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Lexi Howard-Mullins 11.21.2021 // PSYC425 Game Over Book Reaction How to Call Game Over on Manipulation Tactics by Inmates Although every criminal is different, in the experience of Dr. Bill Elliott most of them have one thing in common: the ability to manipulate those around them, including the professional staff that intend to help them. In their book, Game Over: Strategies for Redirecting Inmate Deception, Dr. Bill Elliott and Vicki Verdeyen go in depth about the manipulation tactics of inmates and the strategies that professionals use to counteract their efforts. Overall, Game Over is something that all professionals who work with criminals should read so they can gain insight into the way that offenders think and act in order to get what they want. Summary First, Part I of Game Over, “Learning the Game”, focuses on the mindset of criminals and basics of how they attempt to con professionals. Unlike regular games, “in playing con games, we want to ensure that everybody wins” (p. 7). This is important to both the offender and the staff member that the offender is trying to manipulate because the professional is trying to teach the offender prosocial context, and if the staff member lets them win the con, it just reinforces the criminal mindset and doesn’t help the offender to grow as a person that can eventually be a part of society again. In the second chapter of Part I, several important parts of inmate deception are discussed, starting with the classifications of inmate deception. As the authors state, “most forms of inmate deception can be classified as either lying by commission, lying by omission, dissimulation, or manipulation” (p. 11). Lying by commission is what most would define as a lie, meaning that there is a clear intent to deceive and the truth is changed on purpose for one’s gain.

The second type of lie is lying by omission, which happens when someone leaves out a detail of the truth on purpose. Next is dissimulation, which is the changing of a psychological or physical symptom on purpose, followed by manipulation, which is the act of “getting someone (staff) to do what the manipulator (inmate) wants by means of misleading or deceitful communication” (p. 13). This chapter also goes into detail about the dynamics of prison that create a good environment for manipulation, specifically the adversarial relationship, power dynamics, the inmate subculture, and the contributions of staff members to the con. Chapter two also discusses the three C’s of criminality, which are: (1) the conditions that put a person at risk for criminal behavior, (2) the choice of a person to enter the criminal lifestyle, and (3) the cognition that comes with being a criminal once the conditions and choices have been made. Lastly, the chapter explains the eight cognitive patterns of criminality, including mollification, sentimentality, power orientation, cognitive indolence, entitlement, superoptimism, cutoff, and discontinuity. Knowing the cognitive patterns that criminals use can help professionals to gain insight into which specific patterns that offenders use and how to counteract them. Second, in Part II, labeled “The Con Maneuvers”, the authors look at the basics of inmate manipulation as related to entitlement and power orientation. First, the chapter on entitlement gives several scenarios where entitlement comes into play and discusses the meaning of entitlement. According to chapter three, “entitlement is a multifaceted thinking error characterized by the 1) attribution of ownership over anything or anyone which the offender finds desirable; 2) a presumption of uniqueness…3) misidentification of desires or preferences as needs to be pursued at all cost” (p. 33). Chapter four on power orientation discusses the twelve ways that inmates most commonly attempt to hold power over staff members. First is testing, in which inmates collect information on a staff member to use at a later date; this is followed by

diversion, extortion, and disreputation, in which inmates try to “undermine the authority of staff members by calling into question their credibility, integrity, or expertise” (p. 61). Next is negotiation and rumor clinic, or the use of misinformation, which can be related to disreputation if it involves the effort to chip away at a professional’s reputation through the gossip. Revenge is next, which is fairly self-explanatory, followed by ingratiation, splitting, boundary intrusion, sphere of influence, and solidarity, which is “an organized attempt by a group of inmates to compel staff to undertake a course of action considered favorable or to abandon a planned initiative regarded as unfavorable” (p. 69). These explanations of the ways that inmates try to take the power back are followed by several scenarios in which they are used by offenders to accomplish their own goals. Part III, “The Gender Strategies”, focuses on women offenders and the different ways that they manipulate staff members. One thing that is reiterated by the authors throughout the fifth chapter is that “offenders can be highly adaptive to their surroundings and will use the staff’s beliefs about their ‘nature’ against them” (p. 101). Ultimately this means that women will use the societal idea that they are innocent nurtures in order to manipulate prison/jail staff into doing what they want. According to the authors’ research, women commonly use their own tears, learned helplessness, and the victim stance as manipulation tactics against staff. Women offenders commonly use learned helplessness against younger male staff because their ability to be perceived as helpless makes the young men feel better about themselves. They are more likely to do what the inmate wants if the inmate makes them feel better about themselves. In chapter six, the authors discuss how women offenders use mollification, or transferring blame, in order to manipulate others. This is easier for women because they can use the “vision of coercion” (p. 109) that the media plays out in order to get staff to feel bad for them. In chapter seven, the use

