pathology of lying-第48章

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color　vision　normal。　　Left　pupil　about　twice　the　size　of　the　right。　　（A　competent　oculist　could　find　no　evidence　of　organic　affection　of　the　nervous　system　correlated　with　this。）　　Shape　of　head　normal。　　Bowels　regular。　　Appetite　capricious。　　When　first　seen　was　anemic；　but　later　color　was　very　good。　　Temperature　was　taken　regularly；　but　no　significant　observations　made。　　Petite；　pretty　features；　and　unusually　beautiful　eyes。　　Complaint　of　frontal　dull　headaches；　soreness　of　scalp；　cold　hands　and　pain　‘‘about　the　heart。''　　Menstruated　at　15　years；　then　much　irregularity　for　two　years。　　Several　badly　carious　teeth　and　great　crowding　in　a　narrow　upper　dental　arch。

This　girl　was　several　times　observed　during　a　period　of　about　5　years。　　She　developed　into　an　unusually　attractive　young　woman；　showing　at　times　various　mild　nervous　disturbances　as　well　as　character　difficulties。　　Only　occasionally　has　she　worn　the　glasses　which　corrected　her　errors　of　refraction。　　During　this　time　she　has　not　been　severely　ill。　　She　has　a　palpable　thyroid　which　has　hardly　increased　in　size。　　When　last　seen　she　was　notable　for　a　very　clear　skin；　good　color；　and　bright　eyes。　　Conjunctival　and　corneal　reflexes　much　diminished。　　Palatopharyngeal　reflexes　quite　absent。　　The　headaches　are　said　to　have　persisted　during　all　the　time　we　have　known　her。

We　have　repeatedly　attempted　to　summarize　the　mental　status　and　functionings　of　this　young　woman；　but　our　findings　on　tests　and　otherwise　have　been　irregular　and　diverse。　　She　reached　6th　grade　at　14　years；　but　had　been　absent　much　on　account　of　sickness。　　When　first　seen　we　found　that　she　was　already　fond　of　Lytton；　Scott；　and　Dickens；　and　that　she　was　a　great　reader　of　the　daily　newspapers；　dwelling　much　on　accidents　and　tragedies。　　What　we　say　about　her　ability　must　be　based　upon　the　best　that　she　has　demonstrated。　　Often　when　seen　she　has　been　in　some　mental　state　which　has　prevented　her　from　doing；　or　being　willing　to　do；　the　best　that　is　in　her。　　She　writes　a　good　hand；　does　long　division　promptly；　and　reads　well。　　Her　association　and　memory　processes　have　been　proved　normal；　but　given　a　task　to　do　she　is　prone　to　show　inhibitory　pauses　and　other　phenomena　which　interfere　much　with　a　satisfactory　result。　　She　has　some　little　reputation　of　being　able　to　give　long；　almost　verbatim　accounts　of　sermons　which　she　has　heard；　but　the　accuracy　of　her　report　we　have　not　been　able　to　verify。　　She　gave　the　antonyms　of　twenty　words　in　average　time　of　1。4''；　which　is　a　good　record。　　There　was　one　failure；　but　that　was　quite　typical。　　At　the　end　of　20''；　which　is　beyond　the　time　of　failure；　she　gave　‘‘unhappy''　as　the　opposite　of　‘‘happy；''　adding　that　she　had　thought　of　that　before；　only　she　did　not　speak　it　out。　　Her　tests　for　psychomotor　control　were　miserably　done。　　She　was　rapid　in　movement；　but　absolutely　inaccurate　and　did　not　follow　instructions。　　However；　we　felt　that　even　this　did　not　indicate　her　full　ability；　for　she　had　capably　held　a　position　in　a　millinery　establishment　where　she　was　required　to　show　manipulative　dexterity。　　Perhaps　the　best　statement　of　her　performances　is　that　she　demonstrated　great　irregularities　from　time　to　time；　and　even　at　the　same　examination　in　her　work　on　different　tests。

On　account　of　her　peculiar　testimony　against　herself；　her　memory　processes　and　especially　her　performance　on　the　‘‘Aussage''　test　the　case　seemed　of　great　interest。　　We　found；　as　we　stated　above；　in　various　ways　that　her　abilities　to　remember；　when　at　her　best；　were　normal；　but　using　the　‘‘Aussage''　picture　we　obtained　only　6　details　in　free　recital；　she　was　sure　that　was　all　she　saw　in　the　picture。　　Then　on　cross…questioning　she　mentioned　9　more　items　correctly；　and　gave　8　others　much　altered　from　the　truth。　　No　other　item　was　added；　but　her　report　on　these　was　almost　illusional　in　its　incorrectness。　　Of　5　suggestions　offered　she　accepted　2　of　the　least　important；　refusing　the　others　entirely。　　This　was　a　remarkably　poor　result　for　a　girl　of　her　age；　but　may　not　be　indicative　of　her　best　abilities　even　on　this　type　of　work。　　Our　final　opinion　was　that　she　was　not　clearly　subnormal　in　native　ability。

