pathology of lying-第48部分

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up；　we　may　take　63　cases　of　mentally　normal　delinquents；　all　of　whom　had　been　offered　the　full　7　suggestions。　　The　median　error　of　this　group　was　two。　　Lower　than　the　fraction　thus　obtained　was　the　result　on　only　4　of　the　present　cases。　　We　have　been　interested　to　see　that　with　some　of　the　pathological　liars　there　is　no　great　suggestibility。　　The　person　is　willing　to　deal　in　his　own　inventions；　but　not　with　false　ideas　which　others　attempt　to　put　in　his　mind。


DIAGNOSIS


The　essentials　for　the　diagnosis　of　pathological　lying　are　contained　in　the　definition　at　the　beginning　of　our　book。　　The　above　considerations　of　the　physical　and　mental　make…up　of　pathological　liars　should　leave　little　question　as　to　what　belongs　in　this　class。　　Of　course　here；　as　in　the　study　of　any　mental　traits；　borderline　cases　difficult　to　discriminate　will　always　be　found。　　Sometimes　one　will　not　be　able　to　determine　whether　the　individual　is　a　true　pathological　liar　or　merely　a　prevaricator　for　a　normal　purpose。　　We　have　already　stated　our　inability　to　determine　this　in　some　cases；　and　yet　the　nucleus　of　the　type　stands　out　sharply　and　clearly；　and　there　can　be　no　doubt　as　to　what　is　practically　meant　by　the　definition。

The　differential　diagnosis　involves　consideration　of　the　characteristics　of　the　insane；　defective；　and　epileptic。　　We　repeat　that　we　agree　that　the　mentally　abnormal　person　may　engage　in　pathological　lying　quite　apart　from　any　expression　of　delusions；　and　that　during　the　course　of　such　lying　the　insanity　may　not　be　recognized。　　This　occurred　in　many　of　the　cases　cited　in　the　foreign　literature；　and　if　the　prior　histories　of　many　individuals　now　in　insane　hospitals　were　known　undoubtedly　such　lying　would　be　frequently　noted。　　But　once　the　person　is　recognized　as　insane　he　need　not　be　classified　as　a　pathological　liar。　　This　term　should　be　reserved；　as　we　stated　previously；　for　normal　individuals　who　engage　in　pathological　lying。　　Of　course　other　observers　have　noted　such　lying　in　people　who　could　not　be　designated　as　being　mentally　abnormal；　but　our　material　is　peculiarly　rich　in　examples　of　this　kind。


CORRELATIONS　STUDIED　FOR　CAUSES


Heredity。　　We　come　now　to　a　very　interesting　group　of　factsshowing　at　once　complete　corroboration　of　previous　observers'　statements　that　pathological　liars　are　extraordinarily　‘‘erbliche　belastet。''　　Taking　our　19　mentally　normal　cases　we　find　the　following：

Insanity　in　the　direct　family　（four　of　these　being　a　parent）。　。6　　One　or　both　parents　severely　alcoholic。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。6　　Criminal　or　very　dissolute　parent　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。4　　Suicide　of　parent　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。1　　Extremely　neuropathic　parent。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。1　　Syphilitic　parent　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。2　　Epileptic　parent。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。1　　Unsatisfactory　data　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。2　　Reliable　data　showing　normal　family　stock　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。2


Thus；　out　of　the　19　cases　there　are　only　three　or　four　which　do　not　come　of　stock　showing　striking　defects。　　Now；　as　we　go　on　to　show　later　that　unfortunate　conditions　or　experiences　were　often　causal　factors；　the　total　findings　seem　to　show　clearly　that　these　latter　influences　generally　bore　their　unfortunate　fruition　upon　inherited　instability。

The　heredity　in　the　border…line　cases　is；　as　might　be　expected；　even　worse。　　These　facts　are　easily　discerned　in　their　respective　case　histories。

