Bøker av William Healy

PREFACECareful studies of offenders make group-types stand out with distinctness. Very little advancement in the treatment of delinquents or criminals can be expected if typical characteristics and their bearings are not understood. The group that our present work concerns itself with is comparatively little known, although cases belonging to it, when met, attract much attention. It is to all who should be acquainted with these striking mental and moral vagaries, particularly in their forensic and psychological significances, that our essay is addressed. In some cases vital for the administration of justice, an understanding of the types of personality and of behavior here under discussion is a prime necessity.The whole study of characterology or the motivation of conduct is extremely new, and there are many indications of immense values in uncovered fields. Some appreciation of this fact may be gained from the following pages which show the possibility of tracing one form of behavior to its source.We have laid under contribution practically the entire literature on the subject, almost none of which is in English, and also the thorough-going longitudinal case studies made by the Juvenile Psychopathic Institute of Chicago. In the latter material there was found much of value bearing upon the subject of lying, false accusation, and swindling of pathological character.Our institute, later taken over officially by the Juvenile Court of Cook County, was for five years maintained upon a foundation provided by Mrs. W. F. Dummer.WILLIAM HEALY MARY TENNEY HEALYWINNETKA, ILL. June, 1915

This classic monograph on pathological lying, accusation, and swindling from 1915 contains a review of the literature to date, a series of twenty-seven case studies, and conclusions. The Healys were the first to concentrate almost exclusively on juvenile cases, and explore and analyse their causes and antecedents, using a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods. Although outmoded in terminology and social attitudes, this work offers a fascinating insight into the realm of pathological lying and approaches to forensic psychology in the early twentieth century. This volume has been carefully hand-edited and re-indexed to be clear and complete.