of the sentimentality tactic is discussed, as well as the reasons why it is more commonly a tactic that women use rather than men. Whereas male offenders want to seem worse than they are so that they can ward off physical threats, women want to look better than they are so they can manipulate staff into having sympathetic feelings for them. A common tactic used within the sentimentality branch is the “good mother” routine, in which an inmate claims to be a good mother to get sympathy. According to the book, “women offenders find that using claims of being a good mother can often get them special attention and privileges” (p. 117). The authors claim that the best way to counteract this manipulation is to hold the inmate accountable and reveal their underlying motives to themselves. In Part IV, “It’s Your Move: Staff Counter Plays”, the authors discuss the countermoves that staff members can take against manipulation in order to protect themselves and get the inmates to discover how to be prosocial. It also discusses the ten “commandments” for prison staff to limit burnout and health problems that come along with being a person who works closely with criminals. An important topic discussed in this part is the three Rs of managing manipulation: relabeling, redirection, and reversal of responsibility. Relabeling focuses on changing the labels on “behavior [of inmates] in terms which are inconsistent with the inmate’s self-perception as a powerful person” (p. 130), where redirection involves the changing of topics by a staff member in order to keep an inmate on track. Lastly, the reversal of responsibility is “the technique of placing responsibility back on the person who has the problem rather than allowing him or her to project it outward” (p. 135). This is beneficial toward staff members and inmates because it helps inmates to take some responsibility for their actions and it helps staff members from being manipulated. Also discussed in chapter eight are prevention and damage control strategies relating to the manipulation that offenders attempt against staff members.

Finally, the second half of Part IV, chapter nine, are the ten commandments of prison staff that should be followed in order to prevent problems at home and in the workplace both physically and mentally. Discussion of Interesting Issues First, I found the discussion of tactics that women use against prison staff, especially male prison staff, very interesting. Although it makes sense that male staff members would be easier for women to manipulate, I find it difficult to believe that women in prison can actually get away with the sentimentality style of manipulation. I understand that women in the western culture are seen as “emotional, sensitive, interested in relationships, interested in being good parents, and victimized by men” (p. 102), however, women in prison in the media are not portrayed like this normally, especially women of color. From my own experience, women offenders are portrayed in the media as harsher criminals than men who commit the same crimes. I suppose this could be because the media is attempting to balance the cultural idea of women with the reality of women offenders, however, in my head it seems to have the opposite effect. Second, I found the ten commandments of prison staff interesting; I always assumed that there was something of the sort in place, but I did not think they would be so well-labeled or well known by staff members. Although most of the commandments seem fairly self-explanatory and necessary there are a couple that I struggle with, including commandment eight, “do not fight the bureaucracy”. As someone who self-identifies as a fixer, I thought that the best thing for one to do in all situations is to try to improve the way of life of others, however, I guess that is not the correct game play when working as a prison official. Third, I found the idea of the “win-win” situation in the con games quite interesting. Although I can understand that the prosocial behavior resulting from win-win cons can be

beneficial for the inmate, it is hard for me to grasp that the best thing to do in such situations is to let the inmate think that they won. Also, if offenders are so good at manipulation, would they not be able to see through this, or at the very least understand the tactic? I would like to know how this works, as well as how a professional can feel comfortable manipulating an inmate, even if they are trying to do the same. Highlights of Issues that Relate to Professionals As I am planning on going into law, specifically child advocacy, there are several issues that were talked about in Game Over that I feel would come up in potential client-attorney meetings. First, children that are in legal trouble, especially those who have been in legal trouble before, are more likely to be better at manipulation. Lawyers meeting with clients must be able to play the game and manipulate their clients back, however, they must do so in a way that does not put them in an ethical bind. Also, as there is no way to not be manipulated, they must have developed countermoves that can be used against their client in order to get them to cooperate with their legal proceedings. Another issue that may come up with lawyers and their offender clients is the issue of using these manipulation tactics for the client’s defense. For example, it may be beneficial for a defense lawyer with a female client to use learned helplessness and the victim stance in order to convince the judge or jury to give a more lenient sentence to the offender. How I Would Avoid Manipulation I think that the best way to get around being manipulated by inmates in a professional setting would be to let it happen and use the countermoves discussed in the text to manipulate the inmates into taking responsibility for their behaviors and actions. Through doing this, they would be able to discover prosocial behaviors that would help them to assimilate back into regular

society once their sentence is up. This book made it clear to me that there is no way to stop the inmates from attempting to manipulate professionals, however, there is a way to beat them at their own game through manipulating them back in a way that is beneficial for both parties, also known as a win-win con. If this book has taught me anything, it is that manipulation by inmates is very common and sometimes hard to discern, however, one must always be on the defense in order to avoid being taken advantage of.

References Elliott, B., & Verdeyen, V. (2002). Game over!: Strategies for redirecting inmate deception. American Correctional Association....