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If you + don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are + payable to "Project Gutenberg Association / Illinois + Benedictine College" within the 60 days following each + date you prepare (or were legally required to prepare) + your annual (or equivalent periodic) tax return. + +WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? +The Project gratefully accepts contributions in money, time, +scanning machines, OCR software, public domain etexts, royalty +free copyright licenses, and every other sort of contribution +you can think of. Money should be paid to "Project Gutenberg +Association / Illinois Benedictine College". + +*END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +Scanned by Charles Keller with +OmniPage Professional OCR software +donated by Caere Corporation, 1-800-535-7226. +Contact Mike Lough <Mikel@caere.com> + + + + +PATHOLOGICAL LYING, ACCUSATION, AND SWINDLING +A STUDY IN FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY + + +BY + + +WILLIAM HEALY, A.B., M.D. + + +DIRECTOR, PSYCHOPATHIC INSTITUTE, JUVENILE COURT, CHICAGO +ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR NERVOUS AND MENTAL DISEASES +CHICAGO POLICLINIC; AUTHOR OF ``THE +INDIVIDUAL DELINQUENT'' +AND + + +MARY TENNEY HEALY, B.L. + + + + + +TO +MERRITT W. PINCKNEY +JUDGE OF THE JUVENILE COURT +CHICAGO + +``Bonus et sapiens et peritus utilitatis dignitatisque civilis.'' + + + +EDITORIAL ANNOUNCEMENT + +This volume is one of a series of Monograph Supplements to the +Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. The publication of the +Monographs is authorized by the American Institute of Criminal +Law and Criminology. Such a series has become necessary in +America by reason of the rapid development of criminological +research in this country since the organization of the Institute. +Criminology draws upon many independent branches of science, such +as Psychology, Anthropology, Neurology, Medicine, Education, +Sociology, and Law. These sciences contribute to our +understanding of the nature of the delinquent and to our +knowledge of those conditions in home, occupation, school, +prison, etc., which are best adapted to elicit the behavior that +the race has learned to approve and cherish. + +This series of Monographs, therefore, will include researches in +each of these departments of knowledge insofar as they meet our +special interest. + +It is confidently anticipated that the series will stimulate the +study of the problems of delinquency, the State control of which +commands as great expenditure of human toil and treasure as does +the control of constructive public education. + +ROBERT H. GAULT, +Editor of the Journal of Criminal COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATION + Law and Criminology, OF THE + Northwestern University. AMERICAN INSTITUTE +FREDERIC B. CROSSLEY, OF CRIMINAL + Northwestern University. LAW AND CRIMINOLOGY. +JAMES W. GARNER, + University of Illinois. + + + +PREFACE + +Careful studies of offenders make group-types stand out with +distinctness. Very little advancement in the treatment of +delinquents or criminals can be expected if typical +characteristics and their bearings are not understood. The group +that our present work concerns itself with is comparatively +little known, although cases belonging to it, when met, attract +much attention. It is to all who should be acquainted with these +striking mental and moral vagaries, particularly in their +forensic and psychological significances, that our essay is +addressed. In some cases vital for the administration of +justice, an understanding of the types of personality and of +behavior here under discussion is a prime necessity. + +The whole study of characterology or the motivation of conduct is +extremely new, and there are many indications of immense values +in uncovered fields. Some appreciation of this fact may be +gained from the following pages which show the possibility of +tracing one form of behavior to its source. + +We have laid under contribution practically the entire literature +on the subject, almost none of which is in English, and also the +thorough-going longitudinal case studies made by the Juvenile +Psychopathic Institute of Chicago. In the latter material there +was found much of value bearing upon the subject of lying, false +accusation, and swindling of pathological character. + +Our institute, later taken over officially by the Juvenile Court +of Cook County, was for five years maintained upon a foundation +provided by Mrs. W. F. Dummer. + +WILLIAM HEALY +MARY TENNEY HEALY + +WINNETKA, ILL. + June, 1915. + + + +CONTENTS + +CHAPTER + EDITORIAL ANNOUNCEMENT + PREFACE +I. INTRODUCTION +II. PREVIOUS STUDIES +III. CASES OF PATHOLOGICAL LYING AND SWINDLING +IV. CASES OF PATHOLOGICAL ACCUSATION +V. CASES OF PATHOLOGICAL LYING IN BORDER-LINE MENTAL TYPES +VI. CONCLUSIONS + INDEX OF AUTHORS + INDEX OF TOPICS + + + + + +PATHOLOGICAL LYING, ACCUSATION, AND SWINDLING + + + +CHAPTER I + +INTRODUCTION + +Through comparison of the literature on pathological lying with +our own extensive material we are led to perceive the insistent +necessity for closer definition of the subject than has been +heretofore offered. Reasons for excluding types earlier +described as pathological liars will be found throughout our +work. Better definition goes hand in hand with better +understanding, and it is only natural that formal, detailed +contemplation of the subject should lead to seeing new lines of +demarcation. + +Definition: Pathological lying is falsification entirely +disproportionate to any discernible end in view, engaged in by a +person who, at the time of observation, cannot definitely be +declared insane, feebleminded, or epileptic. Such lying rarely, +if ever, centers about a single event; although exhibited in very +occasional cases for a short time, it manifests itself most +frequently by far over a period of years, or even a life time. +It represents a trait rather than an episode. Extensive, very +complicated fabrications may be evolved. This has led to the +synonyms:--mythomania; pseudologia phantastica. + +It is true that in the previous literature, under the head of +pathological liars, cases of epilepsy, insanity, and mental +defect have been cited, but that is misleading. A clear +terminology should be adopted. The pathological liar forms a +species by himself and as such does not necessarily belong to any +of these larger classes. It is, of course, scientifically +permissible, as well as practically valuable, to speak of the +epileptic or the otherwise abnormal person through his disease +engaging in pathological lying, but the main classification of an +individual should be decided by the main abnormal condition. + +A good definition of pathological accusation follows the above +lines. It is false accusation indulged in apart from any obvious +purpose. Like the swindling of pathological liars, it appears +objectively more pernicious than the lying, but it is an +expression of the same tendency. The most striking form of this +type of conduct is, of course, self-accusation. Mendacious self- +impeachment seems especially convincing of abnormality. Such +falsification not infrequently is episodic. + +The inclusion of swindling in our discussion is due to the +natural evolution of this type of conduct from pathological +lying. Swindling itself could hardly be called a pathological +phenomenon, since it is readily explicable by the fact that it is +entered into for reasons of tangible gain, but when it is the +product of the traits shown by a pathological liar it, just as +the lying itself, is a part of the pathological picture. It is +the most concrete expression of the individual's tendencies. +This has been agreed to by several writers, for all have found it +easy to trace the development of one form of behavior into the +other. As Wulffen says, ``Die Gabe zu Schwindeln ist eine `Lust +am Fabulieren.' '' Over and over again we have observed the +phenomenon as the pathological liar gradually developed the +tendency to swindle. + +Notwithstanding the grave and sensational social issues which +arise out of pathological lying, accusation, and swindling, there +is very little acquaintance with the characteristics of cases +showing this type of behavior, even by the people most likely to +meet the problems presented. Lawyers, or other professional +specialists have slight knowledge of the subject. Perhaps this +is due to the fact that the pathological lying does not follow +the usual lines of abnormal human behavior, unless it be among +the insane where other symptoms proclaim the true nature of the +case. Another reason for the slight acquaintance with the +subject is the fact that almost nothing has been written on it in +English. + +The important part which behavior of this type sometimes plays in +court work is witnessed to by the records of our own cases as +well as those cited in the previous literature. The legal issues +presented by pathological lying may be exceedingly costly. These +facts make it important that the well-equipped lawyer, as well as +the student of abnormal psychology, be familiar with the +specific, related facts. For such students the cardinal point of +recognition of this class of conduct may at once be stated to be +its apparent baselessness. + +The only method by which good understanding may be obtained of +the types of personality and mentality involved in pathological +lying, accusation, and swindling, as well as of the genetics of +these tendencies, is by the detailed reading of typical case +histories. In this fact is found the reason for the presentation +of this monograph. Appreciation of the nature of the phenomena +can only be obtained through acquaintance with an entire career. +Any of us may be confronted by fabrications so consistent as to +leave at one or several interviews the impression of truth. + +Our selection of literature to summarize needs no explanation. +We have simply taken all that we could find which specifically +bears on the problem. Lying, in general, especially as a form of +delinquency, has received attention at the hands of some authors, +notably Ferriani[1] and Duprat.[2] The falsifications and +phantasies of children and adolescents have been dealt with by +Stanley Hall.[3] None of these goes into the important, narrower +field with which we are here concerned. The foreign literature +is vitally important in its opening up of the subject, but from +the standpoint of modern psychopathology it does not adequately +cover the ground. + + +[1] Ferriani, Lino, ``L'Enfance criminelle.'' Milan, 1894. +(Trans. Minderjahrige Verbrecher. Berlin, 1896.) + +[2] Duprat, G.-L., ``Le mensonge.'' Alcan, Paris, 1903. + +[3] Hall, G. Stanley, ``Children's Lies.'' Amer. Journal of +Psychology, Jan. 1890; pp. 59-70. + + + +The fabrications, often quite clever, of the clearly insane, +which in earlier literature are confounded with pathological +lying, we have discriminated against as not being profitable for +us to discuss here, while not denying, however, the possibility +in some instances of lies coexisting with actual delusions. We +well remember a patient, a brilliant conversationalist and letter +writer, but an absolutely frank case of paranoia, whom we had not +seen for a period during which she had concocted a new set of +notions involving even her own claim to royal blood, confronting +us with a merry, significant smile and the remark, ``You don't +believe my new stories, do you?'' + +A short statement on the relation of lying to delinquency may be +of interest here. Ferriani's discussion[4] of the lying of 500 +condemned juvenile offenders, with classification of their lies, +ranging from self-defense, weakness, and fancy, to nobility of +purpose, does not include our field. Nor does he leave much room +for appreciation of the fact we very definitely have observed, +namely, that plenty of young offenders are robust speakers of the +truth. Our analysis[5] of the delinquencies of 1000 young +repeated offenders carefully studied by us does not tell the +proportion of truth tellers as distinguished from liars, but it +does give the number in which lying was a notable and excessive +trait. The total number of males studied was 694, of females +306. Ages ranged from 6 to 22; average about 16 years. + +[4] loc. cit. + +[5] Vide p. 140, in chapter on Statistics, William Healy, ``The +Individual Delinquent.'' Little, Brown, and Co. Boston, 1915. + + + MALES FEMALES + +Lying--counted only when excessive and a 104 80 +notorious characteristic of the individual, (15%) (26%) + +False accusations--only recorded when of an 5 16 +excessive and dangerous sort, (.7%) (5%) + + +The exact number of pathological liars is not determinable in our +series because of the shading of this lying into other types. It +would be safe to say that 8 or 10 of the 1000 were genuine cases +of pathological lying according to our definition, that 5 more +engaged in pathological false accusations without a notorious +career in other kinds of lying. Examples of borderline mental +cases showing fantastic lying and accusations are given in our +special chapter. Some of the cases of pathological lying given +in this work do not belong to the series of 1000 cases analyzed +for statistical purposes. The extraordinary number of times +several of these individuals appeared in court (resembling in +this respect the European case histories) shows that the total +amount of trouble caused by this class is not in the least +represented by their numerical proportion among offenders. + +We have purposely limited our own material for presentation. +Here, as elsewhere, we insist on the value of genetics and +consequently have busied ourselves at length with those cases +where we could gain something like an adequate conception of the +antecedents in family and developmental histories and where some +measure of the psychogenetic features could be taken. Cases of +older individuals with their prolonged and often picturesque +careers, equivalent to those recounted in European literature, we +have left strictly alone. One ever finds that the older the +individual the less one can learn satisfactorily of beginnings of +tendencies, just on account of the unreliability of the principal +actor in the drama. The cases of older swindlers at first sight +seem to offer much for the student of criminalistics, if only for +purely descriptive purposes, but in the literature we have failed +to find any satisfactory studies of the formative years of such +careers. By taking instances of younger pathological liars, such +as we have studied, the natural progress into swindling can be +readily seen. + +In court work we have been brought face to face with many cases +of false accusation and, of course, with plenty of the usual kind +of lying. Where either of these has been entered into by way of +revenge or in belief that it would aid in getting out of trouble, +no further attention has been paid to it from the standpoint of +pathological lying. Our acquaintance with some professional +criminals, particularly of the sneak-thief or pick-pocket class, +has taught us that living conditions for the individual may be +founded on whole careers of misrepresentation and lies--for very +understandable reasons. Self-accusations may sometimes be +evolved with the idea of gaining directly practical results, as +when a lover or a comrade is shielded, or when there is danger of +a larger crime being fastened on the self-incriminator. + +In selection and treatment of our material we have confined +ourselves as closely as possible to the definition first given in +this chapter--a definition that after some years of observation +we found could be made and held to. While we would not deny that +some of our cases may eventually find their way into an insane +hospital, still none of them, except some we have enumerated +under the name of border-line types, has so far shown any +indication of this. That some of our cases have more or less +recovered from a strongly-marked and prolonged inclination to +falsify is a fact of great importance for treatment and +prognosis. + +We see neither reason for including insane cases nor for +overlapping the already used classifications which are based on +more vital facts than the symptom of lying. Our use of abnormal +cases in our chapter, ``Illustrations of Border-Line Types,'' +will be perfectly clear to those who read these cases. They +represent the material not easily diagnosed, sometimes after long +observation by professional people, or else they are clearly +abnormal individuals who, by the possession of certain +capacities, manage to keep their heads well above the level of +social incompetency as judged by the world at large. + +We have introduced only the cases where we have had ample proof +that the individual had been given to excessive lying of our +peculiar type. In the court room and working with delinquents +outside the court, it is in rare instances totally impossible to +know where the truth finally rests; such have been left out. +Then, too, we omit cases in which false accusations have about +them the shadow of even a suspicion of vindictiveness. False +accusations of young children against parents would hardly seem +to have such a basis, and yet in some instances this fact has +come out clearly. Grudge-formation on the part of young +individuals has all through our work been one of the +extraordinary findings; capacity for it varies tremendously in +different individuals. + +Several forms of excessive lying, particularly those practised by +children and adolescents, are not discussed by us because they +are largely age phenomena and only verge upon the pathological as +they are carried over into wider fields of conduct. The +fantasies of children, and the almost obsessional lying in some +young adolescents, too, we avoid. There is much shading of +typical pathological lying into, on the one hand, the really +insane types, and, on the other hand, into the lying which is to +be explained by quite normal reactions or where the tendency to +mendacity is only partially developed. + +It has been a matter of no small interest to us that in planning +this monograph we conceived it necessary to consider part of our +material under the head of episodic pathological lying and that +later we had to omit this chapter. Surely there had been +cases--so it seemed to us at first--where purposeless lying had +been indulged in for a comparatively short time, particularly +during the adolescent period, without expression of a +prevaricating tendency before or after this time. When we