnostic classifications are produced.
Discussion: Rather than offering diagnosis, the protocol will emphasize cautious, contextualized inference and methodological transparency. It will address longstanding challenges in historical personality research, including anachronism, bias, and overinterpretation.
Conclusion: This protocol provides a replicable, interdisciplinary framework for dispositional inference in historical research and may be adapted to other figures with sufficient archival material, contributing to historiography, psychology, and professional identity studies.
Author keywords: Historiography; Graphology; Textual Analysis; History
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