The

1

• The
• Derivational Thinking Paradigm,
• Norm Resistance Theory
• and 911 Response Interviews
• Kerry Linfoot-Ham, University of Florida
• Language, Psychology and Law
• July 11th, Leicester, U.K.

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Derivational Thinking
c.f. Hardman, 1996
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Derivational Thinking (DT)

• Linguistic Postulates
• number (use of singular/plural structures)
• sex-based gender (with the masculine form as the
  root and the feminine derived from the masculine)
• ranking comparative/absolute (e.g. better, best)
• e.g. Hardman (1996)

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How May DT Manifest Itself in Law Enforcement
Encounters?

• Number
• Only one correct version of events (depending
  on who is speaking, of course)
• Sex-based gender
• Domestic violence/sexual battery cases
• Ranking
• Child custody issues the better parent

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Sexual Battery Case

• Woman called the police saying shed been
  sexually assaulted.
• She was white, in her late 40s or 50s.
• She called from a bar.
• She knew her attacker.
• She was a homeless person.
• She was a drug user.
• She was a known prostitute.
• She had made rape charges in the past.
• Some assault charges had been against male nurses
  during previous rape examinations.

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DT and Sexual Battery Case

• Number single version of the truth assertion of
  ones own perspective over that of ones
  aggressor.
• Sex-based gender sexual battery is more than 85
  of the time the forcing of a female to perform
  acts against her desire by a male.
• Ranking hierarchy homeless, drug-user,
  prostitute reaction was to downgrade the
  severity of her claims.

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• Police Serial rapist attacking prostitutes
• By LISE FISHER
• Sun staff writer
• June 29. 2006 601AM
• Gainesville Police are hunting for a man
  described as a serial rapist after four
  prostitutes told officers he had picked them up,
  then held them at knifepoint.
• Mayo said the lifestyle of a prostitute puts them
  at risk."The chances of them getting beaten up,
  assaulted, raped, it's a lot higher than if it
  was just a person who works and goes to school,"
  he said.And there is a credibility issue when a
  prostitute reports a crime."One is because of
  their profession. One is because they are usually
  addicted to drugs or alcohol," he said.

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Norm Resistance Theory
c.f. Turk, 1966
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Norm Resistance a Conflict Theory

• Norm Resistance sees law as a balance of
  consensus and coercion, which is maintained by
  the dominant parties.
• These societal roles eventually become usual
  and unquestioned verbal and behavioural patterns.

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Cultural and Social Norms

• Cultural Norms
• The verbal formulation of values.
• With reference to the current research
  (police-citizen interaction) this refers to the
  laws as they are written, that is the announced
  requirements as posited by the authorities or
  those with the power to do so.
• Social Norms
• Social norms are actual patterns of action, i.e.
  the law as it is enforced or typical patterns of
  behaviour

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Situation 1

• Subjects and authorities both act congruently
  with their cultural norms (prescribed values).
• As these norms are often very different, the
  possibility for conflict is at its highest as
  both sides attempt to act according to their
  beliefs.

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Situation 2

• Little/no agreement between the behaviour of
  authorities and subjects and the cultural norms
  they hold.
• Possibility for conflict is at its lowest as
  neither group is likely to fight for something
  that means nothing to them on a cultural level.

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Situation 3

• Congruence is present for the authorities between
  their social and cultural norms, but incongruence
  exists for the subjects.
• Possibility of conflict is medium-high as the
  authorities cultural view is backed by social
  norms of behaviour (the law), and they may assume
  that their dedication to their norms is matched
  by those of the subject to their own norms.

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Situation 4

• Incongruence between official norms and
  behaviour among the authorities will reduce the
  chance of overt conflict because it deserves
  discretion, (p. 608)., i.e. discretionary force
  (the ability to choose whether or not to make an
  arrest dependent on the particular case
  presented, for example) is an option for the
  officer.
• Subjects may show a match between their cultural
  and social norms, however the possibility of
  conflict remains medium-low.

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Organisation

• Levels of support for actions within a group, and
  how far this is integrated into the group
  dynamics.
• Turk assumes police have complex organisation,
  whereas subject organisation may vary according
  to their social circle.
• For example, if a subject is surrounded by
  supportive onlookers, the possibility of overt
  conflict is increased as the subjects
  organisation and action is encouraged, lessening
  the likelihood of compromise or submission.

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Sophistication

• This aspect comprises knowledge of others, which
  may be used to manipulate them, and the ability
  to implement this knowledge successfully. Turk
  again assumes that authorities have high levels
  of sophistication due to training and experience.
• Levels of sophistication among subjects may vary
  according to their education, criminal
  background, communicative and social abilities,
  and intoxication levels.

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Sophistication and Organisation in Domestic
Violence Case

• Wife called the police stating that her husband
  had laid hands on her.
• Deputy responded to a very nice, expensive
  residential neighbourhood of town.
• Woman and man were both white, mid to late
  forties.
• Woman worked at home, man was a professor of
  Chemistry.
• Man had returned from a conference to find his
  house in an unsuitable state of cleanliness.
• J stated that the house appeared spotless to him.
• Man kept telling J that he had a doctorate.
• Man asked J many times if he was married.
• Man told J that he could not understand the
  situation as he was too young.

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Norm Resistance in Domestic Violence Case

• Older subjects were less willing to accept
  younger officers in a norm enforcer-violator
  relationship the police are expected to treat
  older citizens with respect however, the aged
  are frequently less deferent toward the police.
• Greenleaf (1993168)

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Norm Resistance and Law Enforcement

• That some gifted policemen sic. have learned
  how to restore order peacefully under these
  circumstances points to the possibility that
  artificial means particularly training and
  enhanced language skills can be developed in
  police departments to diminish violence and to
  increase the probabilities of skilful handling of
  these critical incidents.
• Muir (198052)

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Conclusions

• There are expectations and considerations that
  must be understood by law enforcement officers
  before entering any interviewing situation.
• An introduction of basic cultural and social
  categories through, for example, basic knowledge
  of DT and NR theories may increase an officers
  awareness of such concerns.

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Next Steps

• Most officers have neither the time or the
  inclination to study linguistics and
  criminological theory!
• The applicable aspects of such theoretical
  constructs must be operationalised and instituted
  in basic officer training at both the academy and
  in-service levels.

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The End

• Thank you
• for listening!

Kerry Linfoot-Ham, University of
Florida knkham_at_yahoo.co.uk