came +to review our material with this chapter in mind we found no +sufficient verification of the fact that there was any such thing +as episodic pathological lying, apart from peculiar +manifestations in cases of epilepsy, hysteria, and other mental +abnormalities. A short career of extensive lying, not +unfrequently met with in work for juvenile courts and other +social agencies, seems, judging from our material, to be always +so mixed up with other delinquencies or unfortunate sex +experiences that the lying, after all, cannot be regarded as +purposeless. It is indulged in most often in an attempt to +disguise undesirable truths. That false accusations and even +self-accusations are engaged in for the same purpose goes without +saying. The girl who donned man's clothes, left home and lived +for months a life of lies was seeking an adventure which would +offset intolerable home conditions. The young woman who after +seeing something of the pleasures of the world was placed in a +strict religious home where she told exaggerated stories about +her own bad behavior, was endeavoring to get more freedom +elsewhere. A young fellow whom we found to be a most persistent +and consistent liar was discovered to have been already well +schooled in the art of professional criminalistic +self-protection. So it has gone. Investigation of each of these +episodic cases has shown the fabrications to emanate either from +a distinctly abnormal personality or to partake of a character +which rules them out of the realm of pathological lying. In our +cases of temporary adolescent psychoses lying was rarely found a +puzzling feature; the basic nature of the case was too easily +discoverable. + +A fair question to ask at this point is whether pathological +lying is ever found to be the only delinquency of the given +individual. We should hesitate to deny the possibility of its +being the sole offense, but in our study of a long list of cases, +and after review of those reported by other authors, it seems +practically impossible to find a case of this. The tendencies +soon carry the person over to the production of other +delinquencies, and if these do not come in the category of +punishable offenses, at least, through the trouble and suffering +caused others, they are to be regarded essentially as misconduct. + +The reverse of the above question deserves a word or two of +attention; are there marked cases of delinquency which do not +show lying? Surveying the figures of Ferriani[6] who enumerated +thousands of lies, belonging to his nine classes of +prevarications, which a group of 500 young offenders indulged in, +one would think that all delinquents are liars many times over. +But as a matter of fact we have been profoundly astonished to +discover that a considerable percentage of the cases we have +studied, even of repeated offenders, have proved notably +truthful. Occasionally the very person who will engage in a +major form of delinquency will hesitate to lie. Our experience +shows this to be less true, however, of sex delinquency than +perhaps of any other. This statement is based on general +observations; the accurate correlations have not been worked up. +Occasionally the professional criminal of many misdeeds is proud +of his uprightness in other spheres of behavior, including +veracity. But even here one would have to classify carefully, +for it is obvious that the typical swindler would find lying his +best cloak of disguise. On the other hand, a bold safe-blower +may look down with scorn upon a form of criminality which demands +constant mendacity. + + +[6] loc. cit. + + + +Realizing that pathological lying is a type of delinquency, and +following the rule that for explanation of conduct tendencies one +must go to youthful beginnings, we have attempted to gain the +fullest possible information about the fundamentals of +developmental and family history, early environment, and early +mental experiences. Fortunately we have often been able to +obtain specific and probably accurate data on heredity. The many +cases which have been only partially studied are not included. +Successive cross-section studies have been made in a number of +cases, and it has been possible to get a varying amount of +after-history. Observational, historical, and analytical data +thus accumulated have given us a particularly favorable +opportunity for discerning the bases of this special delinquent +tendency. The results of the various kinds of social treatment +which have been undertaken are not the least interesting of our +facts. + +To enumerate the results obtained on the many mental tests given +in most cases seems quite unnecessary for the purpose of this +monograph. We have referred to a few points of special interest +and rarely have designated the results on tests in our series. +In general, the reader probably will be better off with merely +the statement of the principal findings and of the mental +diagnosis. + +Of much interest for the present subject is the development of +psychological studies of testimony or report. Because of the +natural expectation that the pathological liar might prove to be +an unreliable witness our studies on this point will be offered +in detail. For years we have been giving a picture memory test +on the order of one used extensively abroad. This ``Aussage'' +Test is the one described as Test VI in our monograph on +Practical Mental Classification.[7] More recently our studies on +the psychology of testimony have led us into wider fields of +observation, and here the group of cases now under discussion may +have to stand by themselves. The picture, the record of +testimony on which is given in some detail in our case histories, +is that of a butcher's shop with objects and actions that are +universally comprehended. After careful and fair explanation of +what is about to be undertaken, the picture is exposed for ten +seconds, and then the examinee is asked to give a free recital of +all he saw. When he states that no more is remembered he is +questioned on omitted details. (All told, there are about 50 +details of varying importance in the picture.) During the +progress of this part of the examination he is asked if he saw 7 +objects which might well be in a butcher shop, but which are not +in the picture. This is the test for susceptibility to +suggestion. All points are carefully scored. Norms on this +test, as on many others, it seems hardly fair to give by +averages--there is much variation according to mentality and even +personality groups. Practically all of our cases of pathological +lying range above the age of young childhood, so it is not +necessary here to discuss the characteristics of young children's +testimony. Perhaps it is sufficient to say that the ordinary +individual recalls voluntarily or upon questioning upwards of 20 +items, and does not give incorrect items to any extent. On +questioning he may perhaps accept one or two of the seven +suggestions, but when details in general are asked for he does +not add fictional items more than are accounted for by some +little slip of memory. One can find definite types of +intellectual honesty, even among children of 10 or 12 years of +age, when there is no tampering with the truth; if an item has +not been observed, there is no effort to make it seem otherwise. +For discussion of the results on this test among our pathological +liars we refer to our chapter on conclusions. + + +[7] ``Tests for Practical Mental Classification,'' by William +Healy and Grace M. Fernald, Monograph No. 54. Psychological +Review Pub. Co., 1911, Princeton University, Princeton, N. J. + + + +The short summary of causative factors given at the end of the +case study deals only with the factors of delinquency. To avoid +misinterpretation of the coordinated facts, what they are focused +upon should ever be remembered. The statement of these +ascertained factors brings out many incidental points which +should be of interest to lawyers and other students of +criminalistics. + +It should be needless to state to our professional readers that +the personalities represented in our case histories are entirely +fictitious, but that alterations have been made only in such +facts as will not impair scientific values. We confess to no +particular pleasure in writing up this rather sordid material; +the task is undertaken because such studies offer the only way to +gain that better understanding which is necessary for adequate +treatment of special types of human beings. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +PREVIOUS STUDIES + +The subject of pathological lying was first definitely brought to +the attention of the medical and legal professions by the studies +of Delbruck.[8] The aim of this work was to follow the +development of a symptom but little commented upon up to this +time, a symptom, as he says, found in every healthy person in +slight degree, but in some cases rising to pathological +significance and perhaps dominating the entire picture of +abnormal traits--thus becoming pathognomonic. This symptom he at +the outset calls lying. + + +[8] ``Die pathologische Luge und die psychisch abnormen +Schwindler. Eine Untersuchung Uber den allmahlichen Uebergang +eines normalen psychologischen Vorgangs in ein pathologisches +Symptom, fur Aerzte und Juristen.'' Pp. 131, Stuttgart, 1891. + + + +Through an elaborate and exhaustive investigation of the lies +told by five patients over a period of years, he came to the +conclusion that the form of falsifying in these cases deserves a +new and separate name. It was not ordinary lying, or delusion, +or false memory, these words express only part of the conception; +hence he coined the new term, pseudologia phantastica, to cover +the species of lying with which he was concerned. Later German +writers have also adopted his terminology. + +To emphasize the method by which he arrived at this conclusion +and to gain at the same time some knowledge of the problems he +dealt with, we may review in bare outline his case-studies. + +The first patient presented by Delbruck was an Austrian +maid-servant who in her wanderings through Austria and +Switzerland had played at various times the roles of Roumanian +princess, Spaniard of royal lineage, a poor medical student, and +the rich friend of a bishop. Her lying revealed a mixture of +imagination, boastfulness, deception, delusion, and +dissimulation. She romanced wonderfully about her royal birth +and wrote letters purporting to be from a cardinal to herself. +She fled disguised as a man from an educational institution to +Switzerland where her sex was discovered. It appeared that she +was subject to contrary sex feelings and thought of herself as a +man. She was under the observation of Krafft-Ebing at one time. +He considered it at least as a case of paranoia. Others had +determined the girl to be a psychopath who indulged in +simulations and lies. Delbruck denominated it a case of direct +lying with a tendency to phantasies, delusions, and +dissimulations. Delbruck from this case argues that a mixture of +lies and delusions is possible, comparing such a state with +dreaming and with the hypnotic condition in which one follows the +suggestion of the hypnotizer and is still aware of the fact. It +was evident at times that this girl half believed her own +stories, then again that she had forgotten her former lies. In +her, Delbruck considers perverted sex feeling and hysteria +revealed a brain organization abnormal from birth. There was the +instinctive tendency to lie. + +The second patient, an epileptic girl, had been many times +imprisoned and also sent to the Charite for examination into her +sanity before Delbruck saw her. Her peculiar method was to +approach strangers, claiming to be a relative coming from another +city to visit. If cordially received she would stay as long as +her welcome lasted, then depart taking with her any of their +possessions her fancy chose. Many prominent physicians examined +her and were unable to decide as to her responsibility; judges +and others said she was a willful deceiver, a refined swindler. +Delbruck, looking deeper, found that she was suffering from +hysteria, having hystero-epileptic seizures with following +delirium, or rather twilight states. Though her delinquencies +seemed to show cunning and skill, a careful investigation +revealed the fact that this was merely aberrant. Generally her +thieving was undertaken in feebleminded fashion; many times she +stole things worthless to herself. Evidences of her pathological +mentality were that she would give orders for groceries, would +buy children's clothes, or send for a physician under an assumed +name. She might not go back for the groceries, but after +ordering them would say she would return with the carriage. The +characteristic fact throughout her career was that she wished to +appear to be some one wealthier, more influential than she was. +Delbruck classifies her as high-grade feebleminded, suffering +from convulsive attacks and peculiar states of consciousness, +with a morbid tendency to lying. She possessed no power to +realize the culpable nature of her acts when she was performing +them. + +His third patient as a boy appeared normal both mentally and +physically. In his youth he went through the gymnasium and then +studied theology. He spent money very freely on clothing and +books, but at this period neither stole nor lied. After +finishing his theological studies, he preached in his home town +and was regarded as a young man of great promise. Then came a +change; he began to write strange letters, telling of some +positions offered him, he borrowed money freely from relatives +and friends who were willing to give because they believed in his +coming career. When studied, it was concluded by Delbruck that +this was a case of constitutional psychosis, hysteria, moral +insanity, and psychopathy--all of these forms being interrelated. +Outside of masturbation, begun in early childhood and indulged in +excessively at times, no causal factors were discovered. He +considered that this case offered a good illustration of the +peculiar coexistence of real lies and delusions in the same +individual. + +His fourth case was that of an artful, deceitful, arrogant, +selfish boy, always clever in excuses, who had stolen from the +age of twelve, often stolen things that he threw away. Though of +Protestant family, he delighted to draw Catholic insignia and +embroider religious characters. He finally entered the +university, always lying and stealing. At the end of three +months he was taken home in debt 2000 marks. He later became a +Catholic. Outside of normal expense he had cost his father +28,000 marks. By the time he was studied he had already taken +opium for four years, having started because of neuralgia. There +had been a severe operation on account of some trouble with the +teeth. It was discovered that there was contrary sexual feeling +in this case also. The patient had a great inclination for doing +woman's handwork. Delbruck again considered the early appearance +of character anomalies and perverted sex feeling to prove a +deep-seated abnormality of nervous constitution. He diagnosed it +as a case of constitutional psychosis; the extent of the +abnormalities showing the individual to be irresponsible. + +His last patient was an alcoholic adventurer, early life unknown, +who had an idiotic sister. He had lived long in America and +returned to Germany full of stories of his wonderful achievements +over seas. This case does not concern us except to emphasize the +influence of alcohol in the development of such cases. + +This outline is sufficient to show the justification of his +conclusion, namely, that just as in healthy people a mixing of +lies and mistakes may occur, so the same combination may reach a +pathological height, and one can diagnose a mixture of lies with +delusions or false memories. + +These studies focus our attention on the following points which +are valuable to emphasize for the purpose of this monograph: the +complexity of details to be examined in the life of any one +patient in whose delinquencies pathological lying is a factor, +the variety of cases in which this factor may occur, hence the +difficulties in the way of determining the extent to which the +patient is responsible for his deeds and whether he belongs in a +reformatory or an insane hospital. From the standpoint of +society Delbruck's work has great use, since it reveals so +plainly the menace that these liars are to their families and to +the community as a whole, their unscrupulousness in financial +dealings, their tendencies to bring false accusations involving +families and friends alike in useless expense and litigation. + +German studies on pseudologia phantastica since Delbruck's time +have followed the line of amplification of his views and +clarification of the subject by the addition of new types. + +Koppen[9] attempted to differentiate sharply and to analyze more +accurately the conception of the pathological lie. He found it +impossible to make an absolute separation between pathological +lies and normal lies. The lies of the mentally diseased are +seldom pathological. They lie, but their lies do not differ from +those of the mentally sound. We cannot call the results +delusional lies. Among imbeciles we find a peculiar disposition +to lying, especially among those of criminal inclination. Their +lies do not separate themselves either in content or in relation +to the rest of their ideas from the lies of the mentally +diseased. Here follows his positive contribution to the +conception; the pathological lie is active in character, a whole +sequence of experiences is fabricated and the products of fancy +brought forward with a certainty that is astonishing. The +possibility that the untruth may be at any minute demolished does +not abash the liar in the least. Remonstrances against the lies +make no impression. On closer inspection we find that the liar +is no longer free, he has ceased to be master of his own lies, +the lie has won power over him, it has the worth of a real +experience. In the final stage of the evolution of the +pathological lie, it cannot be differentiated from delusion. +Pathological lies have long been credited to hystericals, they +are now known to arise in alcoholics, imbeciles, degenerates. +All pathological liars have a purpose, i.e., to decorate their +own person, to tell something interesting, and an ego motive is +always present. They all lie about something they wish to +possess or be. + + +[9] ``Ueber die pathologische Lugner,'' Charite-Annalen, 8, 1898. +Pp. 674-719. + + + + +Koppen offers three case studies: I. A man who had suffered +from many epileptic seizures came from a family in which there +was insanity. He gave himself many false titles, and from his +childhood pathological lying had been a prominent symptom. As an +example, when he married against his father's will, he at the +wedding read a false dispatch, pretending it to be +congratulations from his family. Koppen suggests that this +individual was incapable of meeting life as it really was and he +therefore wove a mass of phantasies. II. A young man charged +with grave falsifications. He had come from an epileptic family +and himself had slight attacks in childhood. He bore various +pathological stigmata. Koppen considered that the patient +believed his own stories about his rather superior education and +that in general his lies became delusions which influenced his +actions. He diagnosed the case as psychotic; insane in a legal +sense. III. A young man undoubtedly insane brought forward his +pathological lies with such force that Koppen was persuaded that +the patient believed in them. + +Bernard Risch[10] has seen many cases of delinquents with more or +less marked psychopathic signs in which pathological lying was +the focal point. He reports five cases at great length, in all +of whom the inclination to fabricate stories, ``der Hang zum +fabulieren,'' is irresistible and apparently not to be repressed +by efforts of the will. Risch's main points, built up from study +of his cases, are worthy of close consideration: 1. Mental +processes similar to those forming the basis of the impulse to +literary creation in normal people lie at the foundation of the +morbid romances and fancies of those afflicted with pseudologia +phantastica. The coercive impulse for self-expression, with an +accompanying feeling of desire and dissatisfaction, plays a +similar part in both. That the making up of tales is an end in +itself for the abnormal swindler, just as it is for the normal +author, seems clear to Risch. 