Pathology of Lying [64]
the fact that his parents never were in sympathy with his library reading and his attempts to learn and be somebody in the world. At first, then, there seemed to be a definite purpose in his lying. At one time he pretended to be hurt when taken in custody and thought because of this he would be allowed to go home.
On many occasions this boy made voluntary appeal to us, describing his lying as a habit which it was impossible for him to stop, and implored aid in the breaking of it. Up to the last that we knew of him he occasionally made the complaint to strangers of mistreatment by his family, which in the sense in which he put it was not true at all. The dramatic nature of his later stories seemed to fulfill the need which the boy felt of his being something which he was not, and very likely belonged to the same category of behavior he displayed when he attempted to impersonate a policeman in the middle of the night, and to pose as an amateur detective by telling stories of alleged exploits to newspaper reporters. A long story which he related even to us, involving his discovery of a suspicious man with a satchel and his use of a taxicab in search for him, was made up on the basis of his playing the part of a great man, a hero. When we ran down this untruth (it was long after he had told us what a liar he was) it seemed quite improbable that he had suddenly improvised this story. It was too elaborate and well sustained. Later, when the boy again tragically begged to be helped from making such falsifications, he said the incident had been thought out some days previously and it seemed an awful nice story about the things that he might do. Daydreaming thus masked as the truth.
--------------------------------------------------------------- Environmental maladjustment: Case 10. incongruity between Boy, age 14 yrs. supernormal ability and home conditions. Innate characteristics: nervous, active, dramatic type. Stimulants: excessive use of coffee. Mental habit-formation. Delinquencies: Mentality: Lying excessive. Supernormal in ability. Petty stealing. ---------------------------------------------------------------
CASE 11
Summary: An orphan girl of 10 had been in several institutions and households, but was found everywhere impossible on account of her incorrigibility. The greatest difficulty was on account of her extreme lying which for years had included extensive fabrications and rapid self-contradictions, as well as defensive denials of delinquency.
We were asked to decide about this girl's mentality and to give recommendations for her treatment. We need take little space for describing the case because the facts of development and heredity and of earliest mental experiences are not known by us. The case is worthy of short description as exemplifying a type and as showing once more the frequent correlation of lying with other delinquency, and especially with sex immorality.
We found a girl in good physical condition, small for her age, but without sensory defect or important organic trouble. Hutchinsonian teeth. High forehead and well formed features. Expression old for her years and rather shrewd, and notably unabashed. No evidence of pelvic trouble. Clitoris large. All the other examination negative.
Mentally we found her rather precocious. Tests well done. Reads and does arithmetic well for her age, in spite of much changing about and other school disadvantages. No evidence whatever of aberration. The examiner noted that she seemed a queer, sophisticated child, laughing easily and talking fast and freely. Evidently tries to put her best foot forward. Cooperates well on tests.
On the ``Aussage'' test this little girl did remarkably well both as to the details and general ideas expressed in the picture.
On many occasions this boy made voluntary appeal to us, describing his lying as a habit which it was impossible for him to stop, and implored aid in the breaking of it. Up to the last that we knew of him he occasionally made the complaint to strangers of mistreatment by his family, which in the sense in which he put it was not true at all. The dramatic nature of his later stories seemed to fulfill the need which the boy felt of his being something which he was not, and very likely belonged to the same category of behavior he displayed when he attempted to impersonate a policeman in the middle of the night, and to pose as an amateur detective by telling stories of alleged exploits to newspaper reporters. A long story which he related even to us, involving his discovery of a suspicious man with a satchel and his use of a taxicab in search for him, was made up on the basis of his playing the part of a great man, a hero. When we ran down this untruth (it was long after he had told us what a liar he was) it seemed quite improbable that he had suddenly improvised this story. It was too elaborate and well sustained. Later, when the boy again tragically begged to be helped from making such falsifications, he said the incident had been thought out some days previously and it seemed an awful nice story about the things that he might do. Daydreaming thus masked as the truth.
--------------------------------------------------------------- Environmental maladjustment: Case 10. incongruity between Boy, age 14 yrs. supernormal ability and home conditions. Innate characteristics: nervous, active, dramatic type. Stimulants: excessive use of coffee. Mental habit-formation. Delinquencies: Mentality: Lying excessive. Supernormal in ability. Petty stealing. ---------------------------------------------------------------
CASE 11
Summary: An orphan girl of 10 had been in several institutions and households, but was found everywhere impossible on account of her incorrigibility. The greatest difficulty was on account of her extreme lying which for years had included extensive fabrications and rapid self-contradictions, as well as defensive denials of delinquency.
We were asked to decide about this girl's mentality and to give recommendations for her treatment. We need take little space for describing the case because the facts of development and heredity and of earliest mental experiences are not known by us. The case is worthy of short description as exemplifying a type and as showing once more the frequent correlation of lying with other delinquency, and especially with sex immorality.
We found a girl in good physical condition, small for her age, but without sensory defect or important organic trouble. Hutchinsonian teeth. High forehead and well formed features. Expression old for her years and rather shrewd, and notably unabashed. No evidence of pelvic trouble. Clitoris large. All the other examination negative.
Mentally we found her rather precocious. Tests well done. Reads and does arithmetic well for her age, in spite of much changing about and other school disadvantages. No evidence whatever of aberration. The examiner noted that she seemed a queer, sophisticated child, laughing easily and talking fast and freely. Evidently tries to put her best foot forward. Cooperates well on tests.
On the ``Aussage'' test this little girl did remarkably well both as to the details and general ideas expressed in the picture.