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
We found Amanda to be rather a good looking girl with very slight
evidences of colored blood. Quiet and normal in her attitude and
expression. Slightly built--weight 93 lbs.; height 4 ft. 10 in.
Vision R. 20/80, L. 20/25. Coarse tremor of outstretched hands.
No evidence of specific disease. All other examination negative.
The girl complains of occasional sick headaches with photophobia.
Pelvic examination by a specialist negative.
On the mental side we quickly found we had to deal with a girl of
decidedly good general ability. Tests were almost uniformly done
well. Memory processes decidedly good-- span for eight numbers
auditorily and for seven numbers visually. No evidence whatever
of aberration.
Results on the ``Aussage'' test: Amanda on free recital gave 12
details of the picture; on questioning she mentioned 32 more
items, but a dozen of these were incorrect. Of 7 suggestions
offered she accepted 6. This was an exceptionally inaccurate
performance.
In the course of our study of this case we obtained from Amanda a
very good account of her own life, deeply tragic in its details,
and a probably correct analysis of her beginnings in lying. It
seems that she remembers well her mother, particularly in the
later visits which the relatives allowed. These must have been
when she was about 5 or 6 years old. ``I know a lot. There
isn't anything bad that I have not seen and heard. I try to
forget it, but I can't. What's the use anyhow? When I think of
my mother it all comes up again. When I was very little I would
sit in a room with my mother and a crowd of her friends and they
would say everything in front of me. I would see men and women
go into rooms and I kept wondering what they did in there. I
think I was quicker and sharper then than I am now. I think I
was about 3 when I used to see them smoking and drinking. Then I
used to think it was all right. I thought it was swell and that
I would like to do it too. I thought about it a lot. Mother,
you see, would tell me to be good one minute and the next would
teach me how to swear. I remember once when I was about 7 they
brought her home drunk. She looked terrible. I can close my
eyes and see her just as plainly as if it is there before me. A
protective society once found me and took me to their place.
Then I lived with my grandfather. Mother stole me from them and
then my uncle took me. I lived around in lots of places. I have
done lots of bad things. . . . .
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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