2. The morbid impulse which forces +``zum fabulieren'' is bound up with the desire to play the role +of the person depicted. Fiction and real life are not separated +as in the mind of the normal author. 3. The bent of thought is +egocentric, the morbid liar and swindler can think of nothing but +himself. 4. There is a reduction of the powers of attention in +these cases; only upon supposition that this faculty is disturbed +can we account for the discrepancies in the statements of +patients. One has the impression that their memory for their +delinquencies is not clear. Careful investigation proves that +they do not like to remember them and this dislike has to be +overcome. 5. There is a special weakness in judgment, which for +general purposes is sound. The train of thought is logical, but +in ethical discernment the lack appears. The pathological liar +does not face openly the question of whether his lies can be seen +through. + + +[10] `` `Ueber die phantastische Form des degenerativen Irrseins, +Pseudologia phantastica.'' Allgemeine Zeitschrift fur +Psychiatrie, 65, 1908, H. 4; pp. 576-639. + + + + +Then follows a closer analysis of the qualities possessed by +pathological liars: (a) Their range of ideas is wide. (b) Their +range of interests is wider than would be expected from their +grade of education. (c) Their perceptions are better than the +average. (d) They are nimble witted. Their oral and written +style is above normal in fluency. (e) They exhibit faultiness in +the development of conceptions and judgments. Their judgment is +sharp and clear only as far as their own person does not come +into consideration. It is the lack of any self criticism +combined with an abnormal egocentric trend of thought that biases +their judgments concerning themselves. (f) Psychic traumata +arise perhaps through a striking reaction in the emotional realm +towards external occurrences. (g) Nearly all of Risch's cases +were burdened with bad inheritance. He maintains that, above +all, these cases show instability and psychic excitability. The +entire symptom complex arises upon a basis of degeneracy. + +Essential similarities run through all of Risch's cases; it is +perhaps valuable here to cite a couple of them. His Case I is +that of a soldier, who after being released from prison at 23 +years had begun his military duty and in a short time attempted +suicide. He was then studied for insanity. It was found that he +gave long accounts of his experiences as a chauffeur, rendering +his story with fluent details about hairbreadth escapes and other +adventures. He also told at length of his love affair with a +young girl. These stories were discovered to be false from ``A +to Z''; he did not clearly remember them later. The evolving of +such fabrications was all along one of his chief characteristics. +Examination showed no gross intellectual defect, but there were +certain psychopathic signs which had been displayed from early +childhood: he had little endurance and was unable to stand +criticism. Emotions befitting his stories were correctly +expressed by him; there were no facial evidences of conflict or +discomfort. It was impossible to tell from his physiognomy that +he was engaged in untruths. Mentally he was well oriented and +his thoughts flowed in orderly sequence. Despite rather limited +education he demonstrated very good style in his conversation and +his letters. The train of thought was expressed coherently and +logically, so well that one could speak of him as having literary +ability. Physically he was quite normal. Investigation of +antecedents showed that he was born of an exceedingly nervous +mother (more exact diagnosis not given) and that he had a +feebleminded brother. During his school career he was considered +to have quite fair ability. He learned no trade, and after +stopping school would leave a position upon the slightest +provocation. Before he was 23 he had been legally punished many +times for stealing and had spent, all told, over three years in +prison. Once before he had attempted suicide. After the +thorough study of him at 23 he was placed in an asylum. There he +was occupied at basket weaving and was chiefly notable for +keeping up the characteristics that were peculiar to him before. +He continually lied and, indeed, seemed to get his main pleasure +out of telling fabulous stories to the other patients. + +Case IV was a man of 31 years, a decorative painter by trade, who +presented himself at the states attorney's office and stated that +in a fit of jealousy he had shot and killed a man. Taking up the +case it was soon found that this was quite untrue and that the +man was a chronic liar. He seemed much astonished when he was +told that the man he claimed to have killed was still alive. +Further study of this self-accuser showed that he had been +punished by the law every year since he was 16. His offenses +consisted of embezzling, theft, forgery, and swindling. In all +he had served about 6 1/2 years. His lying was so much a part of +his mental life that he seemed to be unable to discriminate +between his real and his fancied crimes. He not only invented +stories, but was much inclined to play some role created by his +fancy. There seemed to be a method in his cheating and swindling +which added to his undoubted pleasure in lying. His peculiar +career was much furthered by the possession of a fluent style and +a good memory through which his creations were built up in most +plausible fashion. He proved to be willingly introspective and +stated that his inclination to lie was a puzzle to him, and that +while he was engaged in prevarications he believed in them. He +always was the hero of his own stories. He further declared that +inner unrest and love of wandering drove him forth even when he +was living under orderly conditions. He considered that his +feeling of restlessness was a weighty motive in the deeds for +which he had been punished. At one time this man had simulated +attacks of epilepsy and attempted in connection with these to +swindle physicians and others. His schooling had been continued +to the gymnasium, ``untertertia,'' then he had taken up his +trade. His intelligence and memory were considered excellent. +He had an insane brother. + +Vogt[11] has made a thorough analysis of six cases of +pathological liars, ranging from the very stupid to the +intelligent. I. A girl, who had done poorly in school was unable +to hold a place and became a thief. Her mother was epileptic. +Examination showed intelligence not equal to that of eight years +with moral inferiority on account of this weakness. II. A +feebleminded girl of vacillating, weak judgment. Father insane. +Her lies were marked by their fantastic nature. III. Lively, +fanciful, unstable, hysterical girl. Poor record at school. IV. +Hysterical liar with peculiarities united with splendid mental +ability. V. Unusually intelligent, 15 years old, illegitimate +child; normal mother who later had five sound children; father +drunkard. Her lies were neither of suggested nor dreamy type, +they were skillfully dramatized means to an end in her fight for +social position. In the psychiatric examination she was found +mentally normal. VI. Girl thoroughly intelligent, good at +figures and puzzles, with no signs of degeneracy. + + +[11] ``Jugendliche Lugnerinnen.'' Zeitschrift fur Erforschung d. +jugend. Schwachsinns., Bd. 3. H. 5. 1910; p. 465. + + + +Vogt characterized the pathological lie as active, more +elaborately constructed, more inclusive, and leaving the ground +of reality more readily than ordinary lies. Such lies he does +not always find egocentric. To the pathological liar his own +creation is reality, so he walks securely, is open and amiable. +All these cases are gifted with lively imaginations and inclined +to autosuggestion. Vogt calls the pathological lie a wish +psychosis. This statement opens the way to an interesting and +valuable interpretation of the psychological significance of this +phenomenon of the mental life. He finds many more girls than +boys among his cases; boys lie from need of defense and +protection, girls more from autosuggestion. This type of lie is +of greater interest to social than to clinical psychology. He +emphasizes the point that very refined and complicated lies +appear in healthy young people in the stress of difficult +situations. Obstinate and stubborn lying of itself is no disease +among children; examination must reveal that the lie has a morbid +cause. + +The resemblance of pathological lying to poetic creation was +first suggested by Delbruck[12] in a reference to Keller's ``Der +grune Heinrich,'' a German novel in which the lies of a boy of +seven years, lies of a creative type of the nature of retroactive +hallucinations, are described. Hinrichsen[13] discusses at +length the resemblance of pseudologia phantastica to poetic +creation in Goethe, Grillparzer, Hoffman, and others. + + +[12] loc. cit. + +[13] ``Zur Kasuistik und Psychologie der Pseudologia +phantastica.'' Arch. fur Kriminal Anthrop. umd Kriminalistik, +1906. + + + +In an inaugural dissertation Anna Stemmermann[14] presents +exhaustively a series of cases. These cases were studied over a +long period catamnestically. Commenting upon one case she says: +It is worthy of note in this history that the patient in a +hypnoidal condition, with headache and flushed face, crochets in +a senseless way and thinks she is weaving a wreath for her +mother's grave, her mother being still alive. We often meet with +actions like this. Characteristic is the report of spontaneous, +fearful headache, without the patient's putting this in relation +to her peculiar behavior. We lay more stress upon this condition +than has been done previously in the literature. We believe that +this symptom is wanting in no classic case of pseudologia +phantastica. Often in this condition of narrowed consciousness, +the daydreams are spun and have such a power of convincing that +they later make the basis for pathological lies and swindling. +In this hypnoidal state a strongly heightened suggestibility +exists and trivial external causes give daydreams their +direction. The general trend of fancy reveals naturally the +inclinations and ideals of the affected individual. Stemmermann +also maintained that the pathological lie is a wish psychosis. +Even outside of the hypnoidal state, these cases are more +suggestible than the general run of people. + + +[14] ``Beitrage und Kasuistik der Pseudologia phantastica.'' Geo. +Reimer, Berlin, 1906, pp. 102. + + + +Of Stemmermann's own cases, ten in number, only four at most were +normally endowed, the remainder were either stupid or slightly +imbecile. This agrees with the experience of previous writers. +Study of her cases showed that there was report of previous +mendacity, four had been liars from childhood. She found in them +the combination of the general habit of lying underneath the more +accentuated form of pseudologia phantastica. One case had +perverted sex feeling, one was a prostitute at sixteen years. + +In her dissertation some points for the differentiation of the +pathological lie have been added to those offered by Delbruck, +Risch, Koppen, and Vogt. The pathological liar lies, not +according to a plan, but the impulse seizes him suddenly. This +propensity grows stronger. Under strict supervision it comes to +only an abortive attack, similar to what happens in cases of +dipsomania, or of tendency to rove in which the repressed +outbreak expresses itself in tormenting psychical and physical +unrest. While the normal liar and swindler is forced to be on +his guard lest he divulge something of the actual state of +affairs, and is therefore either taciturn or presents an evil and +watchful appearance, or, if a novice at his trade, is hesitating +in his replies, the pathological liar has a cheerful, open, free, +enthusiastic, charming appearance, because he believes in his +stories and wishes their reality. The inconsequential way in +which such persons go to work is to be explained by the fact that +consciousness of the real situation is partly clouded in their +minds. In any special act it is impossible to say whether the +consciousness of the lie, fancy, or delusion preponderates. +Inability to remember delinquencies Stemmermann regards also as +added proof of pathological lying. + +She speaks of another class of prattlers, chattering people that +might be confounded with pathological liars from the stories they +tell in full detail. But they have no system which they develop, +often change their subject and do not paint in a lifelike way +because they do not believe their own stories or live in them in +a self-centered manner. + +Of the 17 cases Stemmermann studied from the literature +(Delbruck, Hinrichsen, Jorger, Redlich, Koelle, Henneberg , +Wellenbergh) 10 were periodic. Of her own 10 cases, 6 were +periodic. Sex abnormalities were present in 5 out of the 17 in +the literature. Among possible causes of pathological lying she +places any factor which narrows consciousness and increases +suggestion and weakness, such as pregnancy, overexertion, chronic +alcoholism, monotonous living, long, close work, head injuries. + +Concerning prognosis she finds little detailed in the literature. +The general opinion is that such cases arising from a background +of degeneracy are incurable. One of her cases was free from +attacks for two periods of three years each, and had been +blameless in an honorable position as editor for seven years at +the time of the publication of her monograph. She suggests that +the profession he has chosen may be particularly suited to the +talents of the pathological liar. She also ventures to state +that where pathological lying is merely an accompaniment of +puberty it may disappear. + +The fact that so many of the cases cited by Stemmermann were +clearly abnormal and found places in insane asylums makes much +citation of them by us, in turn, hardly worth while. However, a +short summary of a couple of her more normal cases will show the +problems and conditions as she found them. I. Annie J., 19 years +old, father a tailor, had been employed in several places as a +servant. Aside from the fact that it was stated she always had +an inclination to lie, nothing more was known about her early +life. She complained of headaches and fainting attacks, and +mourned over the death of her fiance. She said he had gone to +Berlin to learn tailoring and had died there of inflammation of +the lungs. He left her 650 marks which her mother got hold of. +On investigation it was found that this man was still alive and +never had been engaged to her. She then accused her mother of +taking 50 marks from her and said that a man, purporting to be +her real father, came from another town and told her she had been +brought up by foster parents. Through the quarreling which arose +from these various stories Annie was taken before the police +physician and pronounced mentally unsound. Then she told of +another engagement with the brother of her departed fiance, who +had discovered her real mother. The latter was going to leave +her 30,000 marks. He had formed a plot with the foster mother to +put Annie out of the way and to divide the money. He followed +her on the street and threw a drugged cloth over her head. She +fainted and was carried home. She said she brought action for +attempt to murder. (Whether this fiance and the rich mother were +real persons is not known.) Later in the same year, Annie being +again at large, a new father, der Graf von Woldau, appeared and +bought her beautiful clothes costing 100 marks. He wanted to +take her away, but quickly disappeared and was not seen again. +When Annie told this story she was employed by a woman who +attempted to get traces of the count, but failed. Later this +employer missed a sum of money equivalent to that spent for the +clothes. Annie's responsibility by this time was still more +questioned and she was sent to an insane asylum. There she was +found normally oriented, orderly, industrious, but suffered from +periodical headaches. When questioned in the asylum concerning +her tales she hesitated and would say, ``Now I believe them and +now I don't.'' It is remarkable in this case that her different +employers believed all her fabrications and took the girl's part +against the supposed offenders. For a year she engaged in a sort +of orgy of pathological lying and then this phase of her career +stopped. After a few months in the asylum she returned home and +later married. The last report from her mother was that she was +nervous and easily excited, but showed no further signs of +insanity. + +II. This was a