Pathological Liar Research Paper

A study at the University of Massachusetts found that “60 percent of people lied at least once during a 10-minute conversation and told an average of two to three lies,” (UMass Amherst Researcher Finds Most People Lie in Everyday Conversation). Even more shockingly, a private insurance company, called Privilege, determined that four out of five women openly admitted to lying every day (Brooke). In fact, researchers in Privilege’s study recorded that women, on average, admit to lying 30 times a day (Brooke). Lying is embedded into global culture. Leonard Saxe, Ph.D., states "Lying has long been a part of everyday life. We couldn't get through the day without being deceptive," (Kornet). Throughout history, many differing ideas about why people

These people, while rare, clearly demonstrate exceptions to the mainstream theories behind why individuals lie. These people classify as pathological liars (Esposito). First, a pathological liar must be clearly defined. It is import to distinguish between a pathological liar and a compulsive liar. Both compulsive and pathological liars lie extremely often. However, a compulsive liar, lies commonly, but only when there is an incentive or reason to lie (Esposito). However, a pathological liar, lies for no reason or motivation (Esposito). Several studies have been done by many renowned modern psychologists, such as Paul Ekman, Les Carter, and Clarence Watson, on pathological liars. The majority of modern psychologist agree that pathological liars suffer from a mental disorder. Most pathological liars demonstrate other symptoms of mental disorders (Esposito). In fact, a statistically significant amount of pathological liars have been diagnosed with mental disorders (Esposito). The most common mental disorders found in pathological liars are Antisocial Personality Disorder, Histrionic Personality Disorder, and other personality disorders (Esposito). Many experts in the field of psychology believe that pathological liars who have not been diagnosed are borderline on having mental disorders, or hide other symptoms of their disorder