Conditions & Diseases: Psychological & Mental Health

Pathological Lying & Pathological Liars

See Also:
Pathological Lying: Introduction
Pathological Lying: Literature Review
Pathological Lying: Differential Diagnosis

Pathological Lying Introduction

Most of us have heard and even used at least once the term pathological liar - mostly as a common, conceptual label in order to portray a person as more than just a liar, but thoroughly and fundamentally dishonest. However, pathological lying is a real psychological condition usually referred to as pseudologia fantastica, mythomania, or morbid lying, terms used by psychiatrists to describe the behavior of habitual or compulsive lying. Although all these terms are used interchangeably, it is debatable whether they describe the same phenomenon.

The phenomenon of lying received lot of attention in the past, and over the years there were several attempts to classify and conceptualize this phenomenon. Although lying is very common and "in many aspects form a normal part of social interchange, (its meaning), "carries with it a host of negative moral overtones" because it involves deliberately communicating information believed to be false with the intent to deceive. Lies are of different degrees, are told for different purposes, and with different frequencies. Some lies are big or small, altruistic or expedient, subtle or obvious, some intend to achieve specific aims or just to impress, and can be used in small or big numbers. Based on the D.A. Kashy and B.M. DePaulo's study "Who lies?" those that tell more lies are more manipulative, more concerned with self-preservation, are more sociable, but less socialized. (1)

The concept of pathological lying was extensively addressed in the psychiatric articles dating back to the first half of the 20^th century, one of the pioneers in this field was the German physician Dr. Delbruck who first described the concept of pathological lying after an extensive examination of the lies told by five of his patients, concluding that their lies were so abnormal and out of the proportion that they needed to be included in a distinct category - pseudologia phantastica.

Unfortunately, the interest on this concept waned drastically to the extent that it received little mention in the recent years, therefore the concept is poorly understood today and its meaning surrounded by vagueness and confusion. Although, pathological lying (or pseudologia fantastica) is not currently listed as a symptom in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders nor in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, there are efforts conducted by a forensic psychiatrist to raise awareness among psychiatrist researchers and clinicians that pathological lying might be indeed a distinct psychiatric disorder despite the low number of studies and literature references on this subject.

Charles Dike M.D. claims that pathological lying should receive more attention and the psychiatric field should assess whether pathological lying "represents only a symptom of a pre-existing psychiatric disorder or is a coherent enough entity." Defining the concept would benefit the legal system and the legal issues associated with pathological lying by resolving the dilemma whether pseudologues (pathological liars) can and should be held responsible for their behavior. (2)

See Also:
Pathological Lying: Introduction
Pathological Lying: Literature Review
Pathological Lying: Differential Diagnosis

Article by Alina Morrow,
MS Psychology
OmniMedicalSearch.com

Pathological liar is sometimes misspelled as pathalogical lier.