In his studies, people lied up to twice a day, on average. Which isn’t to say that lying isn’t common. Lying may be your brain's fault, honestly (Photo by Mark Mainz/Getty Images) Mark Mainz/Getty Images North America/Getty Images NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 08: A model prepares backstage at the Bill Blass Fall 2005 show during the Olympus Fashion Week in Bryant Park Februin New York City. “These really prolific liars are pretty unusual,” said Levine, whose book about deception, “Duped,” was published in 2019. His studies show that most people tell the truth most of the time. The first thing to know about pathological or compulsive lying is that it is rare, Levine says. Over the years, Hart said, almost 20 people have proposed definitions of pathological lying, but there’s very little overlap between them: “The only truly common feature is that these people lie a lot.” Longtime collaborators Curtis and Hart recently published a study laying out evidence to support the inclusion of pathological lying as a standalone diagnosis in the DSM. “So that’s the heartbreaking side of it for me, as a clinician: people that are wanting to help and can’t have the help,” Curtis said. We don’t know necessarily what’s the most effective treatment,” said Drew Curtis, an associate professor of psychology at Angelo State University in Texas who studies pathological lying.Ĭurtis had someone offer to drive across the country to see him for treatment, which he says he wasn’t able to offer. But no one is sure that this is the most effective way to help. The standard approach to treating lying relies on techniques borrowed from cognitive behavioral therapy, which emphasizes understanding and changing thinking patterns. People lie to seem more honest, study findsĪs a result, there’s no evidence-based way to treat it, even though many pathological liars say they want help to stop. Instead, it is recognized as a feature of other diagnoses, like personality disorders.īusinesswoman leading project meeting with coworkers in startup office Thomas Barwick/Digital Vision/Getty Images It doesn’t have its own diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM, the bible of psychiatry. Psychiatrists have recognized pathological lying as a mental affliction since the late 1800s, yet experts say it has never been given serious attention, funding or real study. “It is rare to find a public figure who lies so frequently in such verifiable ways,” says Christian Hart, a psychologist who directs the Human Deception Laboratory at Texas Woman’s University. It’s not clear what is driving Santos’ statements.īut the story has given professionals who study lying in its most extreme forms a rare moment to raise awareness about lying as a mental disorder – one they say has been largely neglected by doctors and therapists. Santos defended himself in media interviews in December, saying that the discrepancies were the result of résumé padding and poor word choices but that he was not a criminal or a fraud. He also says he never claimed to be Jewish, but rather he was “Jew-ish.” Now, he says, he doesn’t have a college degree he wasn’t employed by Citigroup or Goldman Sachs and the IRS has no record of his animal rescue group. In the months since his election, key claims from Santos’ biography – including where he earned his college degree, his employment at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, an animal rescue group he says he founded and his Jewish religious affiliation – have withered under the scrutiny of reporters and fact-checkers. George Santos, a Republican from Long Island who was recently elected to represent New York’s third congressional district. George Santos tells House Republicans he wants off of his committees until issues are resolved (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images) Francis Chung/Politico/AP George Santos (R-N.Y.) speaks with journalists outside his office on Capitol Hill Jan.
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