![]() Hart believes that pathological lying should be talked about the same way we talk about other psychopathologies. ![]() Why we lie and what makes pathological liars different The effects of pathological lying cause “marked distress” that poses a risk not only to themselves but to others. They state that pathological lying should be officially defined as: “a persistent, pervasive, and often compulsive pattern of excessive lying behavior” that lasts for more than six months and impairs a person’s ability to function both socially and at work. That would allow practitioners to provide specific treatment for people looking for relief from its symptoms. He and Curtis, who also co-authored the book “ Pathological Lying: Theory, Research, and Practice,” concluded in their 2020 study that pathological lying should be defined as its own diagnosis, though it’s currently used to help diagnose disorders such as anti-social personality disorder, borderline personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder. Hart estimates that pathological lying impacts about 5 percent of the population. “If pathological lying is always presented as part of some other problem, it might not get the attention that would be necessary to produce research showing efficacious treatment,” he said. ![]() While the diagnosis is tough to have because it has limited success when treated, Hart hopes that by defining it, there will be more research on effective treatments. That’s something Hart has concluded should change. Instead, the term is listed as a potential symptom or criteria for several personality disorders. Today, pathological lying is not recognized as a stand-alone diagnosis according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The term “pathological lying,” once referred to as “pseudologia phantastica,” was first documented in 1891 by Anton Delbrück, a German psychiatrist who was “in discussions of several cases of people who told so many outrageous lies that the behavior was considered pathological,” according to a study co-authored by Hart and Drew Curtis, an associate professor of psychology at Angelo State University. Grid spoke to Christian Hart, a professor of Psychology at Texas Woman’s University, about the difference between a person who lies (because everyone does at some point or another) and pathological liars (what Hart has concluded should be a stand-alone diagnosis). But regardless of whether that is a fair assessment of Santos - no expert has come out and diagnosed him with that affliction to public knowledge - how much lying does a person have to do for it to be pathological, and when it is just, well, a lot of lying? Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) described the New York Republican congressman-elect as a “pathological liar,” saying Santos lied “systematically” about almost all parts of his life. But pathological lying is closer to a diagnosis of a personality disorder than to a negative personality trait to describe a politician.Īccording to a New York Times report, Santos not only seems to have lied about his education and work experience but about other key biographical data as well, including how his mother died (he said “9/11 claimed” his mother’s life, but it’s unclear if his mother, whose obituary says she died in 2016, died of causes related to the 2001 attack), a pet charity he said he created that saved thousands of cats and dogs (no record of it) and his Jewish heritage (he said his grandparents fled to Brazil during the Holocaust - records show they already lived there).ĭuring an MSNBC appearance on Wednesday, Rep. ![]() The term “pathological liar” has been thrown around quite a bit as more of George Santos’ life story emerges - information seemingly contradictory to the education and career Santos claimed to have.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |