examining the mindset of a fraudster: psychological ......when psychopaths go to work “there are...

Examining the Mindset of a Fraudster:

Psychological Aspects of the

Investigative Interview

Martin Vaughn

Executive Associate

Forensic Interview Solutions

Forensic Interview SolutionsThe Science of Interviewing

Psychology of Investigative

Interviewing –

Examining the Mindset of a

Fraudster

UNITED KINGDOM +44 20 3287 4205www.fis-international.com

Martin Vaughan

MA, BA(Hons), Pg.Dip.,Cert Ed.

PhD Candidate

Forensic Interviewing



What Is Psychology ?

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behaviour.

It examines how people think, how they act, react, and interact.

Human

Development

Cognitive

ProcessesSocial

Behaviour


Think Act React Interact

Psychological process



Fraud is a human endeavour, involving deception, purposeful

intent, intensity of desire, risk of apprehension, violation of trust,

rationalization, and so on.

The rationale for drawing on behavioural science insights is

evident from the intuition that one needs to

“Think like a crook to catch a crook.”

S. Ramamoorti and W. Olsen, “Fraud: The Human Factor,”

Financial Executive

(July–August 2007): 53–55.



“The hands manipulate the

sword, the mind manipulates

the hands. Cultivate the mind

and do not be deceived by

tricks, feints and schemes.

They are the properties of a

magician, not of the samurai.”

Understand the Mind


Saito Yakuro (1798–1871)


What you see isn’t what you get !


Immediate

Environment

and

Global

Environment

General

Behaviour

Characteristics


When Psychopaths Go to Work

“There are some

individuals in the business

world who allow the

responsibilities of

leadership and the perks

of power to override their

moral sense.”



Greed

Status

Revenge

Excitement

Parity with others

Loss of moral compass

Potential motives



1. Sense of entitlement

2. Excessive optimism

3. Rationalization

4. Peer or financial pressure

5. Instant gratification

6. Diffusion of harm

7. Lack of remorse

8. Inadequate fear of punishment

9. Egoism

10. Disregard for authority and rule

Beyond Greed: 10 clues to understanding a

fraudster’s thinking:



• Social Skills

• Self-esteem

• Coping ability

• Attitudes and beliefs

• Needs

Characteristics affecting behaviour of

interviewee during interview


• Impulsivity

• Guilt and remorse

• Hostility

• Justification

• Minimisation


Environmental factors that

influence interview behaviour

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1. Taking action. Is the action about a transaction or a

relationship?

2. The role of play. Am I most interested in enjoying the journey

or getting to the destination?

3. Who benefits? For whom am I doing it? Myself or another

person?

4. Obedience. How do I feel about rules?Michael J. Apter, 2007

4 Basic Motivational Questions



3 Questions:

1. What does the offender do that they have

to do to commit the offence?

2. What does the offender do that they do not

need to do?

3. In the context of the offence, what does the offender

not do that he could have done?

Roberts, (2009)

Offence Characteristics



Killers


Corporate Psychopath


Vulnerability?


Children under 18

Learning disability

Physical disability

Alcohol abuse

ElderlyDrug users

Mental health

No uniform definition in Suspect Interviews – Herrington & Roberts 2012


Corporate Psychopaths as

Organisational Destroyers


Jeffrey Skilling,

the convicted former

Enron Corp. chief

executive officer

Robert Maxwell,

billionaire property

owner, newspaper

and book publisher

Fred Goodwin,

the disgraced former

boss of Royal Bank

of Scotland



Most Psychopathic

Professions

Least Psychopathic

Professions

1. CEO 1. Care worker

2. Lawyer 2. Nurse

3. Media (TV/radio) 3. Therapist

4. Salesperson 4. Craftsperson

5. Surgeon 5. Beautician/stylist

6. Journalist 6. Charity worker

7. Police officer 7. Teacher

8. Cleric 8. Creative artist

9. Chef 9. Doctor

10. Civil servant 10. AccountantProf. Dutton 2012


"I should have spent some time inside the stock exchange as well.

Serial killer psychopaths ruin families. Corporate and political and

religious psychopaths ruin economies. They ruin societies."

Professor Robert Hare (1999)

Quote



Interpersonal

Affective

Lifestyle

Antisocial

Four Facets of PCL-R

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Hare (1993)

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Interpersonal Affective Lifestyle Antisocial

Superficial charm Remorselessness ImpulsivityPoor behavioural controls

Grandiosity Shallow affectStimulation seeking

Delinquency

Lying Callousness IrresponsibleCriminalversatility

Conning and manipulative

Failure to accept responsibility

Parasitic lifestyleEarly behavioural problems

Promiscuous sexual behaviour

Lack of realistic goals

Psychopathic Personality Traits


Herve & Yuille (2007)



Interpersonal Affective Lifestyle Antisocial

Superficial charm Remorselessness ImpulsivityPoor behavioural controls

Grandiosity Shallow affectStimulation seeking

Delinquency

Lying Callousness IrresponsibleCriminalversatility

Conning and manipulative

Failure to accept responsibility

Parasitic lifestyleEarly behavioural problems

Promiscuous sexual behaviour

Lack of realistic goals

Psychopathic Personality Traits

Present During an Interview


Quayle (2008 p.81)



One-size-fits-all approach to

investigative interviewing

does not work !

Milne and Griffiths, 2006

Approach to Interviewing



• Outwitting the interviewer

• Enjoying being the focus of attention

• Arrogance and grandiosity

• Ignoring or minimising the importance of discrepancies

• Attempting to shock the interviewer

• Seeing through attempts to bluff

• Offering extremely convincing claims of innocence

• Gauging levels of experience, credentials and confidence

• Disrupting the interview

Psychopathic Interviewee

Behaviours


Quayle (2008)



Case familiarity

Convey experience and confidence

Create atmosphere of authority and formality

Don’t worry about rapport

Avoid emotion

Strategies to Counteract

Behaviours


Seek liking

Seek learning

Maintain control

Avoid criticism

Challenge cautiously


All interviews should be thoroughly planned.

Research both victim and offender.

Understand the psychology of interviewing.

Every interview is different.

Every Strategy is Unique.

Make sure you are match fit !

Summary



“The time spent assessing an individual

prior to interview, considering their

lifestyle and behavioural characteristics

– no matter how limited the time or

information available – is likely to pay

high dividends in the interview as it

allows for the design of strategies that

will maximise the information during any

interview and minimise the risk of

unwanted outcomes”

Roberts (2009)

Conclusion



The World may be

changing but

Psychopathy remains

the same.

Professor Tony Madden (2015)

Thank You.



Boddy, C.R.P., Ladyshewsky, R. & Galvin, P. (2010). Leaders without ethics in global business: corporate psychopaths. Journal of Public Affairs, 121-138.

Cleckley, H. (1976). The mast of sanity (5th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby.

Fox, A.R., Kvaran, T.H. & Fontaine, R.G. (2012 ). Psychopathy and Culability: How Responsible is the Psychopath for Criminal Wrongdoing? Law & Social Inquiry, 1-26.

Hancock, T.J., Woodworth, M.T. & Porter, S. (2011). Hungry like the wolf: A word-pattern analysis of the language of the psychopaths. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 1-13.

Hare, R. (1993). Without conscience; the disturbing world of the psychopaths among us. New York: The Guilford Press Inc.

NPIA. (2009). National Investigative Interviewing Strategy - Briefing Paper. Wyboston, Bedfordshire: NPIA.

Pakes, P. & Winstone, J. (2007). Psychology and Crime. Cullompton: Willan.

Perri, F.S. (2011). The Flawed Interview of a Psychopathic Killer: What Went Wrong. Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, 41-57.

Quayle, J. (2008). Interviewing a Psychopathic Suspect. Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, 79-91.

Spidel, A., Herve, H., Greaves, C. & Yuille, J.C. (2011). "Wasn't me!" A field study of the relationship between

deceptive motivations and psychopathic traits in young offenders. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 335-347.

Bibliography



Steve Rothlein, “Noble Cause Corruption,” Public Agency Training Council , 2008, http://www.patc.com/weeklyarticles/print/noble‐cause‐corruption.pdf. An interesting aspect of “noble cause corruption”—done for love of country, office, or position—is that the individuals engaging in such activity may not be “bad apples” but may in fact be “golden apples,” or the best officers of a government agency, for instance.

Social comparison theory asserts that people evaluate their own abilities and opinions by comparing themselves to others; other people help us to define ourselves. See L. Festinger, “A Theory of Social Comparison Processes,” Human Relations 7 (1954): 117–40; and C. H. Cooley, Human Nature and the Social Order (New York: Schocken Books, 1902). For the catch‐me‐if‐you‐can‐game, see F. W. Abagnale, Catch Me If You Can: The Amazing True Story of the Youngest and Most Daring Con Man in the History of Fun and Profit (New York: Broadway Books, 2000).



Martin Vaughan

PhD Candidate

MA, BA(Hons), Pg.Dip.,Cert. Ed.,

Executive Associate UK



[email protected]

+44 20 3287 4205


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Examining the Mindset of a Fraudster:

Psychological Aspects of the

Investigative Interview

Martin Vaughn

Executive Associate


examining the mindset of a fraudster: psychological ......when psychopaths go to work “there are...

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