A recent interview with Chantelle Ninow, convicted rapist Nicholas Ninow’s mother, caused public outcry.

In her chat with Chriselda Lewis, she stated that her son was “not a rapist” and that he’d just “made a mistake”.

People are now trying to understand how she could continue to support him despite what he did.

A recent study by the University of Michigan could provide some answers.

The study revealed that most people would cover up for a loved one if they found out that that loved one had committed a crime.

Over to Health24 for more:

Researchers tested whether people are more likely to protect those close to them (versus strangers), after imagining them committing immoral acts of theft and sexual harassment.

The findings of the study, published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, found that people are more likely to protect those close to them when “moral infractions” are committed, particularly highly severe acts such as theft and blackmail.

However, quite surprisingly, it was found that people also tend to become more protective of a loved one as the severity of the crime increases.

Covering up a crime, or helping someone to do so, is in itself a crime. This means that people are willing to commit a crime in favour of preserving their relationship with the perpetrator.

“We were really taken aback to see that most people predict that they would protect those close to them, even in the face of heinous moral infractions,” said Aaron Weidman, a psychology research fellow and the study’s co-lead author.

For example, when participants were asked to imagine a police officer asking them if they knew anything about an immoral act they had witnessed, their answers showed that they were more willing to lie (and consequently break the law) to protect someone close to them, such as a family member or close friend.

Interestingly, if the criminal was a stranger, they wanted them formally punished. If the perpetrator was an acquaintance they were also more likely to report them to law enforcement.

The study’s research teams also examined likely psychological explanations for this behaviour. They found that many people justify their decision to protect those they know and love by reporting that they’d discipline the perpetrator on their own.

In doing so, people maintain their self-image as a morally upstanding individual, as well as preserving the close relationship with the perpetrator.

The study proposes a fascinating picture of society – one where the nature of our relationships with other people determines how we act morally.

Something to think about…

[source:health24]