Congressmen George Santos is in the news for what he calls “embellishments” of his resume. Others refer to them as lies. As a psychiatrist, I cannot render an opinion about whether Santos has a diagnosis since I have not personally examined him. However, the news has raised interest in the topic of lying.
Drew Curtis, PhD is a psychology professor at Angelo State University; he has a longstanding interest in deception and pathological lying in particular. He has defined pathological lying as “the category of people who tell excessive amounts of lies that impairs their functioning, causes distress, and poses some risk to themselves or others.”
Another description of pathological lying is “telling numerous lies each day for longer than 3 months.” Dr. Curtis notes that some research subjects, that he has studied, describe themselves as meeting criteria for pathological lying. They report “greater distress, impaired functioning, and more danger than people not considered pathological liars.”
Based on his research, Dr. Curtis believes that “pathological lying seems to be compulsive, with lies growing from an initial lie, and done for no apparent reason.” When behaviors are compulsive, the person has restraints on their ability to stop their compulsive behaviors.
What about people who lie but don’t have pathological lying? The “ordinary, everyday” lies that most people tell are referred to as “common lies.” They may be told to avoid embarrassment, to avoid hurting someone’s feelings, or to avoid a negative event such as getting fired. There is a clear reason for lying.
However, there are people with a personality disorder who frequently tell lies. Those disorders are primarily three related ones. The first is the person with an antisocial personality disorder who frequently lies, usually for some personal gain. They do not have a normal conscience so they may not experience guilt when they lie.
The next two diagnoses are borderline and narcissistic personality disorders. They have a tendency to lie more than the average person, and they typically lie to “alter reality” to match their emotional state. They may also lie for personal gain just like most people.
Pathological lying is accepted by mental health professionals as a real thing, but, by itself, it is not an official diagnosis. Dr. Curtis is trying to change that.
So, telling “small lies” is very common; frequent lying is much less common and may result from a personality disorder; and pathological lying is uncommon and may be due to a compulsion.
Peter M. Hartmann, MD
Family Medicine & Psychiatry