boy, Johann P., who was studied mentally first +when he was 16 years old. A thoroughly good history was +forthcoming. He was brought for examination on account of his +extreme changeableness, his failure in several occupations, his +tendencies to swindling and his extreme lying. As a young child +his mother had to correct him much for prevarications. Soon +after he was 9, when both his parents were already dead, he +forged a school certificate and was felt to be a bad influence in +the home of his guardian. About that time he also stole money +from pockets on a number of occasions. In school he was regarded +as an undesirable pupil on account of his underhanded behavior, +and one teacher who had observed him for long wrote that he +showed marked inclination towards lying. At the time he was 15, +he was somewhat retarded in school life, but was told he had to +decide upon an occupation. After a stormy period he announced he +would become a gardener. After doing well for a month or so at +his first place he began to tell compromising stories about the +wife of his employer. He gave himself out to be the son of a +general who was going to inherit a large sum of money. On the +strength of this he managed to get hold of expensive articles he +desired. A short time afterward he wrote to his guardian he was +fitted for higher pursuits than that of gardening. Soon +afterward he ran away to a large town. He now wrote that the +word freedom sounded like the sweetest music in his ears. He +acknowledged that he had started on a career of criminality, but +decided to do better. At this time he attempted to make his way +by offering his compositions at a newspaper office where they +were declined either because his productions were immature or his +authorship was doubted. One editor loaned him some money, but he +got much more by representing himself to be a collaborator of +this editor. He soon failed to make his way and attempted other +things, including entrance into the merchant marine. He finally +turned up again at his guardian's house, and when his box was +opened it was found to contain a very curious lot of material +such as money accounts, business cards, letter heads, catalogues. +It was at this time that he was placed for observation in an +asylum and it was soon found that his alleged compositions were +plagiarized. He claimed to suffer from headaches. Outside of +that he was in fine physical condition. He frequently wrote +sketches in proof of his ability. A general statement was +finally made that he showed slight traces of hysteria, was a +sufferer from headaches, and showed periodic tendencies to +wandering and lying. No special defect in the ethical +discriminations was present. He had good insight into his own +tendencies. He was finally released to his guardian, and +Stemmermann offered the prognosis that Johann might well develop +into a typical pathological swindler. He came of a family of +five brothers and sisters, one of whom was incarcerated for a +year on account of stealing. One sister was noted for her +tendency to prevarication. Several of them were remarkably +unstable, at least early in life. All of them are said to have +learned very unwillingly in school. One brother of the father +was exceedingly nervous. + +Jorger[15] presents a case of a boy of poor parents who was from +childhood possessed of the idea of becoming a teacher. He was +always a solitary child, endowed with great religious fervor. In +spite of poverty he obtained an education, studied the classics, +and did excellent work. He developed early religious +eccentricities, became unsound on money matters, boasted of his +father's millions, spent freely as a benefactor, bought expensive +books. Then developed an outspoken tendency to swindling. +Finally he was adjudged insane and committed to an asylum. +Commenting on this case, Jorger points out the marks of +abnormality from childhood, such as solitariness and religious +intensity. He was above normal in intellectual ability, but +lacking in moral development. He did not love parents, brothers, +sisters, or teachers; he was very egotistical. Jorger defines +this as a case of constitutional psychosis. When older, +pseudologia phantastica controlled him; it was like hypnotic +influence, his dreams of wealth were like paranoia. His hypnotic +condition grew to such an extent that there was an interruption +of consciousness with following amnesia. + + +[15]``Beitrage zur Kenntnisse der Pseudologin phantastica.'' +Viertel-jahrschrift fur gerichtliche Medicin und offentliches +Sanitatswesen, 1904 Bd. XXVII; pp. 189-242. + + + +Henneberg[16] cites another case of a highly educated young man +who told wonderful stories in childhood and later obtained money +under false pretenses with elaborate deception. From an +eccentric grandmother, and a mother who was very excitable and +suffered from hysteria, he inherited a nervous system which was +not calculated to bear the strain which his own overzealous +efforts in pursuing his studies and his spiritual exaltation put +upon it, hence the mental and moral breakdown. This is a very +interesting case because it does not fit into the usual group of +pathological liars. + + +[16] ``Zur kasuistischen und klin. Beurteilung der Pseudologia +phantastica.'' Charite-Annalen, XXV, XXVI. + + + +Wendt[17] enlarges the field in which we may look for such cases. +He finds pseudologia phantastica a symptom, not only of hysteria, +alcoholism, paranoia, but also of sex repression, and +neurasthenia. He takes a more philosophical view of the subject +than previous authors. He understands by pseudologia phantastica +not merely the bare habit of telling fantastic lies, and what +they bring forth, but rather the yielding up of consciousness of +reality in the presence of the morbidly fantastic wish in its +widest consequences. Since the wish in order to exist is not +permitted to lose entirely the conscious presentation of what it +hopes for, so memory and recognition of reality emerge +disconnected in consciousness, and a condition described as +double consciousness arises. In this state of mind two forms of +life run side by side, the actual and the desired, finally the +latter becomes preponderant and decisive. Such a psychic make-up +must lead unconditionally and necessarily to swindling and law +breaking. A degenerative alteration furnishes the basis from +which a wish or wish-complex arises, increasing in force until it +becomes autosuggestion, hence it is pathological. Then follow +the practical consequences, and we have developed, on the one +side, pathological lying, and, on the other, swindling, i.e., +criminality. Purely symptomatically pseudologia phantastica is +characterized by the groundlessness of the fabrications, the +heightened suggestibility of the patient, and in its wake arises +double consciousness and inadequate powers of reproduction of +reality. + + +[17] ``Ein Beitrag zur Kasuistik der Pseudologia phantastica.'' +Allgemeine Zeitschrift fur Psychiatrie, LXVIII, Heft 4; pp. +482-500. + + + +Wendt gives at length the history of a precocious boy, the son of +an official of medical rank, who had lived always with older +people. He lied from early childhood. He was a chronic sufferer +from severe headaches. Between the ages of 15 and 17 this boy +showed evidences of literary talent, but was poor in mathematics. +From a tender age he had an overmastering desire to become great; +he said he wished to become a jurist because only jurists get the +high offices. He entered a South German university, rented a +fine apartment, stated he was accustomed to a Schloss, his father +was a high state official. He later called himself Graf +Friedrich Gersdorf auf Blankenhain. The young man's deceits grew +rapidly, he obtained much money falsely, traveled first class +with a body servant. He passed to other universities, was always +quiet and industrious. After many adventures he fell into the +hands of the law and was adjudged insane. Most interesting was +the fact that he discussed intelligently his career. ``My +capacity for considering my thoughts as something really carried +out in life is unfortunately too great to permit my having full +conception of the boundary between appearance and reality.'' + +The family history of the above case included swindling, +hysteria, and epilepsy. His fabricating tendency first reached +its height at 14 years, thus showing the influence of puberty. +Wendt regarded the etiological factors as family degeneracy, a +wish-complex which in activity amounted to autosuggestion, double +consciousness, and a periodical preponderance of the wished for +personality. + +Bresler[18] in proposing two reforms in the German +``Strafgesetzbuch'' undertook a discussion of pathological +accusations, as material using cases reported by several authors. +He attempted a classification as follows: 1. Deliberately false +accusations based upon the pathological disposition or impulse to +lie; the content of the accusation being fabricated. 2. False +accusation upon a basis of pathologically disturbed perceptions +or reasoning. Content of the accusation is here illusion, +hallucination, or delusion. 3. Accusations correct in content, +but pathologically motivated. + + +[18] ``Die pathologische Anschuldigung.'' +Juristisch-psychiatrische Grenzfragen, Band V, Heft 8, pp. 42. + + + +The first group nearly always is the action of hystericals, and +many are centered on sex affairs. Bresler's cited cases of this +class seem merely to impress the idea of revenge, or of +protection from deserved punishment. A very complicated case was +that of a girl who had been rejected in marriage after the +discovery by her lover that she had attacks of major hysteria. +She entered into a conspiracy with her mother to destroy him. +She first maliciously cut grape vines and accused him and his +brother of doing it. Then she slandered his whole family. A +year later, suddenly appearing wounded, she accused his uncle of +trying to kill her and obtained a verdict against him. Then she +attempted the same with another uncle who, however, maintained an +alibi. After this her role changed, for her mother summoned +people to see her daughter lying with a wreath around her head, +brought by an angel, with a scroll on which was inscribed +``Corona Martyri.'' The church now took her part and she toured +the country as a sort of saint. Later she returned to her former +tactics, she set fire to a house, cut off a cow's udder, and +accused her former lover of these deeds. Now for the first time +it went badly with her. She was finally imprisoned for life on +account of attempts to poison people. + +In Bresler's second group he places the false accusations of +alcoholics, paranoiacs, querulants (whom he calls a sub-class of +paranoiacs) and sufferers from head injuries. Besides these, he +here classes the false accusations of children. + +The third class is so rare that it receives almost no discussion. + +Longard[19] reports an interesting case of a chronic liar and +swindler, a man who on account of the peculiarities of his +swindling was placed under custody for study. Upon detention he +went into convulsions and later seemed entirely distracted. He +was then 24 years old. Investigation of his case showed that his +abnormalities dated from early life and were probably due to the +fact that in childhood he had a bad fall from a height. When he +was 23 he had served six months on account of swindling. At that +time he had been going about in the Rhine country dressed as a +monk, begging things of little worth, such as crucifixes, +candles, medals, etc. His pious behavior and orderliness gave +him a good reception. He sometimes took money or begged it in +order to read masses for poor souls. In one village he said he +had come to reconnoiter for a site to build a hospital. Some +cloister brothers in one place took him for a swindler and +decided he was overwrought religiously, and that he really +thought he was what he wished to become. He was studied at +length in prison where he had one attack of maniacal behavior and +tried to hang himself. The physician there thought him a +simulator. He was excused from his military service because of +stomach trouble. At that time mental abnormalities were not +noticed. After this he again acted the part of a monk, wandering +through France and Germany, living in monasteries, and being +helped along by different organizations, Protestant as well as +Catholic. He was arrested in Cologne when discovered to be a +fraud. He lay four days in jail apparently unconscious and then +appeared stupefied and staggered about. When questioned he +responded, ``I am born again.'' He spoke mostly in Biblical +terms and was fluent with pious speeches. He was found quite +sound physically. He ate a great deal and was known to take +bread away from other prisoners at night. He was sentenced for +15 months for swindling. He himself related that in youth he had +seen many monks and had become possessed of the idea of being +one. He was a sex pervert. + + +[19] ``Ein forensisch interessanter Fall. Pseudologia +phantastica.'' Allg. Zeitschrift f. Psych. LV, p. 88. + + + +The author considered this not a pure case of simulation; the +patient was an abnormal being, none of his keepers thought him +normal. His entire appearance, his excited way of speaking, his +gestures and play of features were all striking to a high degree. +His method of going about begging was unreasonable; he gained so +little by it. His tendency to untruthfulness stood out +everywhere. He imitated the pious as he chattered without aim. +The man had lived himself into the role of a cloister brother so +completely that he was not clearly conscious of the deceit. The +author thinks the case presents some paranoiac features with a +pathological tendency towards lying. Thus this pathological liar +presents the phenomenon of a mixture of lies and delusions. + +From the Zurich clinic of Forel several cases of pathological +swindling have been reported at length.[20] It must be confessed +that the success of much of the misrepresentation cited in these +case histories seems to be as largely due to the naivete of the +country folk as to the efforts of the swindlers themselves. Two +of the cases were clearly insane and were detained for long +periods in asylums after their study in the clinic. But even so, +it is to be noted that one of these when absenting himself from +institutional care succeeded in going on with his swindling +operations. The third case was regarded as that of an +aberrational individual with special tendency towards lying and +swindling, but the opinion rendered did not end in the man being +held as insane. He was simply regarded as a delinquent, and +after serving his sentence he went his old way. These cases are +interesting to one who would learn the extent to which swindling +among a simple minded population can be carried on. + + +[20] ``Gerichtlich-psychiatrische Gutachten aus d. Klinik von +Prof. Forel in Zurich; f. Aerzte u. Juristen, herausgegeb. von +Dr. Th. Koelle.'' Stuttgart, Encke, 1902. + + + +From French sources we have not been able to collect such a +wealth of material as we found in German literature. One study +by Belletrud and Mercier[21] compares favorably in elaborate +working out of details with the work of German authors. A +Corsican boy, from childhood moody, fond of adventure, inclined +to deception, had attempted suicide several times before he was +twenty years old. He was married at that time and went to +France, where he was employed in several towns. His life +following this included an immense amount of lying and swindling. +He had a mania for buying costly antique furniture and jewelry +which he obtained on credit. He frequently disappeared from +localities where he was wanted on criminal charges, and changed +his name. He wandered through Italy, Tunis, and South America. +Returning to France he was taken into custody and mental troubles +were noted. He showed delirium of persecution and was removed to +a hospital for the insane. Experts studied him for a year before +they could decide whether he was insane or merely simulating +insanity. Finally they thought he was not simulating. A few +months later he escaped, went to Belgium, Italy, Corsica. +Turning up at a town in France under an assumed name, he was +arrested again and elaborately examined. At this time he had +frequent attacks of unconsciousness and frothing at the mouth. +At times he was melancholy. Summarizing the case, the authors +say that the psychic peculiarities of the patient were +congenital, and included habitual instability of character with +defective development of the ethical sentiments, and tendency to +deceit and swindling. Epilepsy here is, of course, the central +cause of mental and moral deterioration. + + +[21] ``Un cas de mythomanie; escroquerie et simulation chez un +epileptique.'' L'Encephale, June 1910, p. 677. + + + +From a pedagogical point of view Rouma[22] tells of the marvelous +stories of a five-year-old boy in the Froebel school at +Charleroi. His stories were generally suggested by something +told by the teacher or other pupils. He referred their anecdotes +to himself or other members of his family and greatly enlarged +upon them. He also made elaborate childish drawings and gave +long accounts of what they meant. Going into the question of +heredity Rouma found this boy's mother very nervous; the father +was a good man. She had worked steadily at the machine before +his birth. Two of their children died with convulsions; of the +two living, one was well behaved, but weakly. Rouma's case had +stigmata of degeneracy in ears, palate, and jaw. Tested by the +Binet system, he did three out of five of the tests for five +years satisfactorily. He was easily fatigued, refused at times +to respond, said he had been forbidden to reply, said he would be +whipped if he did. In school he was always poor at manual work, +wanted to be moving about, to go out of classes on errands, was +always calling notice to himself in a good or bad way. He paid +very little attention to his lessons, played alone or with +younger children, leading them often into mischief. It was found +that he got much of his material for stories from his older +brother who told him of robbers and accidents. From his good +father he got the form of his tales, because the father was wont +to tell him stories with a moral. + + +[22] ``Un cas de mythomanie.'' Arch. de Psych. 