A lie leads a person from a garden to a forest, and eventually into a jungle. Some people tell lies with such regularity that dishonesty comes to be seen as a defining characteristic of their personality. These habitual or chronic liars are known as pathological liars.

For such a widely used term, there is remarkably little agreement about how the term pathological liar should be defined. The first person named G Stanley Hall, who wrote about pathological lying, earned the first PhD in psychology in the USA. The term he used for this tendency to lie was pseudomania. He noted that while pathological liars may start out lying for attention or excitement, they might lose themselves in their lies and tell lies with no clear motives. ‌

Pathological liars are frequently untruthful for no good reason. They harm themselves with their behaviour, but they keep doing it despite any consequences. Consistent lying and making up stories are the primary signs of pathological lying.

E-mail: rubaiulmurshed@shomman.org