The Difference Between White Lies And Pathological Lies: Many people tell white lies connected to the type of lies above, but the pathological liar is differentiated from such people by his/her compulsion to lie, together with the extent and frequency of these lies also, the pathological liar cannot control his/her lying behavior. – one leading theory suggests that the main, underlying cause of pathological lying is to try to avoid feelings of shame telling people stories about being a lion-tamer when really an insurance salesman) – to entertain others and gain popularity (e.g. claiming to have read Complete Works Of Shakespeare and written a dissertation based on these, when, in reality, has only read Act One, Scene One of Hamlet, failing to make any sense of it) claiming to have a first-class degree from Oxford University when, in reality, failing to get into any university whatsoever – they may lie to facilitate the use of the has the gaslighting technique – due to low self-esteem eg by vastly exaggerating their qualities and achievements whilst denying or minimizing their faults and failures – to manipulate and control others: sociopathic pathological liars are particularly likely to lie for this reason – to gain admiration eg they may claim they were a bomb disposal expert in the army and saved dozens of lives, whereas, in reality, they were the cook, experts only on beans on toast

The researchers suggest that this difference may predispose some people to become pathological liars.Īlthough pathological liars often lie for no rational or discernible reason (indeed, this is one of the most often cited definitions of pathological liars) research suggests that, when they do have a reason, these reasons include the following: Research carried out by Yang et al (2007) compared the brains of those who had been diagnosed as pathological liars and ‘normal’ controls’ using structural magnetic resonance imaging and found that those identified as pathological liars had on average 23-36% more white matter in the orbitofrontal, middle and inferior frontal gyri compared to those in the control group. Pathological Lying And Brain Differences: These include neuropsychological problems and other mental health issues such as impulse control disorders such as kleptomania and pathological gambling. Other Factors That May Contribute To The Development Of Pathological Lying Behavior: Individuals suffering from such mental health problems stand a greater chance than average of developing pathological lying behavior. These include Sociopathic personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, and histrionic personality disorder. We have seen in other articles on this site that several personality disorders are more likely to develop in adulthood if we have experienced significant childhood trauma. The Link Between Pathological Lying And Personality Disorders: hypocrisy, false promises, parents lying to a child, family secrets) – grew up in a household in which dishonesty was commonplace (e.g. – lived in constant fear as a child and lying developed as a form of self-protection (e.g. – grew up in a family in which there was substance abuse Research has demonstrated that an individual is more likely to become a pathological liar in adulthood if that individual: Roots Of Pathological Lying (Originally Called Pseudologia Phantastica) In Childhood:

– has little or no control over his/her lying behavior

– lies even though he may receive no benefit whatsoever from the lie (indeed, many lies s/he tells will be self-damaging) – does not give proper thought to the consequences of his/her lying A pathological liar is an individual who:

Pathological fear of gums