The sheer number of victims of Mother of all liars Karen Matthews and her less than brilliant confederate Michael Donovan is huge.
The whole community of Batley Carr were set up for a fall by the elaborate confidence trick of the Shannon Matthews kidnap.
It is clear from the residents of Batley Carr that they are naturally hurt and embarrassed by the way that their good neighbourly attitude and care for others was taken advantage of. This is rich territory for the Guller An affront to a community's identity of itself is betrayal of the highest order.
What is certain however is that it was not their fault. Frequently we are all guilty of blaming a person's character for the things that befall them rather than the situation they find themselves in. Known as Fundamental Attribution Error its that phenomenon of blaming the victim for their treatment.
e.g.
Shopping – ‘he wastes his money’ yet the retail situation is created
to reduce our rational thinking and defences.
Charity – its the fault of the ‘lazy’ individual not their
circumstances
Headlines ‘Callous uncaring wife kills husband in fit of rage’ yet she was bullied for 20 years
According to Anthony Pratkanis there is no such thing as the 'gullibility gene'. Something he explored in Pratkanis (2006) Why Would Anyone Believe Such a thing? A Social Influence analysis.In Sterberg,Roediger, Halpern. Critical Thinking in psychology
The people of Batley Carr were set up in a situation that was skillfully landscaped by Karen Matthews and her tearful performances. They were led to believe that she was a distraught mother, when her tears were more likely the expression of the inner psychological in-balance she was experiencing between the her knowledge of the truth of the situation and the lie she was expressing.
And the irony?...Matthews claims she's a victim. Well she would wouldn't she.
I don't think the neighbours were being gullible either RR. They were being good neighbours, helping someone in need. The fact that they were being duped is not the important thing. It's like when you give to someone begging in the street. Some people don't do it because they've heard that some of these guys are conmen, and they are worried about being taken for a ride. But it's the giving that's important. I think that's all you can do - behave as a good person and leave the other person's morality up to them.
ReplyDelete(Hope this works this time! I've tried to remember what I wrote last time but it hasn't come out the same.)