1908, pp. +259-282. + + + +In summary, Rouma stated that this child possessed senses acute +beyond the average, and was of very unstable temperament, +refusing regular work, not submitting to rules, rebelling at +abstractions. There were evidences of degeneracy on the mother's +side. + +Remedies in education for such children are: Suppress food for +imagination, such as came from the stories of father and brother. +Direct perceptions to accurate work. Systematize education of +attention, exercise the senses, use manual work, such as modeling +and gardening. Give lessons in observation in the class room and +on promenades. + +Meunier[23] tells of three girls in a well known Parisian school +who indulged in wonderful tales. The first, in the intermediate +grade, told stories of the illness of her father to account for +her not having her lessons. The second, 11 years old, said that +her mother was dying; she came bringing this news to the teachers +at two different periods of her school life. She was a calm, +thoughtful, analytical child with no reason for lying. Family +history negative. The third, 13 years old, told of an imaginary +uncle who was going to collect funds for needy children; she kept +up the deceit for two months. She was an anemic, nervous, +hysterical child with a nervous mother. Meunier calls these +cases of systematized deliriums. The development of such +delirium annihilates, so to speak, the entire personality of the +subject, and his entire mental life is invaded by abnormal extra +and introspection--the delirium commands and systematizes all +acquired impressions. There is a veritable splitting of the +personality in which the new ``ego'' is developed at the expense +of the normal ``ego'' that now only appears at intervals. + + +[23] ``Remarks on Three Cases of Morbid Lying.'' Journal of +Mental Pathology, 1904, pp. 140-142. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +CASES OF PATHOLOGICAL LYING AND SWINDLING + +In the group of twelve cases making up this chapter we have +limited ourselves to a simple type in order to demonstrate most +clearly the classical characteristics of pathological liars. How +pathological lying verges into swindling may be readily seen in +several of the following cases, e.g., Cases 3, 8, 10, 12, +although only two, Cases 3 and 12, have had time as yet to show +marked development of the swindling tendency. For the purpose of +aiding in the demonstration of the evolution of lying into +swindling, and also to bring out the fact that facility in +language may be the determining influence towards pathological +lying and swindling, we have included Case 12, which otherwise +possibly might be considered under our head of border-line mental +types. + +In any attempt to distinguish between pathological accusers and +liars, cases overlapping into both groups are found--so some of +the material in this chapter may be fairly considered as +belonging partially to the next chapter. + +In discussing the possibility of betterment, a fact which we as +well as others have observed, consideration of Cases 1, 4, and 7 +is suggested. + + +CASE 1 + +Summary: A girl of 16 applied for help, telling an elaborate +tale of family tragedy which proved to be totally untrue. It was +so well done that it deceived the most experienced. Shrewd +detective work cleared the mystery. It was found that the girl +was a chronic falsifier and had immediately preceding this +episode become delinquent in other ways. Given firm treatment in +an institution and later by her family, who knew well her +peculiarities, this girl in the course of four years apparently +has lost her previous extreme tendency to falsification. + + +Hazel M. at 16 years of age created a mild sensation by a story +of woe which brought immediate offers of aid for the alleged +distress. One morning she appeared at a social center and stated +she had come from a hospital where her brother, a young army man, +had just died. She gave a remarkably correct, detailed, medical +account of his suffering and death. In response to inquiry she +told of a year's training as a nurse; that was how she knew about +such subjects. In company with a social worker she went directly +back to the hospital to make arrangements for what she requested, +namely, a proper burial. At the hospital office it was said that +no such person had died there, and after she had for a time +insisted on it she finally said she must have been dreaming. +Although she had wept on the shoulder of a listener as she first +told her story, she now gave it up without any show of emotion. +We were asked to study the case. + +Hazel sketched to us a well-balanced story of her family life; +one which it was impossible to break down. It involved +experiences at army posts--she stated her only relatives were +brothers in the army--and her recent work as a ``practical +nurse.'' She finally led on to the death of her brother, as in +the tale previously told. When asked how she accounted for the +fact that no such person was found in the hospital, she answered, +``Well, I either must have been crazy or something is the matter, +and I don't think my mind is that bad.'' The girl evidently was +suffering from loss of sleep; her case was not further +investigated until after a long rest. + +The next day Hazel started in by saying, ``It's enough to +convince anybody that I was not in the hospital when Mrs. B. and +I went there and found out that they said I had not been there. +Truthfully I don't know where I was. If I was not there I must +have been some place or I must have been in a trance.'' The long +stories told in the next few days need not be gone into. They +contained descriptions of life with her family in several towns +when she was a child, of her graduation from the high school in +Des Moines, and of her experience as a nurse in Cincinnati and +Chicago. Our cross-examination disclosed that she knew a good +many facts about obstetrics, in which she said she had had +training, and about the cities where she said she had lived. For +instance, she gave a description of the Cliff House at San +Francisco, the seals on the rocks there, the high school in Des +Moines, and so on. She also knew about life at army posts. The +point that made us skeptical was when in mentioning the names of +railroads she placed the wrong towns upon them. For instance, +she told us her brother worked on the L. S. & M. S. at Kenosha. + +Hazel's stories were successfully maintained for several days +until a shrewd detective, who got her to tell some street numbers +in Chicago, ferreted out her family. She had persistently denied +the existence of any of them in Chicago, and, indeed, stated that +her father and mother had died years previously. One of the most +convincing things about her was her poise; she displayed an +attitude of sincerity combined with a show of deep surprise when +her word was questioned. For example, the moment before her +mother was brought in to see her, she was asked what she would +say if anyone asserted that her mother was in the next room. Her +instantaneous, emphatic response was, ``She would have to rise +out of her grave to be there.'' + +We soon learned that not a single detail the girl had given about +her family was true. She was born and brought up in Chicago and +had never been outside of the city. She had never studied +nursing nor had she ever nursed anybody. In public school she +had reached eighth grade. + +Hazel came of an intelligent family and we were able to get a +good account of the family and developmental history. Heredity +seems completely negative as far as any nervous or mental +abnormalities are concerned. She is one of seven children, four +of whom are living, three having died in infancy. The father had +just recently died of tuberculosis. There has been no trouble +with the other children of any significance for us. Pregnancy +with Hazel was healthy, but the mother suffered a considerable +shock when she stood on a passenger boat by the side of a man who +jumped overboard and committed suicide. The birth was difficult. +The child weighed 12 lbs. Instruments were used; it was a breech +presentation. At 2 years of age Hazel was very ill with +gastritis and what was said to be spinal meningitis. She had +some convulsions then. Had both walked and talked when she was +about 16 months of age. During childhood she had a severe +strabismus and at 8 years of age was operated upon for it. +Vision has always been practically nil in one eye. Several +diseases of childhood she had in mild form. After she was 2 +years of age she had no more convulsions, or spasms, or attacks +of any kind. From the standpoint of general nervousness Hazel +was said to be one of the calmest in the family, although she was +accustomed to drink five or six cups of coffee a day. +Menstruation at 13 years, no irregularity. + +On examination we found a very well nourished and well developed +young woman of slouchy attitude and normal expression. Vision +very defective in one eye and 10/20, even with glasses, in the +other. Slight strabismus. General strength good. Examination +otherwise negative except for the fact that she had been infected +with the diplococcus of Neisser. + +Mental tests proved her to have quite normal ability. Neither +special ability nor disabilities of significance were discovered. +For present discussion it is of interest to note that in the +``Aussage'' Test she gave a functional account, enumerating 16 +items, 2 of which were incorrect, and accepted none of the +suggestions which were offered. + +The mother and sister brought out the facts that Hazel had been +giving an assumed name recently and lying about her age. She had +alleged that she was married. In the last year she had run away +from home on several occasions. At one time had written to her +mother about her happy married life. One letter reads, ``Dearest +Mother:--I can picture your dear face when you receive my letter. +I know you have your doubts about the matter, the same as I had +the first few days. But mama, you know I love him and I have the +satisfaction of being a married woman before Annie is.'' In the +letter she describes the appearance of her imaginary husband, +tells about her new dress and gloves and ``the prettiest little +wedding ring that was ever made.'' In another letter she says, +``It is just one o'clock A.M. and Jack has just gone to sleep and +so I stole a little time to write,'' etc. (It was later shown by +the stationery used, and by the girl's final confession, that +these letters were written in the rest room of a department +store.) + +Hazel's lying began, it seems, when she was a little girl. She +would come home from school and out of whole cloth relate +incidents which occurred on the way home. One of her earliest +efforts was about being chased by a white horse. The mother +states that for years she has had to check Hazel because she +recognized her remarkable tendencies in this direction. The +father's death was somewhat of a shock and it seems that after +this the girl's other delinquencies began. Prior to the time she +first went away from home she had some sort of hysterical spells +when she said she could see her father lying in his coffin before +her in the room. Her behavior became quite outrageous with some +young man in her own household at just about this time. Not that +she was immoral, although she once suddenly blurted out in the +parlor a grave self-accusation: ``Now, John, mother thinks you +must be careful. You know I am a prostitute.'' When we first +saw her she had been away from home four times, on this last +occasion for three weeks. Before she went she had said she +wanted to kill herself. Mother had notified the police but no +trace of her was found. + +From Hazel's own story told at this time and even after she +became more stable it seems very likely that her bad tendencies +began with her acquaintance with a certain rather notorious +woman. Her mother came to believe that this was undoubtedly the +fact. Our inquiry into beginnings brought to light the fact that +Hazel while a school girl for long associated with this woman who +taught her about sex immoralities. ``I don't believe my mother +knows what this Mrs. R. did to me or she would have her arrested. +She started me on all this. When I was about 11 years old I +first knew of those things. The first I ever heard was from that +woman's daughter. I never said anything to my mother. I was +always ashamed of myself to say anything about it. After I got +to working with factory girls I heard a lot about it.'' The +mother told us later that she thought it probable from what she +now knew that this Mrs. R. may have been largely responsible for +Hazel's tendency to delinquency. Hazel kept this association of +several years' standing quite to herself. The mother remembers +now how Hazel once stayed for hours after school and told a story +in explanation that they felt sure was untrue. The teachers used +to tell the mother that Hazel seemed as if she couldn't pay +attention to her school work. One teacher reported to us that +she remembers Hazel as a girl who seemed peculiar and hysterical. +The other girls called her queer and used to steer clear of her. + +The mother reports Hazel as being for several years impulsive, +erratic, talkative, untidy, and rather dishonest in other small +ways besides lying--all this in spite of vigorous home +discipline. The girl at one time under the influence of revival +meetings left the religious faith of her parents. However, they +thought if any form of religion would make her better it would be +all right. + +At our last interview with Hazel before she was sent away, an +interview which she prefaced by saying, ``I want to apologize for +everything I did,'' the girl showed herself unable to avoid +prevarications. Coming back, for instance, to the subject of her +schooling she tells us how she won a graduating medal. This her +mother said was untrue. + +About her own lying tendencies she confessed that sometimes she +hardly knew whether things were really so or not. Asked about +her knowledge of other cities; ``I read a whole lot and learn +things in that way. I used to have to write compositions and +imagine we were going places. I was pretty good at that.'' One +felt very uncertain about Hazel's mental condition when in almost +the same breath she denied having said anything about the seals +on the rocks at San Francisco, or about obstetrical cases, but, +of course, the denial may have been itself another falsification. +Her knowledge of army affairs was gained through her acquaintance +with young soldiers. An unusual amount of what she heard or read +was photographed with the greatest clearness in her mind and was +recalled most vividly. + +A peculiarity of Hazel's case which was quite obvious was her +lack of apperception concerning her own interests. Her lies all +along, after her identity was discovered, were so easy to trace, +and they so quickly rebounded upon her, that there seemed every +reason for her to desist. Nothing so clearly proved the absence +of self-realization as her feeling under detention that other +girls with whom she was in forced association were much beneath +her in quality, although many of them were not nearly so untidy +and had not been nearly so immoral. During all this period of +several months, beginning with her running away and her writing +the housewifely letters about her imaginary married life, and +ending with her appeal for aid at the social center, Hazel was +indulging in veritable orgies of lying. When away from home she +several times picked up men on the street and stayed at hotels +with them. + +At the time of our first studies of this case we hardly dared to +offer either a mental or moral prognosis. + +In the institution for delinquent young women to which she was +sent Hazel's traits were long maintained. She proved very +troublesome on account of lies to her family, to the officers, +and to the other girls. The latter soon discovered, however, the +peculiar lack of foundation for her stories. In the institution +was also noted the tendency to untidiness of which her mother +spoke. The authorities steadily persevered with Hazel. They +secured another operation on her eye, which successfully +straightened it, and she became fully ``cured'' of her pelvic +disease. She received instruction in a form of handicraft in +which she quickly showed special dexterity and skill. Her +tendencies to falsify gradually became less. About two years +later the mother again assumed control with great success. + +This is the remarkable interest of Hazel's case, to wit, that +with proper discipline and the development of new interests her +fabricating tendencies have been reduced to a minimum. She has +made a wonderful improvement and has long been a self-supporting +and self-respecting young woman with her own relation to the +world realized in a way that before seemed entirely lacking. + +------------------------------------------------------------- +Mental conflict: About early secret Case 1. + experiences. Girl, age 16 yrs. + Mental conditions: Either mild psychosis + or extreme adolescent + instability. + Bad companions: Early. +Delinquencies: Mentality: + Extreme lying. Normal ability. + Running away. Psychosis (?). + Sex. +--------------------------------------------------------------- + + + +CASE 2 + +Summary: A girl of 19, under partial observation for three +years, was during all this time a great mystery. Brought at +first to us by her family as being insane because she was such a +great liar and unreliable in other ways, we never could find the +slightest evidence of aberration. No satisfactory explanation +was forthcoming until the remarkable denouement when we learned +that the mother, whom we had come to know herself as an extreme +falsifier, was not the mother at all. It seems clear that the +girl's behavior was largely the result of mental conflict about +certain suspected facts, and psychic contagion arising from the +world of lies in which she had lived. + + +Beula D. has been known in several cities and in more than one +court as the ``mystery girl.'' She has appeared on the scene in +various places, giving a fictitious name and telling elaborate +stories of herself which always proved to be without foundation. +She ran away from home on several occasions, but except in one +instance which we know about, has never been seriously +delinquent. We saw her on many occasions and tried to get at the +truth of her stories of ill treatment and the like. +Investigators found there was unquestionably some truth in her +statements, but never from first to last in the many interviews +which we had with her was there ever any possibility of +separating truth from falsehood. The girl simply did not seem to +know the difference between the two. What