pathology of lying-第3章

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　even　a　suspicion　of　vindictiveness。　　False　accusations　of　young　children　against　parents　would　hardly　seem　to　have　such　a　basis；　and　yet　in　some　instances　this　fact　has　come　out　clearly。　　Grudge…formation　on　the　part　of　young　individuals　has　all　through　our　work　been　one　of　the　extraordinary　findings；　capacity　for　it　varies　tremendously　in　different　individuals。

Several　forms　of　excessive　lying；　particularly　those　practised　by　children　and　adolescents；　are　not　discussed　by　us　because　they　are　largely　age　phenomena　and　only　verge　upon　the　pathological　as　they　are　carried　over　into　wider　fields　of　conduct。　　The　fantasies　of　children；　and　the　almost　obsessional　lying　in　some　young　adolescents；　too；　we　avoid。　　There　is　much　shading　of　typical　pathological　lying　into；　on　the　one　hand；　the　really　insane　types；　and；　on　the　other　hand；　into　the　lying　which　is　to　be　explained　by　quite　normal　reactions　or　where　the　tendency　to　mendacity　is　only　partially　developed。

It　has　been　a　matter　of　no　small　interest　to　us　that　in　planning　this　monograph　we　conceived　it　necessary　to　consider　part　of　our　material　under　the　head　of　episodic　pathological　lying　and　that　later　we　had　to　omit　this　chapter。　　Surely　there　had　been　casesso　it　seemed　to　us　at　firstwhere　purposeless　lying　had　been　indulged　in　for　a　comparatively　short　time；　particularly　during　the　adolescent　period；　without　expression　of　a　prevaricating　tendency　before　or　after　this　time。　　When　we　came　to　review　our　material　with　this　chapter　in　mind　we　found　no　sufficient　verification　of　the　fact　that　there　was　any　such　thing　as　episodic　pathological　lying；　apart　from　peculiar　manifestations　in　cases　of　epilepsy；　hysteria；　and　other　mental　abnormalities。　　A　short　career　of　extensive　lying；　not　unfrequently　met　with　in　work　for　juvenile　courts　and　other　social　agencies；　seems；　judging　from　our　material；　to　be　always　so　mixed　up　with　other　delinquencies　or　unfortunate　sex　experiences　that　the　lying；　after　all；　cannot　be　regarded　as　purposeless。　　It　is　indulged　in　most　often　in　an　attempt　to　disguise　undesirable　truths。　　That　false　accusations　and　even　self…accusations　are　engaged　in　for　the　same　purpose　goes　without　saying。　　The　girl　who　donned　man's　clothes；　left　home　and　lived　for　months　a　life　of　lies　was　seeking　an　adventure　which　would　offset　intolerable　home　conditions。　　The　young　woman　who　after　seeing　something　of　the　pleasures　of　the　world　was　placed　in　a　strict　religious　home　where　she　told　exaggerated　stories　about　her　own　bad　behavior；　was　endeavoring　to　get　more　freedom　elsewhere。　　A　young　fellow　whom　we　found　to　be　a　most　persistent　and　consistent　liar　was　discovered　to　have　been　already　well　schooled　in　the　art　of　professional　criminalistic　self…protection。　　So　it　has　gone。　　Investigation　of　each　of　these　episodic　cases　has　shown　the　fabrications　to　emanate　either　from　a　distinctly　abnormal　personality　or　to　partake　of　a　character　which　rules　them　out　of　the　realm　of　pathological　lying。　　In　our　cases　of　temporary　adolescent　psychoses　lying　was　rarely　found　a　puzzling　feature；　the　basic　nature　of　the　case　was　too　easily　discoverable。

A　fair　question　to　ask　at　this　point　is　whether　pathological　lying　is　ever　found　to　be　the　only　delinquency　of　the　given　individual。　　We　should　hesitate　to　deny　the　possibility　of　its　being　the　sole　offense；　but　in　our　study　of　a　long　list　of　cases；　and　after　review　of　those　reported　by　other　authors；　it　seems　practically　impossible　to　find　a　case　of　this。　　The　tendencies　soon　carry　the　person　over　to　the　production　of　other　delinquencies；　and　if　these　do　not　come　in　the　category　of　punishable　offenses；　at　least；　through　the　trouble　and　suffering　caused　others；　they　are　to　be　regarded　essentially　as　misconduct。