Annie　has　grown　somewhat　more　stable　as　the　years　have　gone　on。　　Following　our　first　acquaintance　with　her　we　have　known　this　girl　to　make　serious　false　accusations　against　others　（vide　infra）　and　to　again　damage　her　own　reputation　by　alleging　herself　to　be　pregnant　when　she　was　not。　　Her　word　in　other　matters　all　along　has　been　found　somewhat　unreliable；　but　there　has　been　no　extensive　weaving　of　romances　such　as　those　indulged　in　by　typical　pathological　liars。　　Our　original　diagnosis　of　this　as　a　case　of　pathological　accusation　upon　the　basis　of　mild　hysteria　we　have　seen　no　reason　to　change。　　Both　Annie　and　other　members　of　her　family　are　representatives　of　a　most　important　type　for　court　officials　and　all　other　social　workers　to　understand。　　A　great　deal　of　trouble　has　been　caused　in　several　religious　congregations　by　the　unusual　character　of　the　behavior　of　these　people。　　Also　the　number　of　times　they　have　been　in　courts　for　various　reasons　is　astonishing。

The　history　of　physical　and　mental　development　merges　closely　with　the　story　of　evolution　in　the　moral　sphere；　and　all　can　be　given　together。　　On　account　of　the　mother　having　long　been　dead　and　the　father　being　the　peculiar　man　that　he　is　there　is　some　question　about　the　truth　of　some　of　the　details　which　have　been　given　us；　but　we　have　reason　to　believe　that　the　main　facts　are　true　because　they　have　been　held　to　be　the　truth　in　the　family　circle　generally　and　were　not　merely　given　to　us。　　Verification　of　details　would　be　very　difficult　because　the　family　are　distributed　between　Europe　and　America；　and　no　relatives　outside　the　immediate　family　are　at　hand。　　The　mother　was　in　excessively　poor　condition　at　the　birth　of　Annie。　　She　had　miscarriages　preceding　and　following。　　It　is　stated　that　the　diagnosis　of　malaria　was　made　and　that　the　mother　had　convulsions　both　before　and　after　confinement。　　At　the　birth　the　prolonged　labor　and　instrumentation　were　not　known　to　have　done　any　damage。　　As　an　infant　Annie　is　said　to　have　been　frail；　but　not　to　have　had　any　definite　sickness　or　any　convulsions。

However；　at　about　Annie's　fifth　year　there　began　a　long　list　of　illnesses。　　She　had　scarlet　fever　severely　and　also　a　number　of　other　children's　diseases。　　At　8　years　she　had　an　attack　of　muscular　jerking；　and　then　had　a　number　of　successive　attacks　until　she　was　14　years。　　At　one　time　she　was　in　a　public　hospital　for　three　weeks　on　account　of　this。　　It　was　stated　that　this　was　chorea；　but　of　course　we　can　not　be　sure　on　this　point。　　Annie　was　always　regarded　as　a　very　nervous　child；　she　was　frequently　a　somnambulist　until　she　was　about　12。　　She　is　very　nervous　before　the　onset　of　menstruation。　　Of　recent　years　she　has　been　an　excessive　user　of　tea　at　times　before　we　first　saw　her　she　is　said　to　have　had　12　cups　of　tea　in　a　day。　　At　times　she　was　then　suffering　from　sleeplessness；　and　was　wont　to　feel　tired　in　the　morning。　　As　a　young　child　she　had　severe　night　fears；　seeing　terrifying　shadows　upon　the　wall。

On　account　of　her　illnesses　and　her　general　nervous　condition；　Annie　was　very　irregular　in　her　school　attendance。　　However；　she　reached　6th　grade。　　As　to　the　family　opinion　of　her　mentality　we　hear　that　they　have　regarded　her　as　being　an　odd　type；　not　lazy；　but　irritable；　hateful；　and　moody　by　spells。　　Her　memory　is　said　to　be　most　irregular；　sometimes　exceedingly　good。　　The　other　children　find　it　difficult　to　get　along　with　her　because　she　slaps　them　so　much。　　At　times　she　swears。　　At　the　time　of　the　revival　meeting；　shortly　before　we　saw　her；　she　is　said　to　have　come　home　from　church　in　an　hysterical　state。　　When　in　custody　she　was　in　rather　a　dazed　condition。　　Where　she　was　detained　they　say　she　acted　as　if　she　were　stunned。　　Her　memory　did　not　seem　at　all　clear；　nor　has　it　ever　seemed　other　than　confused　about　the　events　immediately　surrounding　the　main　episode　of　her　career。　　She　maintained　she　could　not　remember　just　exactly　what　she　had　said；　and　her　account　of　it　contradicted　that　of　her　father。

As　we　afterwards　learned　from　the　church　people；