was more, we found +that the mother presented the same characteristics. She also, by +her most curious and complicated fabrications, led even her most +rational sympathizers into a bewildering maze. A woman of +magnificent presence, tremendous will, and good intelligence, she +nevertheless was soon found to be absolutely unreliable in her +statements. This woman's numerous inventions, so far as we have +been able to ascertain, have been quite beside the mark of any +possible advantage to be gained by her or her family. Naturally +we here thought heredity played an important role, until our +final discovery that the two were not related. The details which +we know about this case would cover scores of pages. In summary +it stands as follows: + +On the physical side Beula at 17 was a striking looking young +woman, but of very poor development. She was only 4 ft. 7 in. in +height and weighed 102 lbs. Expression was quiet, pleasant, and +responsive. Unusually clear and pleasant voice. Typical +Hutchinsonian teeth. All other examination negative. +Menstruation first at 13 1/2, normal and regular. + +Notwithstanding the mother's report of her being subnormal +mentally, we found that she had fair ability. Her range of +information was good. She was always desirous of writing +compositions, she wanted to be a story writer, she said, but her +diction was very immature and her spelling was poor, making +altogether a very mild production. Never did we see any +essential incoherency in her mental processes, or any other signs +of aberration. A series of association tests given in an +endeavor to discover some of the facts which her mother +maintained she herself was desirous of knowing (but really could +not have been), failed to elicit anything but the most normal +reactions, even to ideas about which we considered there must be +some feeling-tone. + +On the ``Aussage'' Test only ten items were given from the +picture upon free recital. On questioning twelve more details +were reported correctly, but no less than seven of these alleged +facts were incorrect. Only one out of the five suggestions +offered was accepted. + +No purpose would be served in recounting the details of falsehood +which were told by this girl about family affairs, about the +places she had worked, about the facts of home treatment, etc. +Her lying was not done cleverly, but it served to create much +confusion and gave considerable trouble to a number of social +agencies that came in contact with the family. Even when she was +applying directly for help her lies stood greatly in the way of +achieving anything for her. The confusion was vastly added to by +the many vagaries of her alleged parent, but, even so, one of the +chief accusations of the prevaricating mother was that the girl +herself was a terrible liar. The whole situation was rendered +completely absurd and needless by the behavior of both the woman +and the girl. + +After we had known this case for about three years and the truth +about Beula's antecedents had come to light as the result of a +new person stepping in on the scene, the girl's tendency to +falsification seemed quite inexplicable. No one who came to know +the circumstances, even as we previously had been acquainted with +them, felt they could blame Beula much for her attitude of +dissatisfaction and her tendencies to run away. We felt, too, +that the mystery which had always hovered about this girl was +sufficient to have led her to be fanciful and imaginative and +that the fabrications of the self-styled ``mother'' did not form +an atmosphere in which the girl could well achieve respect for +truth. But Beula's almost confusional state concerning the facts +of her family life seemed quite explicable in the light of what +we at last ascertained. Soon after we first saw the girl the +woman had told us a most remarkable tale of how it was she +happened to be the mother of the child, and the attempt was then +made by several to straighten out the apparent doubt in the +girl's mind. But it seems that the clever and tragic tale of the +mother, although well calculated to do so, did not entirely cover +the points remembered by this girl of her earliest childhood. +Evidently for a time Beula tried to correlate the two, but doubt +grew apace. It seemed almost as if her doubt as to who she was +led her to say first one thing and then another. It was +particularly at a period of stress of this kind that she was +figuring in other cities as the ``mystery girl.'' + +The earlier facts of the case probably never will be known. Of +the many details known by us it is sufficient to say that the +woman adopted Beula as a young child and proceeded by devious +methods to weave a network of lies about the situation of their +relationship. Who Beula's parents really were neither she nor +any one else of whom we have heard, ever knew. + +Beula showed such delinquent tendencies after a time that she had +to be sent to a corrective institution. After coming out she +made off in the world for herself before we could give her the +information soon afterwards obtained by us. At her last visit we +felt that her report in a terribly tragic mood on the family +conditions was totally unreliable. She went forth to weave, no +doubt, new fabrications. +--------------------------------------------------------------- +Early experiences: Peculiar treatment Case 2. + and excessive misrepresentations Girl, age 19 years. + in home circle. + Mental influences: Contagion from long + continued untruthfulness at home. + Mystery of antecedents. + Mental conflict about the above. + Heredity and developmental conditions (?) + Hutchinsonian teeth only clew. +Delinquencies: Mentality: + Lying. Fair ability with + Running away. poor educational + Sex. advantages. +--------------------------------------------------------------- + + + +CASE 3 + +Summary: In its wonderfully clear presentation of +characteristics this case classically represents the type. A +woman of 27 years (usually claiming to be 17), during a career of +7 or 8 years has engaged in an excessive amount of +misrepresentation, often to the extent of swindling. Alleging +herself to be merely a girl and without a family, she has +repeatedly gained protection, sometimes for a year or more, in +homes where her prevaricating tendencies, appearing with ever new +details, have sooner or later thwarted her own interests. By +extraordinary methods she has often simulated illnesses which +have demanded hospital treatment. For long she was lost to her +family, traveling about under different names, making her way by +her remarkable abilities and unusual presence. + + +This case illustrates, again, two points we have often made, +namely, that the difficulty of getting safe data concerning +genetics increases rapidly with age, and that the chance of +altering tendencies after years of character formation vastly +diminishes. These features appear strongly here, yet our long +knowledge of the person and of the many details of her career +gives the history great interest. + +A young woman, whom we will call Inez B., a name she once assumed +for a time, arrived at a girls' boarding home in Chicago with +merely a small traveling bag and money sufficient only for a few +days. In appearance and conversation she gave distinct evidences +of refinement. She showed indecision and confessed she knew no +one in the city. + +Just at this time a wealthy eastern girl, Agnes W., was missing +from her home, and the police everywhere were on the lookout for +her. A detective who was ordered to visit the boarding club +showed a picture of Agnes W. to the matron, who instantly +discerned a likeness to Inez and informed him of her recent +arrival. Inez was questioned, but could or would give no +satisfactory response concerning her own home. She maintained +she was just 17 and had come to Chicago to make her own way in +the world. After some account of herself, the details of which +were somewhat contradictory, it was inferred that she might be +Agnes W. She vehemently denied it, but being the same age and +some likeness being discerned, the questioning was continued. +Various matters of Agnes W.'s antecedents were gone into and +after a time Inez burst out with, ``Well, if you must have it so, +I am Agnes W.'' The girl was thereupon taken in charge by the +police authorities, and she herself registered several times as +Agnes W. After the family of the latter had been communicated +with, however, it was ascertained that Inez was not the lost +heiress. + +She now said that anyhow she really was a runaway girl. She had +left her adopted parents because they were cruel and immoral. It +was her unhappy brooding over her own affairs that led her to lie +about being the other girl. She insisted she was sorry for the +many lies she had told various officers, but felt, after all, +they were to blame because their obvious desire to have her tell +that she was Agnes W. led her on. They deceived her first +because they misrepresented themselves and did not say they were +police officials. Nevertheless, she makes much of how she hates +her false position, being registered under a false name and +figuring as a deceiver. + +The significant points in the long story of Inez, as told to us +in the days of our first acquaintance with her, are worth giving. +(At this period she was with us thoroughly consistent; at all +times she has appeared self-possessed and coherent.) Inez states +she is 17 and has just come from a town in Tennessee where she +has been living for a couple of years with some people by the +name of B. who adopted her. At first they were very good to her +and she loved them dearly. She was quite unsophisticated when +she went to them and did not realize then that they were not good +people. She met them at an employment agency in St. Louis where +she had gone after leaving the Smiths, the people who had brought +her up. At that time the B.'s appeared fairly well-to-do, but +Mr. B. had been running up debts that later carried him into +bankruptcy. Inez was sick and exhausted now from having worked +so hard for them. She finally ran away from that town because +the B.'s wanted to go elsewhere, leaving her in a compromising +position with a young man who rented their house. She first +tried boarding in two places, however, before she ventured to go. + +The Smiths were the people she lived with until she was 14. She +remembers first living with them, but faintly recalls bearing the +name of Mary Johnson before that. Who the Johnsons were she does +not know, but she feels sure of the fact that she was born in New +Orleans. However, Inez does not worry about her parentage even +though it is unknown. Mrs. Smith was an elderly woman of wealth +who was very good to her, and by the time she was 14 she had +studied German and French, algebra and trigonometry. She had a +French tutor and took lessons on the piano. Always did well in +school and loved her work there. The Smith children, who were +much older, were very angry with their mother for all the money +she spent on Inez--they would have preferred its being expended +on their children. The son grew quite abusive and Mrs. S. was +made to suffer so much that the girl came to feel that she was +largely the cause of the old lady's unhappiness. After one +particularly deplorable scene she slipped away from their home in +New Orleans, traveled to St. Louis and went to an employment +agency where she found the B.'s. At the present time, above all +things, she does not want the Smiths to know about her when she +is temporarily a failure. She will never go back to them until +she can help the old lady who was so good to her. + +Inez tells us she is now suffering from a wound still open as the +result of an operation for appendicitis performed two years +previously. She also suffered from tuberculosis a few years ago. +(She was found to be running a slight temperature, and some +slight hemorrhages in the sputum were observed.) + +It may strengthen the portraiture so far sketched to give our +impressions as stated after our first study covering a week or +two; nor will it lessen the reader's interest to remark that it +was not for lack of acquaintance with the pathological liar type +that we failed to correctly size up this individual. Indeed, we +had already studied nearly all the other cases cited in this +monograph. Our statement ran as follows: ``This girl is very +frank and talkative with us. With her strong, but refined +features and cultivated voice she is a good deal of a +personality. She is sanguine and independent. Very likely she +does not exaggerate the hard times she has had in going from one +home to another. One cannot but respect this unusual young woman +for wanting to keep her early history secret. It would be +fortunate if some one would care for the girl and get her +ailments cured. With her very good ability she might easily then +be self-supporting.'' + +A woman of strength and judgment undertook to look after Inez. +The girl's personality commanded interest. In a few days she +complained more vigorously of her abdominal trouble; an operation +seemed imperative and was performed. (An account of this will be +given later.) Later the girl was taken to a convalescent home +and then to a beautiful lake resort. While here she suddenly was +stricken desperately ill. Her friend was telegraphed for, a +special boat was commissioned, and the girl was taken to a +neighboring sanitarium. The doctors readily agreed that the case +was one of simulation or hysteria. She was brought back to +Chicago and warned that this sort of performance would not pay. +After being given further opportunity to rest, although under +less favorable circumstances, in a few weeks she was offered work +in several homes, but in each instance the connection was soon +severed. Then without letting her guardian-friend know, Inez +suddenly left the city. + +Inquiries had brought by this time responses telling something of +the career of Inez in the past two years, but nothing earlier. +She was the ``mystery girl'' in the Tennessee town, as she was in +Chicago. The B.'s kept a boarding-house and took Inez as a +waitress, knowing her first by still another alias. She worked +for them about a year and then went to Memphis, where she was +sick in a hospital. She had now taken the B.'s name. They were +regarded as her guardians (on the girl's authority) and they +finally sent for her again out of pity, although they felt she +had a questionable past, and they knew she had lied tremendously +while with them. Then the B.'s moved away and turned Inez over +to a respectable family. While with the B.'s Inez had been +regarded as a partial invalid; their physician diagnosed the case +as diabetes and found it incurable. In fact, the B.'s went into +debt for her prolonged treatment. Another physician, who was +called in after the B.'s left, said the trouble was Bright's +disease. At any rate, all regarded her as suffering from some +chronic disorder. Except for her extraordinary lying, of which +she made exhibitions to many, and some little tendencies to +dishonesty mixed with her lying, Inez was regarded as being quite +normal. The two other families with whom she lived for a time +found it impossible to tolerate the girl on account of her lying. +Finally, obtaining money by false representation, telling the +story of a rich uncle in Chicago to whom she was going, Inez +departed, taking with her a trunk containing valuables belonging +to the B.'s. + +Dropping our chronological account of this case we may from this +time deal with it as a whole, putting together the facts as they +developed by further study of Inez herself and by the receipt of +information from many sources. + +Since we have known her, Inez has been under the observation of +several skilled medical specialists. She all along has been in +good general physical condition. Having been treated previously +for diabetes, special examinations were repeatedly made, but +never a trace of this trouble was discernible. Her own story of +having had tuberculosis, and the traces of blood in the sputum, +which she presented on handkerchiefs, etc., led to repeated tests +for tuberculosis. These also proved absolutely negative. Before +all this, there was found on the left side of the abdomen a mass +which, from the history the girl gave, was surmised to be a +tubercular abscess. At this time she was running a little +temperature. An operation was performed and an encysted hairpin +was removed from the peritoneal cavity. This had undoubtedly +found entrance through the old appendicitis wound; the hairpin +had evidently been straightened for the purpose. Both wounds now +speedily closed. Gynecological examination showed no disease and +established the fact of virginity. Thorough neurological +examination showed that the girl was not of nervous type and that +there was no evidence whatever of organic disease. There was +complaint of frequent headaches, but no signs of acute suffering +from these were ever witnessed and by this time no reports of +subjective symptoms could be credited. No sensory defects of any +importance. It was always easy to get a little variation upon +visual tests and the like, however. Weight 130; height 5 ft. 1 +in. Color good. Head notably well shaped with broad high +forehead. Strength good. Very normal development in all ways. + +Most important to note as bearing on her social career was the +fact that Inez was possessed of markedly strong, regular, +pleasant features, including a good set of teeth well cared for, +and an unusually firm chin. In attitude and expression she +seemed to give complete proof of great strength of will and +character. Her face suggested both frankness and firmness. When +with quiet force and dignity asserting her desire for education +and a place in the world, Inez presented a most convincing +picture. Perhaps even more significant is the fact that Inez +possesses a speaking voice of power and charm, well modulated and +of general qualities which could belong apparently to no other +than a highly cultivated person. + +During a year there has been no variation in the general +well-being of Inez, although she has been taken to hospitals in +at least two more towns and has figured again as a sufferer from +tuberculosis and appendicitis, and has written several times to +friends that she was about to be operated on. + +The diagnoses of several competent medical men are that the girl +is a simulator or is an hysterical, and their findings show that +she has lied tremendously about her past. (There were never any +positive signs of hysteria, and our own opinion is that the case +is much