"The Netflix documentary Unknown Number: The High School Catfish explores the case of two thirteen-year-olds, Lauryn Licari and Owen McKenny, who received thousands of anonymous, harassing messages over a two-year period. Many of the messages were extremely explicit and included death threats, sexually explicit comments and personal insults about the teens. After nearly two years, an FBI investigation revealed that the perpetrator behind the messages was Lauryn's mother, Kendra Licari."
"Cognitive distortions are biased ways of thinking that enable people to justify problematic behaviours or maintain their perception of themselves as a good and reasonable person, despite behaving in a way that might challenge that. They're based on illogical and irrational beliefs, and affect individual decision-making, perceptions and behaviour. For example, an offender who assaults someone in a bar may claim that the victim looked at them in a derogatory way, so their violent response was reasonable."
Two thirteen-year-olds received thousands of anonymous, harassing messages over two years that included death threats, sexually explicit comments and personal insults. An FBI investigation identified the sender as one teen's mother, who later pleaded guilty to stalking a minor and served 19 months in prison. The perpetrator offered various reasons for her actions and frequently resisted accepting responsibility. Cognitive distortions are biased thought patterns that enable people to justify harmful behaviour and preserve a positive self-image. Common distortions include minimisation, rationalisation and externalisation of blame. The case exemplifies multiple cognitive distortions operating together.
Read at Psychology Today
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