The　question　of　inheritance　of　similar　mental　traits　is；　of　course；　important。　　We　have　found　absolutely　no　proof　of　the　trait　of　pathological　lying；　as　such；　being　inherited。　　The　reader　will　note　with　interest　particularly　the　facts　in　Cases　2　and　4；　where　we　at　first　thought　we　had　to　deal　with　inheritance；　but　later　found　there　was　no　blood　relationship　between　the　supposed　parent　and　child。　　In　those　instances　the　lying　of　the　younger　individual　was　much　more　likely　to　be　the　result　of　psychic　contagion；　and　this　also　may　be　largely　the　explanation　of　Cases　6　and　8；　where　an　older　relative　was　well　known　to　be　a　prevaricator。　　The　bad　inheritance　in　these　cases　then　turns　out　to　be；　corroborating　what　we　found　in　studying　the　general　problem　of　criminality；＇25＇　a　matter　of　coming　from　stock　that　shows　defects　in　various　ways…all　making；　however；　in　the　offspring　for　moral　instability。


＇25＇‘‘Inheritance　as　a　Factor　in　Criminality。　　A　Study　of　a　Thousand　Cases　of　Young　Repeated　Offenders。''　　Edith　R。　Spaulding　and　William　Healy。　　pp。　24。　　Bulletin　of　the　American　Academy　of　Medicine；　Vol。　XV。　February　1914。



Developmental　Physical　Conditions。　　Inquiry　into　our　19　mentally　normal　cases　gave　the　following　findings：　　Antenatal　conditions　were　defective　in　2　cases　on　account　of　syphilis　and　in　one　case　from　advanced　age　of　the　mother。　　The　accident　during　pregnancy　to　the　mother　in　one　case；　the　severe　mental　shock　in　another；　and　the　effect　of　illegitimacy　in　still　another　we　can　not　evaluate。　　In　2　cases　there　were　operative　births　with；　however；　no　bad　results　known。　　One　was　a　twin。　　Early　severe　disease　of　the　nervous　system　was　experienced　by　one；　and　convulsions　during　infancy　by　two　others。　　Another　suffered　from　some　unknown　very　severe　early　illness；　and　one　from　prolonged　digestive　disturbance　in　infancy。　　Three　had　in　early　childhood　several　severe　illnesses；　one　had　a　long　attack　of　‘‘chorea。''　　Two　suffered　from　general　nervousness；　incited　in　one　case　by　the　excessive　use　of　tea　and　in　the　other　by　a　similar　use　of　coffee。　　One　was　an　habitual　masturbator　from　childhood。　　Difficult　menstruation　was　reported　in　only　one　case。　　In　5　cases　there　was　a　quite　normal　early　developmental　period；　according　to　reliable　accounts。　　In　3　cases　the　early　developmental　histories　are　completely　unknown；　and　in　3　others　uncertain。　　The　data　of　developmental　history　in　the　border…line　types　may　be　easily　noted　in　the　case　histories。

Previous　Ailments。　　Ailments　suffered　from　in　our　19　cases　after　the　early　developmental　period　amount　to　very　little。　　The　several　gynecological　troubles　have　been　mentioned　above　under　the　head　of　Physical　Conditions。　　In　one　other　case　there　had　been　urethritis　previously。　　Head　injuries；　which　play　such　a　significant　part　in　the　study　of　criminalistics；　find　no　place　in　our　mentally　normal　series；　but　should　always　be　kept　in　mind　in　considering　the　border…line　types。　　Epilepsy　as　a　possible　factor　in　criminalistic　problem　cases　is　to　be　remembered。