better called one of extreme simulation and +misrepresentation, as in the diabetes and sputum affairs, etc., +and of self-mutilation, as with the hairpin.) + +We have had ample opportunity to become acquainted with Inez's +mental qualities. She has repeatedly been given tests for mental +ability. As judged by the average of those seen in our court +work we are forced to regard her as having ability clearly above +the normal. Her perceptions are keen and quick. She works +planfully and rapidly with our concrete problems and shows good +powers of mental representation. It is notable that she is very +keen to do her best on tests and takes much delight in a good +record. Her psychomotor control is astonishingly good. In a +certain tapping test, which we consider well done if the +individual has succeeded in tapping in 90 squares in 30 seconds, +she did 117 and 129 at two successive trials with only one error +in each. This is next to the best record we have ever seen. Our +puzzle box, which is seldom opened in less than 2 minutes, she +planfully attacked and conquered in 52 seconds. She also rapidly +put it together again, which is an unusual performance. Reaction +times on the antonym test, giving the opposites to words, were +very low; average 1.4 seconds. Her immediate memory for words +was normal, but nothing extraordinary. She gave correctly, +although not quite in logical order, 18 out of 20 items on a +passage which she read herself. On a passage read four times to +her she gave 11 out of 12 items in correct sequence. The +Kent-Rosanoff association test showed, to our surprise, nothing +peculiar. Notwithstanding her known social characteristics, +there were very few egocentric or subjective reactions. + +Nor did the ``Aussage'' test show great peculiarity. On free +recital she gave 17 items, two of which were incorrect. They +were misinterpretations rather than inventions, however. On +questioning she added 15 items. She was incorrect on 5 more +details, but all of these were denials of objects actually to be +seen in the picture. Not one was a fictitious addition. She +rejected all the 6 suggestions proffered. + +Our psychological observations were important beyond the giving +of formal tests. We found her to be a fluent and remarkably +logical and coherent conversationalist. Her choice of words was +unusually good. Questioned about this she said she had always +made it a point to cultivate a vocabulary and was particularly +fond of the use of correct English. (This was all the more +interesting because we later knew that she had been living +recently with somewhat illiterate people and that her original +home offered her very little in the way of educational +advantages.) Inez told us that she had earlier carried her +desire for self-expression in language to the point of writing +stories and plays, but we were never able to get her to do +anything of the kind for us. One of her constant pleas was that +she might get the chance to become a well-trained teacher of +English. Her letters never showed the same skill with English +that her conversation denoted, but her meagre education probably +accounted for this. + +Characteristic of Inez, also, is her intense egoism and her +abundant self-assertion under all circumstances. It often seemed +to us as if for her the world revolved, with passing show, around +a pivot from which she regarded it as existing only for what it +meant for her career. These qualities have led to her +statements, and perhaps to the actual feelings, that she was the +aggrieved one, and had been badly treated on many occasions. +This seemed to reach almost paranoidal heights at times, and yet, +before passing judgment on this, one should be in position to +know, what probably will never be known, namely, the actual facts +of her earliest treatment. Occasionally Inez showed most +unreasonable bad temper and obstinacy. This only came out when +she was asked to do things which she considered occupationally +beneath her. In general she felt herself much above the ordinary +run of people. When she could be patronizing, as with children, +she acted quite the grand lady. Indeed, in asserting herself on +numerous occasions she has assumed just this attitude, which is +all the more strange because our further information shows that +it was not justified by any social station which her family ever +held. + +Going further with psychological considerations it is to be +asserted that Inez showed marked lack of normal apperceptive +ability in not appreciating the necessarily unfavorable results +of her own lying. For that matter, she also fails to learn by +experience, for very frequently she has suffered from her own +prevarications. It might, however, be argued that to Inez the +thought of a possible hum-drum future in which there was no +adventure, no roving, and no playing the part of a successful +personality, was a worse choice than that of lying, which might +and, indeed, often did serve the purpose of making friends with +people, who otherwise would not have entertained her. So one +could hardly judge her deficient even in this particular. (Of +the character of her lying and the special observations on that +point more later.) + +We found Inez, then, neither mentally defective nor insane. To +even say that she was without moral sense would be beyond the +mark, for in many ways she showed great appreciation of the best +types of behavior. Her peculiarities verging on the abnormal +are, however, undoubted; they render her a socially pernicious +person. They are to be summed up in terms of what we have +discussed above, namely, her excessive egoism, her faulty +judgment or apperceptions, her astounding tendency to +falsification. + +Inez was next heard from in Iowa where she wrote that two doctors +had pronounced upon her case and said an operation was again +imperative. She asked her recently made friend for permission to +have this done, and also for $150 to cover expenses. Neither, of +course, was forthcoming, on the grounds of there being no +guardianship. (Her age was then unknown.) Inez wrote, ``I just +thought I was compelled by law to let you know of my whereabouts, +for I understood I could do nothing without your consent.'' In +the same letter, replete with other lies, Inez asks, ``Please +forgive me now for all my willfulness and wrongdoing. I will do +my best never to do it again, and Oh! I do so want to be good so +that you may feel proud of me some day in the near future.'' + +A month or so later this friend was called up by the director of +a religious home for girls in Chicago, who stated that Inez had +just come to them and had been taken seriously ill. Advice was +given to discount her symptoms, but she was sent once more to a +hospital. Here she produced more blood as if from a pulmonary +hemorrhage and more symptoms were recounted, but the doctors +decided after careful examination that she was falsifying. Her +illness ceased the minute she was told to leave the hospital. +Matters were serious, for Inez was now without home, money, or +relatives. She was once more taken under protection and greater +effort was made to trace her family. They were discovered +through letters containing remittances sent by Inez herself from +Iowa, after years of silence. Much of her career was soon +brought to light. By this time, we may note, several observers +had insisted that from a commonsense standpoint the girl +certainly was insane. + +While affairs were being looked up, Inez conferred with us from +time to time. She started by telling a thoroughly good story, +the general import of which was the same as she told months +previously, but there were differences in many details. In the +first place she still insisted she was 17 years old and gave us +an exact date as her birthday-- this was in response to the mild +suggestion that she might be considerably older. Since her +letters, although showing very good choice of words, were +incorrectly punctuated, we inquired further about her education. +She said she had received 18 credits in a noted girls' seminary +in the south, but later reversed this and stated she had very +little education. She told us her experiences of the last few +months when she had been introducing literary works in the towns +of Iowa. She had done well for a beginner at this, we found from +other sources, but had made misrepresentations and had talked too +freely, against her employers' wishes and advice. Finally she +had sent in forged orders. This was quite unnecessary, for her +salary was assured and sufficient, and her employers had regarded +her as an extremely promising representative. In Iowa she was +receiving mail under two different names; she still found it +convenient to represent herself sometimes as Agnes W. In her +peregrinations she had again made close friends with some +substantial people, who found out, however, in short order that +she was untruthful, and her chances with them were at once +spoiled. + +In the next weeks, when under observation, Inez varied her story +from time to time even with the same persons. She was now 17 and +now 19 years old. She had an operation first in one town and +then it was in another. Her antecedents in many particulars +varied from time to time. Inez seemed to have lost her desire or +ability to be consistent, and in particular appeared to have no +conception of the effect upon the adjustment of her own case +which her continual lying was likely to have. (At this time +again some non-professional observers insisted strenuously that +Inez was insane. They based their opinion upon the fact that she +showed so little apperceptive ability, so little judgment in +relating the results of her continual lying to its necessary +effect upon her career.) It requires too much space to go over +the complicated details of her many stories, but some of her +expressions and behavior are worth noting. + +We always found Inez most friendly, sometimes voluble, and she +ever dealt with us in a lady-like manner. Again we noted that +many a society woman would give much for her well modulated voice +and powers of verbal expression. Without any suggestion of +melodrama she would rise to strong passages in giving vent to her +feelings of indignation and ambition. At this time we were still +wondering where she could have obtained her education; it was not +until later that we comprehended that her abilities represented +sheer native traits. + +She first came to us much hurt because a certain official had +warned her, after one of her simulating episodes in a hospital, +never to deceive again. ``My trying to get sympathy! I don't +want any sympathy. I told her I was independent and always +wanted to make my own way in the world. If they thought I wasn't +sick in the hospital why didn't they say so. The doctor told me +to stay in bed. + +``Doctor, yes, I did lie to you about my age before; why +shouldn't I? I have been deceived on all sides and have found +that people are against me. If they want to leave me alone, they +can get the truth, but when one is deceived one has to tell lies +sometimes. I've had many troubles. Oh, doctor, if you knew what +I've been through and what's in my heart you'd think I do pretty +well. I would rather starve than have it cast up to me that I +had asked for any body's help or sympathy. I want to make my own +way. I must have an education. In September I plan to go to the +M. Academy and work my way through. I am just past 18 now. + +``The B.'s are ashamed of me I suppose. I ran away from them. +They are refined people. But I can't be treated in that way. +They adopted me. They said that I got some money dishonestly, +but, doctor, it is not in me to be bad. I feel that through and +through. + +``Well, I know that I'm a Yankee by birth, on both sides. My +people came from Mayflower stock. I will make my way in the +world, I will succeed, and you'll see, doctor. I will have an +education. As to going back to the Johnsons, I would commit +suicide rather than do that. It was not true that I had a good +education as I told you. They did not treat me well. They can +write as they please and talk about forgiveness for what I have +done, but it is they who were cruel and abusive. Suppose they do +say I'm their child. I know I am not because I was not treated +the same as the others. I was 12 or 13 when I ran away from +them. How could I belong to the family? They are all so much +older than I am.'' + +Inez now gave us, most curiously, some addresses which opened up +knowledge of her career over several years. But what she told us +about these new people was directly denied by return mail. At +one interview her first words were, ``Do you know now, doctor, +that I was in a State hospital?'' Having made this challenging +statement she went no further, merely involved herself in +contradictions as to the place, and would say nothing more than +that she had once suffered from an attack of nervous prostration. +She absolutely denied items of information about herself which we +had gradually accumulated, and this type of reaction obtained all +the way through our last period of acquaintance with Inez, even +after we had the detailed facts about her early life from her +parents. + +Inez never lost an opportunity to impress upon people whom she +did not regard as her equals that she considered herself much of +a lady and quite above housework. On one occasion, when held as +a runaway girl, she had a terrible outbreak of temper simply +because she was asked to clear the dinner table. This was no +momentary affair. Her recalcitrancy was kept up the larger part +of one day, and she made the place almost unbearable that night +by screaming and moaning. Telling me about the incident, she +said it was because she would not allow herself to cater to such +people. ``If a person asks me, I may do things, but nobody can +tell me to. I would not give in. I would not do it.'' + +To some of us it has seemed highly significant that at moments +which would ordinarily be expected to bring out great emotion +Inez showed almost none. For instance, when going to an +important interview about the disposition of her case, she first +plaintively said she did not know what to say, and then +immediately began to dwell with evident pleasure upon the costume +of the person addressing her. Many normal emotions were seen +expressed, however, and many moral sentiments were undoubtedly +held, but there seemed to be curious displacements upon these +levels of her mental life; there was faulty mental +stratification. Probably the force which caused this is +egocentrism. + + +In relating what we now know of the past history of this case we +shall put together that which we have heard from many different +sources. There is no question about all the important +facts--correspondents largely corroborate each other. + +Inez came from a family of French extraction, apparently stable +and normal tradespeople. The old mother at 74 years wrote us an +unusually well-thought-out, detailed account of her daughter's +early life. The paternal grandfather was insane and an aunt had +epilepsy. Defective heredity in other respects is denied. We +get no history of convulsions in the immediate family, nor of any +other neurotic manifestation, except that one sister is ``very +excitable.'' + +Inez came when the mother was unusually advanced in life, and the +brothers and sisters, of whom there were five, had long since +been born. There was a difference of 10 years between Inez and +the next older. In telling the facts, the mother dwells much on +this and the bearing which her chagrin during pregnancy may have +had upon the girl's physical and mental development. She was +born, then, after a troubled pregnancy, a weak and sickly child, +``almost like a skeleton.'' + +Inez was rather slow at walking, but at one year spoke her first +words. We do not know with accuracy about the earliest factors +in the mental environment. (Inez has told various stories about +early family friction, and even about contracting an infection at +home, much of which seems highly conjectural.) Between the ages +of 7 and 10 several sicknesses, diphtheria, measles with some +cardiac complication, etc., kept her much out of school. Part of +the time she lived in New Orleans, and part of the time in a +country district. She only went to school until she was 14, and +was somewhat retarded on account of changing about and illnesses. +However, it is said she always liked her school and showed fair +aptitude for study. At 14 she returned to New Orleans and, +desiring to be a dressmaker, started in that trade. She worked +in several places, but finally went back to her home. + +At the age of 18 Inez met with what, according to her family, was +a decisive event in her life. She was in a trolley car accident; +after being knocked down she was unconscious for some time. No +definite injury was recorded. Her family marked an entire change +of character from that time. They say she then began lying in +the minutest detail about people and seemed to believe in her own +falsifications. Besides this she started the roving tendency +which she has shown ever since. + + +The extensive information which we have received concerning the +later history of this remarkable case we can only take space to +give in summary. We know definitely that Inez has received +attention, during periods varying from a few days to six months, +in no less than 18 different hospitals. Besides this she has +been under the care of physicians at least a score of times. Her +swindling in this matter was so flagrant in one eastern city to +which she had journeyed that she was handled through the police +court and was sentenced to a state hospital for the insane for a +term of 6 months. The charge was that she was an idle person and +a beggar, and she was regarded as perhaps being unbalanced. The +report from this town is that she would be taken with ``spells of +apparent violent illness on the street, in the trolley cars, at +railroad stations, and so be carried to various hospitals and +doctors' homes.'' She has visited numerous cities, getting her +sustenance largely through hospitals and physicians. + +After being admitted into one famous hospital and showing some of +her curious manifestations she was transferred to a state +institution in the vicinity to be studied for insanity. +Correspondence with one physician tells the story of how five +years ago he was called from a medical meeting to attend this +``girl'' who had been taken from a trolley car into his home. +She was apparently suffering great pain in the region of the old +appendicitis scar and she was conveyed in an ambulance