Page 169 |
Save page Remove page | Previous | 169 of 234 | Next |
|
small (250x250 max)
medium (500x500 max)
Large (1000x1000 max)
Extra Large
large ( > 500x500)
Full Resolution
All (PDF)
|
This page
All
|
163
most of us are embarrassingly inept at spotting liars. Even professionals make a poor show of it. In one study psychologists asked experienced law-enforcement officers, rookie cops, and college students to determine whether various individual were lying or telling the truth. The results were disheartening. Not only were there no significant differences in accuracy of the judgments of the three groups, but also all three guessed right at the frequency only minimally better than chance. Even the experts might as well have just flipped a coin!473
At the outset, believability is tremendously significant. A common thread throughout this study is the fact that hoax accounts are believable. They have to be or the viper’s personal goals in perpetrating the hoax cannot be realized. Vipers concoct these credible stories, so the idea that an outrageous account is a clue to a hoax is false. Quite the contrary, the stories are all too believable, as a viper wants to evade detection. Since people are generally poor at detecting liars, the viper, with a specific goal of going undetected, may be quite skilled at presenting deceit as truth. Officers should therefore use the tools at their disposal to “trust, but verify.”
Second, sometimes seemingly improbable tales are true. As discussed above, vipers tales’ are astonishingly believable, therefore if someone alleges an outrageous event, there is a greater likelihood of truthfulness than hoax. One example of this was the case of an abductee who told a convoluted story of being kidnapped, taken to an automated teller machine, handcuffed and having her neck fastened to her vehicle’s head-rest with a zip-tie.474 Detectives thought the story was wacky, but ascribed to “believe, but verify.” It was fortuitous because the entire tale was true. The police returned to the initial kidnap victim for additional information when other
473 David Livingstone Smith, Why We Lie, The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 2004.
474 NBC News, Dateline NBC, Crime Reports, “Terror at the Mall,” June 1, 2008.
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 169 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 163 most of us are embarrassingly inept at spotting liars. Even professionals make a poor show of it. In one study psychologists asked experienced law-enforcement officers, rookie cops, and college students to determine whether various individual were lying or telling the truth. The results were disheartening. Not only were there no significant differences in accuracy of the judgments of the three groups, but also all three guessed right at the frequency only minimally better than chance. Even the experts might as well have just flipped a coin!473 At the outset, believability is tremendously significant. A common thread throughout this study is the fact that hoax accounts are believable. They have to be or the viper’s personal goals in perpetrating the hoax cannot be realized. Vipers concoct these credible stories, so the idea that an outrageous account is a clue to a hoax is false. Quite the contrary, the stories are all too believable, as a viper wants to evade detection. Since people are generally poor at detecting liars, the viper, with a specific goal of going undetected, may be quite skilled at presenting deceit as truth. Officers should therefore use the tools at their disposal to “trust, but verify.” Second, sometimes seemingly improbable tales are true. As discussed above, vipers tales’ are astonishingly believable, therefore if someone alleges an outrageous event, there is a greater likelihood of truthfulness than hoax. One example of this was the case of an abductee who told a convoluted story of being kidnapped, taken to an automated teller machine, handcuffed and having her neck fastened to her vehicle’s head-rest with a zip-tie.474 Detectives thought the story was wacky, but ascribed to “believe, but verify.” It was fortuitous because the entire tale was true. The police returned to the initial kidnap victim for additional information when other 473 David Livingstone Smith, Why We Lie, The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 2004. 474 NBC News, Dateline NBC, Crime Reports, “Terror at the Mall,” June 1, 2008. |
