Lies and liars: psychiatric aspects of prevarication

Lies and liars: psychiatric aspects of prevarication

CV Ford, BH King and MH Hollender 
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock 72205.
The authors discuss the phenomenon of lying, a common psychic process that has received remarkably little scrutiny. The ubiquity of lying and others forms of deception suggests that they have "normal" aspects, but lying which is persistent or destructive to the quality of a person's life becomes pathological. Lying has many determinants, including developmental, biological, social, and psychodynamic. Antisocial, histrionic, narcissistic, borderline, and compulsive personalities have been associated with lying. The treatment of lying needs to be individualized according to the overall symptom complex in which it is embedded. 






Getting at the Truth about Pathological Lying


Don Grubin, MD
Dr. Grubin is Professor of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Newcastle, and (Hon) Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland Mental Health Trust, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK. Address correspondence to: Don Grubin, MD, Department of Forensic Psychiatry, St. Nicholas Hospital, Gosforth, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK NE3 3XT. E-mail: don.grubin@ncl.ac.uk
Lying is common, and in its many aspects forms a normal part of social interchange. In this issue, Dike et al. review the literature on what has been referred to as pathological lying, highlighting the lack of information available about this phenomenon. In this commentary on Dike et al., it is noted that if pathological lying exists, it is not the lie, but the liar that is abnormal, with the abnormality relating not to the nature of the lies told, but to the mental state associated with the behavior. Before forensic opinions regarding pathological lying can be given with confidence, we need more data to help determine whether it is in fact a psychiatric entity, and if it is, about the physical and psychological characteristics that underpin it.