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A pathological liar is someone who often embellishes his or her stories in a way that he or she believes will impress people. It may be that a pathological liar is different from a normal liar in that a pathological liar believes the lie he or she is telling to be true—at least in public—and is "playing" the role. He or she sometimes is seen to have a serious mental problem that needs to be rectified. Image File history File links Circle-question. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with deception. ...
It is not clear, however, that this is the case. It could also be that pathological liars know precisely what they are doing. Making up stories and at the same time believing them is known as confabulation. The term "pathological liar" is not an official clinical diagnosis however psychiatrists may agree that pathological lying is often the result of a mental disorder or low self-esteem. Look up confabulation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Scream, the famous painting commonly thought of as depicting the experience of mental illness. ... In psychology, self-esteem or self-worth is a persons self-image at an emotional level; circumventing reason and logic. ...
Even though pathological lying is not recognized as a clinical disorder, legal court cases often require that you prove that the defendant is aware that he or she is lying. This proof is most important in cases of slander and/or liability. Pathological liars often actually convince themselves that they are telling the truth, which in turn can alter polygraph tests and other questioning. Polygraph results are sometimes recorded on a chart recorder A polygraph (commonly yet incorrectly referred to as a lie detector) is a device that measures and records several physiological variables such as blood pressure, heart rate, respiration and skin conductivity while the subject is asked a series of questions. ...
When caught in a lie, pathological liars tend to become hostile or try to disregard the fact they lied; often playing it off as a joke.
Further reading
C. C. Dike, "Pathological Lying Revisited," Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 33, no. 3 (2005). a
Pathologicalliar is a non-clinical term for a person who intentionally provides untrue accounts, often not to hide or gain anything in particular.
Pathological lying may be the manifestation of an anti-social behavior, such as Antisocial personality disorder, also known as sociopathic behavior.
Even though pathological lying is not recognized as a clinical disorder, legal cases often require that you prove that the defendant is aware that he or she is lying.
It may be that a pathologicalliar is different from a normal liar in that a pathologicalliar believes the lie he or she is telling to be trueat least in publicand is "playing" the role.
The term "pathologicalliar" is not an official clinical diagnosis however psychiatrists may agree that pathological lying is often the result of a mental disorder or low self-esteem.
Even though pathological lying is not recognized as a clinical disorder, legal court cases often require that you prove that the defendant is aware that he or she is lying.