Pathology of Lying, Accusation, and Swindling: A Study in Forensic PsychologyHealy, William
Science
Pathology of Lying, Accusation, and Swindling: A Study in Forensic Psychology
Healy, William
Criminal psychology; Swindlers and swindling
Physically she was a normally developed young woman of distinctly
good strength, but slouchy attitude. In expression rather dull
and pleasant; laughs much in rather childish way for her age.
Weight, 110 lbs.; height, 5 ft. 2 1/2 in. No sensory defect.
Good color.
Mentally we gave her a wide variety of tests with the result, in
general, that she did well on them. She had left school at 14
years when in the 7th grade, but had not forgotten what she had
learned. Her arithmetic was done very well indeed and she wrote
a very good hand. The tests, which brought her abilities in many
directions into play, were done almost uniformly well. Her
memory processes were distinctly good and showed her capacity by
her remembering logical connections as well as details. Her
casuistic responses which were asked for in two moral situations,
verbally presented, Test XXI, were rather vacillating, but
evidently sound. It was easy for her to appreciate the intricacy
of the situation.
On the ``Aussage'' experiment, Test VI, out of 15 details given
as remembered from the picture just seen two were imaginary, and
of 9 more items given on cross-examination two were erroneous.
Her account as given was functional, not at all enumerative as in
the usual childish fashion. Out of 6 suggestions proffered she
accepted 4. This was a poor result for a person of her age. Her
range of information was normal. Her interests while at home had
been very simple; for instance, she had not been allowed to read
novels nor go to theatres. In all our work on tests and in our
several interviews with her we never discovered any signs of
aberrational tendencies. Her social conduct furnished the only
evidence of erraticism.
This young woman's mother, who is said to have been a normal
person, died a few months before we knew her daughter. She had
long been ill and consequently had had very imperfect control
over her daughter all through adolescence. The father had been
dead for several years previously; he was a storekeeper in a
small way, fairly educated and non-alcoholic. No other family
history of importance was ever forthcoming. There was only one
other child in the family, a younger brother, who was quite
normal. Outside of bronchitis during infancy it was said this
girl had never had any serious disease. In the last few months
there had been much complaint about suffering at the menstrual
period. Menstruation began at 13 years of age and was said to
have been regular until seven months or so prior to the time when
we first saw her. However, this latter statement was made by the
girl herself and at this stage her word was not particularly
reliable.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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