Habits。　　We　have　already　mentioned　the　effect　upon　nervous　conditions　of　excessive　tea　and　coffee　in　two　of　our　cases。　　Masturbation；　including　its　indirect　effect；　particularly　upon　the　psyche；　appears　to　be　a　very　important　feature　of　these　cases。　　We　should　be　far　from　considering　that　we　have　full　data　on　all　of　our　cases　and　yet　this　stands　out　most　strongly。　　We　have　had　positive　reports　from　relatives　or　from　the　individual　showing　this　certainly　to　be　a　factor　in　7　out　of　the　19　cases。　　This　is　a　very　large　finding；　when　it　is　considered　that　the　data　are　frequently　unobtainable。　　Of　course　we　are　not　speaking　here　of　masturbation　per　se；　but　only　of　the　fact　of　its　ascertained　relationship　to　the　pathological　lying。　　This　is　only　part　of　the　whole　matter　of　sex　experience　which；　we　find　upon　gathering　our　material　together；　plays　such　an　enormous　role。

Age　of　Onset。　　It　is　very　easy　to　see　that　the　tendency　to　pathological　lying　begins　in　the　early　formative　years。　　Common…sense　observation　of　general　character　building　would　tend　to　make　us　readily　believe　that　if　an　individual　got　through　the　formative　years　of　life　with　a　normal　hold　upon　veracity　he　would　never　become　a　pathological　liar。　　We　can　see　definite　beginnings　at　certain　critically　formative　periods；　as　in　Case　6　and　perhaps　in　Case　3；　but　our　material　shows　that　most　cases　demonstrate　more　gradually　insidious　beginnings。　　（Case　21　is　in　this　respect　in　a　class　by　itself。）　　As　we　stated　in　our　introduction；　it　is　clear　from　the　previous　studies　of　older　individuals　that　the　nature　of　the　beginnings　were　not　learned　because　it　was　too　late。　　Our　material　offers　unusual　opportunities　in　this　direction　and　shows　the　fact　of　genesis　in　childhood　most　clearly。　　For　specific　and　often　most　interesting　details　we　refer　the　reader　to　our　various　case　histories。

Sex。　　Our　findings　show　only　1　male　out　of　19　mentally　normal　cases。　　A　general　observation　by　practical　students　of　conduct；　namely；　that　females　tend　to　deviate　from　the　truth　more　readily　than　males；　is　more　than　thoroughly　borne　out　here。　　There　are　certainly　several　social　and　psychological　reasons　for　this；　but　they　need　not　be　gone　into　here。　　If　our　figures　seem　not　to　be　corroborated　by　the　findings　of　previous　students　it　is　only　because　the　figures　are　not　comparable　the　latter　have　mixed　the　mentally　abnormal　with　the　pathological　liars　proper。　　It　will　be　noted　that　in　our　examples　of　border…line　cases　5　out　of　the　8　are　males。　　Cases　of　pathological　swindling　by　mentally　abnormal　individuals；　such　as　we　have　avoided；　make　up　much　of　the　foreign　literature。　　We　can　easily　see　that　the　social　opportunities　for　swindling　are　vastly　greater　for　males　than　those　offered　to　the　opposite　sex。　　Sex　differences；　as　in　many　instances；　must　not　be　taken　here　too　seriously　because　social　environment；　differing　so　greatly　for　the　sexes；　is　largely　responsible　for　the　behavior　which　we　superficially　judge　to　be　entirely　the　expression　of　innate　characteristics。

Environment。　　We　are　far　from　feeling　that　a　mere　enumeration　of　material　environmental　conditions　tells　the　story　of　environmental　influences　important　for　our　present　subject。　　The　psyche　is　frequently　most　profoundly　affected　by　environmental　conditions　which　even　a　trained　observer　would　not　detect。　　But　conditions　in　the　total　number　of　unselected　cases　show　something；　and；　for　whatever　it　is　worth；　we　offer　the　following　enumeration　of　environment　in　our　19　normal　cases；　who　with　much　more　reason　might　be　expected　to　be　largely　influenced　by　surroundings　than　our　group　of　border…line　cases。


Reasonably　good　home　from　birth　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。5　　Defective　home　condition