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63
Chapter 3 - Attention Getter Hoaxes
Attention getters tend to fit into two categories. The first is people faced with personal predicaments, whether of their own making, or from a set of life circumstances. They use the hoax to help alleviate the pressure of life, such as being away from home at college, or family affairs. The hoax provides an avenue of escape, a method of attaining the attention they crave or believe is lacking. The second is the criminal hoaxer who uses the attention getting as a means to achieve an end. The goal may simply be the attention, or it may be a combination of attention and other desires, such as money or family connection. Regardless of the type, attention getters seek attention. They want others focused on them, whether it be family members, significant others, strangers or even the police. In most cases, these individuals appear pitiful and deserving of sympathy, however when their shenanigans cause actual harm and needless loss of public resources, accountability is a necessity.
In 1986, a six-year old girl disappeared from her home in Thorntown, Indiana. She had been playing the standard childhood game of hide and seek and simply vanished. Shannon Marie Sherrill’s parents were heartbroken at the loss of their precious daughter. The Sherrills, William and Dorothy did not hear of their daughter until the middle of 2003 when Dorothy received a phone call from a woman claiming to be their long lost daughter Shannon. The voice at the other end of the phone said she was known now as Beth Ann Harris. From the outset, police
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 69 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 63 Chapter 3 - Attention Getter Hoaxes Attention getters tend to fit into two categories. The first is people faced with personal predicaments, whether of their own making, or from a set of life circumstances. They use the hoax to help alleviate the pressure of life, such as being away from home at college, or family affairs. The hoax provides an avenue of escape, a method of attaining the attention they crave or believe is lacking. The second is the criminal hoaxer who uses the attention getting as a means to achieve an end. The goal may simply be the attention, or it may be a combination of attention and other desires, such as money or family connection. Regardless of the type, attention getters seek attention. They want others focused on them, whether it be family members, significant others, strangers or even the police. In most cases, these individuals appear pitiful and deserving of sympathy, however when their shenanigans cause actual harm and needless loss of public resources, accountability is a necessity. In 1986, a six-year old girl disappeared from her home in Thorntown, Indiana. She had been playing the standard childhood game of hide and seek and simply vanished. Shannon Marie Sherrill’s parents were heartbroken at the loss of their precious daughter. The Sherrills, William and Dorothy did not hear of their daughter until the middle of 2003 when Dorothy received a phone call from a woman claiming to be their long lost daughter Shannon. The voice at the other end of the phone said she was known now as Beth Ann Harris. From the outset, police |