The　reverse　of　the　above　question　deserves　a　word　or　two　of　attention；　are　there　marked　cases　of　delinquency　which　do　not　show　lying？　　Surveying　the　figures　of　Ferriani＇6＇　who　enumerated　thousands　of　lies；　belonging　to　his　nine　classes　of　prevarications；　which　a　group　of　500　young　offenders　indulged　in；　one　would　think　that　all　delinquents　are　liars　many　times　over。　　But　as　a　matter　of　fact　we　have　been　profoundly　astonished　to　discover　that　a　considerable　percentage　of　the　cases　we　have　studied；　even　of　repeated　offenders；　have　proved　notably　truthful。　　Occasionally　the　very　person　who　will　engage　in　a　major　form　of　delinquency　will　hesitate　to　lie。　　Our　experience　shows　this　to　be　less　true；　however；　of　sex　delinquency　than　perhaps　of　any　other。　　This　statement　is　based　on　general　observations；　the　accurate　correlations　have　not　been　worked　up。　　Occasionally　the　professional　criminal　of　many　misdeeds　is　proud　of　his　uprightness　in　other　spheres　of　behavior；　including　veracity。　　But　even　here　one　would　have　to　classify　carefully；　for　it　is　obvious　that　the　typical　swindler　would　find　lying　his　best　cloak　of　disguise。　　On　the　other　hand；　a　bold　safe…blower　may　look　down　with　scorn　upon　a　form　of　criminality　which　demands　constant　mendacity。


＇6＇　loc。　cit。



Realizing　that　pathological　lying　is　a　type　of　delinquency；　and　following　the　rule　that　for　explanation　of　conduct　tendencies　one　must　go　to　youthful　beginnings；　we　have　attempted　to　gain　the　fullest　possible　information　about　the　fundamentals　of　developmental　and　family　history；　early　environment；　and　early　mental　experiences。　　Fortunately　we　have　often　been　able　to　obtain　specific　and　probably　accurate　data　on　heredity。　　The　many　cases　which　have　been　only　partially　studied　are　not　included。　　Successive　cross…section　studies　have　been　made　in　a　number　of　cases；　and　it　has　been　possible　to　get　a　varying　amount　of　after…history。　　Observational；　historical；　and　analytical　data　thus　accumulated　have　given　us　a　particularly　favorable　opportunity　for　discerning　the　bases　of　this　special　delinquent　tendency。　　The　results　of　the　various　kinds　of　social　treatment　which　have　been　undertaken　are　not　the　least　interesting　of　our　facts。

To　enumerate　the　results　obtained　on　the　many　mental　tests　given　in　most　cases　seems　quite　unnecessary　for　the　purpose　of　this　monograph。　　We　have　referred　to　a　few　points　of　special　interest　and　rarely　have　designated　the　results　on　tests　in　our　series。　　In　general；　the　reader　probably　will　be　better　off　with　merely　the　statement　of　the　principal　findings　and　of　the　mental　diagnosis。

Of　much　interest　for　the　present　subject　is　the　development　of　psychological　studies　of　testimony　or　report。　　Because　of　the　natural　expectation　that　the　pathological　liar　might　prove　to　be　an　unreliable　witness　our　studies　on　this　point　will　be　offered　in　detail。　　For　years　we　have　been　giving　a　picture　memory　test　on　the　order　of　one　used　extensively　abroad。　　This　‘‘Aussage''　Test　is　the　one　described　as　Test　VI　in　our　monograph　on　Practical　Mental　Classification。＇7＇　　More　recently　our　studies　on　the　psychology　of　testimony　have　led　us　into　wider　fields　of　observation；　and　here　the　group　of　cases　now　under　discussion　may　have　to　stand　by　themselves。　　The　picture；　the　record　of　testimony　on　which　is　given　in　some　detail　in　our　case　histories；　is　that　of　a　butcher's　shop　with　objects　and　actions　that　are　universally　comprehended。　　After　careful　and　fair　explanation　of　what　is　about　to　be　undertaken；　the　picture　is　exposed　for　ten　seconds；　and　then　the　examinee　is　asked　to　give　a　free　recital　of　all　he　saw。　　When　he　states　that　no　more　is　remembered　he　is　questioned　on　omitted　details。　　（All　told；　there　are　about　50　details　of　varying　importance　in　the　picture。）　　During　the　progress　of　this　part　of　the　examination　he　is　asked　if　he　saw　7　objects　which　might　well　be　in　a　butcher　shop；　but　which　are　not　in　the　picture。　　This　is　the　test　for　susceptibility　to　suggestion。　　All　points　are　carefully　scored。　　Norms　on　this　test；　as　on　many　others；　it　seems　hardly　fair　to　give　by　averagesthere　is　much　variation　according　to　mentality　and　even　personality　groups。　　Practically　all　of　our　cases　of　pathological　lying　range　above　the　age　of　young　childhood；　so　it　is　not　necessary　here　to　discuss　the　characteristics　of　young　children's　testimony。　　Perhaps　it　is　sufficient　to　say　that　the　ordinary　individual　recalls　voluntarily　or　upon　questioning　upwards　of　20　items；　and　does　not　gi