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
Ten months prior she had fallen off a street car; it was not
known she was damaged seriously. A jury had given a verdict of
several hundred dollars against the company, but on account of an
appeal having been taken the case was still unsettled. Since the
accident a number of fainting attacks had occurred and Georgia
had lost one position on account of them, a place where she had
worked for 2 years. She was said to have been quite healthy
before the accident. Some 5 weeks before we saw her, the girl
had become hysterical and announced that she had not menstruated
the week before and the cause was that she had been raped. Her
behavior was so peculiar in regard to this that her parents did
not believe her statements and did nothing about it. The girl
evidently was accustomed to telling falsehoods, although we could
get no specific account of them. The parents were very anxious
to avoid a scandal, for though they were poor they made much of
their respectability .
Georgia was examined after a later reiteration of her charges;
the physician said that she had not been raped. After we saw her
the parents thought it was best to go to another physician with
the young man who had become so interested. Once more the report
was that there had been no rape, but it now appeared that there
had been some manipulation of the parts. After this the case
quieted down, but Georgia had run away again just before this
second examination. When by our recommendation she was now
placed in a convalescent home she repeated the same stories and
announced that she was pregnant. Of course more trouble was
created by this and a third examination had to be made to
convince these good people who had been recently asked to
interest themselves in her.
After her stay in the convalescent home Georgia returned to her
parents, and, appearing to be recovered, went to work again. Her
record for two years was unexpectedly satisfactory. When the
above episode had blown over she regained control of herself,
adapted herself to family conditions, and worked steadily. On
one occasion her nervous symptoms have returned with much
depression and again an attempt at suicide. She was now
carefully studied in a hospital for signs of insanity, but again
it was determined that she was not of unsound mind. She made a
speedy recovery, adjusted herself once more to her surroundings,
and after a few months became married. During the last year or
so there has been no further trouble. A settlement of the law
suit for injuries was made before her more recent period of
depression. At the time of even her last attack we can learn of
no more false accusations having been made. The family attitude
about her has, all along, not been what it should have been to
have gained the proper results, but the problem of poverty was
always with them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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