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17
Regardless of education level, professional position, or social or economic status, anyone can fall prey to a hoax, indicating the need to try to legislate criminal hoaxes out of existence, or at least subject to controls. One example of a highly educated individual falling prey to a hoax is the letter to the editor submitted by Professor Jerome G. Manis, of Western Michigan University. The professor writes an apology to Curtis D. MacDougall because he, like others, believed and quoted, in his own scholarly article published in the journal Social Problems, the “H.L. Mencken bathtub hoax” as if it had been an actual event. 49 His letter of apology to MacDougall plainly shows how a simple and silly hoax can be sustained over time, and reveals how even the best and the brightest can be taken in by the hoaxer.
Psychological and sociological aspects of hoaxes seem to share a similar undercurrent of deception. Humans deceive because they learn the behavior and see that it yields positive results.50 Because deception is a learned behavior, it is not considered abnormal nor is it a sign or symptom of mental illness. As discussed above, people often have a “reason to believe” in the deception. However, ultimately when these persons discover that their faith in the goodness of their fellow humans has been undermined, the consequence to both the victim and the hoaxer is quite negative.51 Important here is the notion of the learned behavior, and if the goal is to prevent, decrease or eliminate criminal hoaxes, the use of certain tools, both publicly and privately provided, such as early childhood development, parenting
49 Please see footnote 2 regarding the H.L Mencken Bathtub Hoax.
50 See Saul Kasman’s article “On Human Nature for Investigators,” wherein he discusses psychological aspects of deception and that effective investigators must learn to recognize it.
51 See discussion of Curtis MacDougall’s notion of “why we don’t disbelieve” above.
Object Description
| Title | An argument for the criminal hoax |
| Author | Pellegrini, Laura A. |
| Author email | user1963@yahoo.com; teachpolsci@yahoo.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Political Science |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-08-20 |
| Date submitted | 2008 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2008-10-13 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Renteln, Alison Dundes |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Wong, Janelle S. Newland, Chester A. |
| Abstract | Hoaxes are part of the fabric of history. While many provide humor and lighthearted joy, the criminal hoax does not. To date, researchers have included aspects of the criminal hoax in larger academic works. This is an original typology that sets forth the criminal hoax as a distinct part of the larger field of law and public policy. This work provides newly created definitions including four distinct categories of hoaxes: the monetary hoax, the attention getter hoax, the hate crime hoax and the racial hoax. It further illustrates these types with actual detailed accounts of hoaxes and provides insights to each one. It makes policy recommendations concerning the four categories of needs: 1. legislative action, 2. a nationwide statistical database of hoax events, 3. media involvement, and 4. law enforcement training and action to deal with criminal hoaxes. Finally, it recommends further research to identify the causes and motivations of vipers. The ultimate goal of this project is to find ways to eliminate criminal hoaxes. |
| Keyword | criminal hoax; hoax categories |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m1659 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Pellegrini, Laura A. |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Pellegrini-2397 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume26/etd-Pellegrini-2397.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 23 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 17 Regardless of education level, professional position, or social or economic status, anyone can fall prey to a hoax, indicating the need to try to legislate criminal hoaxes out of existence, or at least subject to controls. One example of a highly educated individual falling prey to a hoax is the letter to the editor submitted by Professor Jerome G. Manis, of Western Michigan University. The professor writes an apology to Curtis D. MacDougall because he, like others, believed and quoted, in his own scholarly article published in the journal Social Problems, the “H.L. Mencken bathtub hoax” as if it had been an actual event. 49 His letter of apology to MacDougall plainly shows how a simple and silly hoax can be sustained over time, and reveals how even the best and the brightest can be taken in by the hoaxer. Psychological and sociological aspects of hoaxes seem to share a similar undercurrent of deception. Humans deceive because they learn the behavior and see that it yields positive results.50 Because deception is a learned behavior, it is not considered abnormal nor is it a sign or symptom of mental illness. As discussed above, people often have a “reason to believe” in the deception. However, ultimately when these persons discover that their faith in the goodness of their fellow humans has been undermined, the consequence to both the victim and the hoaxer is quite negative.51 Important here is the notion of the learned behavior, and if the goal is to prevent, decrease or eliminate criminal hoaxes, the use of certain tools, both publicly and privately provided, such as early childhood development, parenting 49 Please see footnote 2 regarding the H.L Mencken Bathtub Hoax. 50 See Saul Kasman’s article “On Human Nature for Investigators,” wherein he discusses psychological aspects of deception and that effective investigators must learn to recognize it. 51 See discussion of Curtis MacDougall’s notion of “why we don’t disbelieve” above. |