to a +hospital. After investigation for a few days, it was decided she +was hysterical or a simulator. + +On numerous occasions her feigned illness has been so apparently +overcoming that she has had to be transferred in an ambulance to +a hospital. One of her usual performances has been to get into +some home or institution and then keep others awake all night +with her signs of distress. It is interesting that she has used +the same methods over and over again, but has been adroit enough +to vary the illnesses which she has simulated. At one time +investigation in a hospital seemed to show that she was +neurasthenic. She has been given chances in homes for +convalescents, but has never maintained herself in such a place +for long. We note she was sent back from one of these to the +main hospital on account of having vomited the medicine she had +been given. In fact, she has repeatedly been found resisting the +treatment which had been prescribed. + +The record of admission and treatment given in one hospital is of +peculiar interest. She was received there four years ago and +evidently had been unable just previously to take care of herself +properly on account of roaming. Her clothing was dirty and her +head unclean. She was found to have the old appendicitis scar, +which contained a small sinus. She remained in bed after +admission, complaining of much pain in her abdomen, not well +localized however, and would lie moaning, crying, and rolling +across the bed. She was then running a slight temperature. +After a time an operation was decided upon and a hairpin was +found in the abdominal wall, undoubtedly inserted through the +scar by the patient herself. (The findings of the surgeon in +Chicago, then, revealed a repeated performance.) + +At another place the patient maintained she was unable to +urinate, but at the same time strongly resisted catheterization. +From the variability of her complaint it was found it could not +be caused by a local condition, and examination showed no reason +for the difficulty. Analysis of her symptoms undertaken at this +time led to several stories, one about urethritis, which Inez +claimed to have contracted from her brother at 3 years; an +episode when she had received a great fright during micturition; +an incident when she had seen a man exposed when she went to the +toilet. (Of course, our experience with this type of case leads +us to appreciate the difficulties of psychological analysis with +extreme liars.) + +On one occasion she entered a hospital, claiming to have been +recently injured; she had been taken in a supposed fainting +condition from a car. Then it was she maintained that she had +been struck by an iron bar and that a spike had entered her back. +She also claimed at this time to have had her toes frozen. Study +of the case here, too, showed no signs of injury or frost bite. +On another occasion she told of having been dropped by a nurse +while being lifted from a bed. Altogether her stories and her +simulations have been convincing enough to get for her on many +occasions good attention during at least a few days. + +We can get no account of true hysterical signs being discovered +by any one. There has been no showing of anything but that she +is a liar and a simulator. In the hospital records the portions +devoted to previous history are thoroughly vitiated by her +untruthfulness, and they contain statements which offer great +contradictions, one to the other. + +Inez has been observed, then, for two long periods by +psychiatrists. While at the end of neither period were the +observers willing to state that the young woman was compos +mentis, still their verdict in this matter had to be made up from +considerations of her social behavior rather than from what they +were able to discern by direct observation of her mental +processes. From one case-record we read that ``The patient was +quiet, pleasant, and agreeable, replied promptly and +intelligently to questions, and talked spontaneously of her +affairs. She was quite clear as to the environment, had +apparently a satisfactory memory, with the exception of a recent +period preceding admission. Her statements, too, were probably +not altogether truthful, but frequently a reason for the +untruthfulness was made out. She thought that her mind was all +right, but complained of having occasional difficulty in +thinking.'' + +Another prolonged study of her mental status was made four years +ago. From the record we learn that there were no apparent +reactions to hallucinations. Consciousness was clear and the +patient was completely oriented for time, place, and persons. +The train of thought was coherent and relevant. Questions were +readily answered and attention easily held. Memory was fair for +most events. School knowledge was reasonably well retained. +Judgment, to this observer, seemed impaired, although no definite +delusions could be elicited. Emotionally she was found more or +less irritable, fault finding, and at times a trifle despondent. +(Certainly the latter would be a natural reaction under the +circumstances.) Often, however, she was found cheerful and +contented. No special volitional disturbances were noted. Was +found to act in an hysterical manner when she felt ill. She was +neat, tidy, and cleanly in her habits. Appetite was good and she +slept well. Such was the report from the institution where she +was held for six months. There was no material change in her +condition during this time; she showed herself very proficient +with the needle; she was discharged when her sentence expired. + +We note a statement from one hospital that this ``girl'' gave no +evidence of having had any direct sexual experience, or that she +had ruminated much over these matters. Her story about frequent +fainting attacks given at this time was not corroborated by +observation. The diagnosis from one hospital was neurasthenia, +but investigation of her case in most places seems to have led +merely to the conclusion that she was a tremendous liar. + +Notwithstanding our long record of this case and the accounts +which have been handed in to us of experiences with her in other +localities, we do not presume to know a tithe of the places Inez +has been to or lived in during the last eight years. It is more +than likely that she herself would find it difficult to give any +accurate account of her rovings. At the time we first saw Inez +her parents had not heard from her for about three years. +Shortly after this we found that she had renewed correspondence +with them and had sent them money as if she were now prosperous. +Her family have all along, in spite of her stories, been poor. +At one period she visited several cities in the southeastern +states and was at a hospital in one of them. In Charleston there +is a family by the name of B. (spelled the same as the name of +the people she was with in Tennessee). These were the people +Inez asked us to write to in an appeal, because they had long +known her and were wealthy, for a chance to get an education. +She stated they were immediate relatives of the B.'s in +Tennessee, and that she had visited them once at their fine home +in Charleston for three or four months. These people replied to +us that they had been receiving letters for years from +associations and organizations in regard to this girl whom they +had never seen. They were convinced she had assumed their name +because she had understood they were well-to-do and liberal. +``We know nothing about her education, but judge she has enough +to dupe people with; posing as poor at one time, sick at another, +and anxious for an education at another, as you inform us.'' + +From another correspondent with whom Inez had lived in Alabama +for a few weeks we had a marvelous tale which they heard from +her. She had told them she formerly lived in the most beautiful +part of New Orleans and when 5 years old was placed in a convent, +and then taken to a boarding-school, from which she was kidnapped +and taken to a small town in Georgia. She was later placed in +another boarding-school and there met the wealthy B.'s of +Charleston who took her home with them. While there she had to +go to a hospital on account of some infection. One day she was +thrust into a taxicab, taken on a boat, landed at another city, +etc. The B.'s of Charleston have thus figured long in her story, +and we learned from several correspondents that this kidnapping +has figured over and over as a big event in her life. + +Once, years ago, Inez was taken into a private home accompanied +by a trunk, we hear, which was found to contain a considerable +amount of jewelry. This was pawned in the name of the people +with whom she then lived and was redeemed later by some one else. +Inez laid claim to the jewelry after a time, but apparently was +unable to produce anybody who could vouch that it was really +hers. Its ownership has remained unknown. + +When she went to St. Louis at one time she had stated she was to +meet a relative there, but the person, we have come to know, was +a certain very decent young man who had become acquainted with +her through a correspondence bureau. He had thought well of her +and warned her not to come to that city, but when she did so he +met her and took her at once to his own home where the womenfolk +looked after her until she was found a place elsewhere. The +deliberate attempt to throw herself upon his protection was thus +frustrated by his relatives. Many other reports of the +misrepresentations of Inez have been given us. She has +discovered that borrowing money on the strength of invented +statements is sometimes possible, particularly for her with her +good presence and convincing manner. The B.'s complained that +when she left Tennessee there were in her trunk many dollars' +worth of articles that belonged to them. + + +Throughout our long experience with Inez we have never been able +to make up our mind whether or not she remembered all of her +past. Her lying always stood in the way of getting at anything +like the real facts. On no occasion has she truthfully dealt +with her career as we know it. She has professed absolute lack +of knowledge of her accident, and of the time and place of its +occurrence. It is interesting that none of her acquaintances +mention this. Although Inez has told long stories of her past to +many people, and with some inclusion of truth, she never seems to +have mentioned this important event of which we learned from her +family. We cannot, then, decide about possible amnesia for this +occurrence. + +On occasion Inez has expressed the same desire for religious +experience as for education, and has written to friends that she +had become imbued with the Spirit. Her story of her religious +upbringing is altogether unreliable and contradictory, but while +in one hospital she professed belief, took communion, and was +baptized in a certain faith. Her behavior was not, however, in +the least modified by this. + +One serious minded woman took Inez at her word when she said she +wanted to study algebra and offered her a good opportunity which +was never accepted. This demonstrated clearly that the desire +was a matter of words only. Inez' constant assertion of +independence has been one of her main sources of temporary +success. Kindly people have speedily taken up with her. +Sympathy is undoubtedly, in spite of her statements to the +contrary, one of the strongest needs of her nature. In one of +her letters we note her expression of satisfaction in a certain +situation where she found herself much ``mothered'' by kind +nurses. All her chances, however, have been spoiled by her +indulgence in lies. + +Inez has remained adamant to every plea and suggestion made by +many well-wishing friends that she reform and begin again. After +her parents and other relatives were found and communicated with, +her career partly known, and her mother's need of sympathy shown +to her, she still refused to change her story in many +particulars--even when she knew that we had discovered about her +writing home within recent months. She steadily refused to +acknowledge her true age. When the evidence was complete, +showing that she could not be held as a runaway girl, but must be +treated under the law as a woman, she went forth to begin, as we +heard from many other sources, her old misrepresentations of +herself, which speedily got her into further trouble. + +We were not astonished, even after we had accumulated almost the +entire knowledge of the career which we have outlined above, and +Inez knew that we had done so, to be visited by two fine +philanthropic women who wanted to consult with us about an +unfortunate girl who had won their sympathy, and who had been +placed by them in a leading hospital after having shown some +signs of acute bronchitis. In fact, she was in such a bad +condition that she had to be transferred in an ambulance. But +her illness had rapidly cleared up and now after ten days of +observation an eminent diagnostician had thoroughly scolded her +for simulation, and the girl was once more on their hands. +Indirectly they learned that we knew of the case of this ``girl +of 16.'' They realized that they had been taken in, but it had +been done so cleverly, and, as they expressed it, Inez showed +herself such a splendid actress, that they wondered if she had +not extraordinary histrionic abilities which could be utilized. +(It remains to be seen whether anything constructive can be done +by following this lead. We feel that previous psychiatrists who +gave earlier an unfavorable prognosis in this case were perhaps +quite right. But perhaps we should not let our opinions in this +be swayed by the fact that my associate, Dr. Bronner, who went to +this last hospital was met by an absolute denial on the part of +Inez of the essentials of the above career, by her insistence +that she was not the same person as the daughter of the Smiths, +and that she was only 17--all this in spite of her knowledge of +our correspondence with her family and others, and her own +previous acknowledgments of lying.) + + +Summary: In summarizing the characteristics of this woman we may +first insist that she has ambition, push, and energy in high +degree. Her personality as expressed in general bearing, +features, and facial action is remarkably strong and convincing. +Her ambition was shown in her work on our tests as well as in her +social behavior. (We have wondered if it was not her desire to +shine which prevented the typical performance of the pathological +liar on the ``Aussage'' test.) Her self-confidence as expressed +on numerous occasions is no less striking. ``I tell you, doctor, +that I have told lies, but you will see that I will come out on +top.'' + +Inez has been free from the overt problems of sex life. We have +repeatedly been informed that she has been a girl of good +character in this respect. ``I ran away from home for a good +cause. I'm not one of those girls who is crazy about the boys.'' +Usually Inez shows a very even temper. It is only when her own +personality is trod upon that she grows angry, and obstinacy is +then her leading reaction. Some pathological liars may be weak +in character, but not Inez. She is the firmest of persons. On +occasions her attitude is entirely that of the grand lady. Her +type of lying is clearly pathological. It would often be very +hard to discern a purpose in it, and over and over again she has +defeated her own ends by further indulgence in prevarications. +To her the utterance of lies comes just as quickly and naturally +as speaking the truth comes to other people. Even in interviews +with us when she was voluntarily acknowledging her shortcomings +in this direction she went on in the same breath to further +falsifications. + +The medical aspects of the case come under the same category as +the lying. The dysuria, the spitting of blood, the sugar in the +urine, the hairpins found twice in the abdomen, the simulated +pains, neurasthenia, and bronchial attacks, together with her +stories of accidents and fainting spells illustrate her general +tendency. This behavior, like her lying, serves to feed her +egocentrism, her craving for sympathy and for being the center of +action. As with the lying, repetition of this type of conduct +probably is largely a matter of habit. + +The bearing of this case on the problems of testimony is +interesting. As shown in our account of tests done, when +objective concrete material was considered by this woman she +reported it well. It is only when her egocentrism is brought +into play that she becomes so definitely unreliable. This is a +line of demarcation that students of this subject would do well +to recognize. + +Causative Factors: Our study of causation in this case, as we +intimated at first, is necessarily incomplete. But some things, +probably explanatory, stand out very clearly. Heredity is +moderately defective. Inez was the outcome of an unfortunate +pregnancy and was a poorly developed infant. She suffered early +from a number of illnesses, which, however, left no perceptible +physical defects. Her unusual relationship to the other +children, based on the difference in age, was perhaps a starting +point for the development of her inventional theories of her own +origin. She has given us many hints of this in speaking of her +earliest remembrances of hearing the Smiths whispering something +about adoption, and of her feeling that the other children were +too old for her to belong to their family. + +Then we insist on the positive bearing which this woman's native +traits have had in the production of her career. Her facility +with language marks her as possessing one of the chief +characteristics of the pathological liar. Added to this she +showed the other personal traits which we have described in +detail, leading to her success in misrepresenting herself. Her +strongly developed physiognomy has caused many people to believe +her older than she stated, but still one has seen such lineaments +belonging to girls of 17. + +The bearing which the accident at 18 had upon the case it is +impossible for us to estimate. Her family are very clear on this +point; they maintain that all her bad conduct has developed since +then. Through unwillingness, or barely possibly real amnesia for +the injury, Inez has not helped us to know the facts. Dr. +Augusta Bronner, who has studied this case with me, cleverly +suggests that just as anyone becomes confused in distinguishing +really remembered experiences from what has been told by others +was one's experience, so Inez gets confused between what has +really happened and what she herself has told as having happened. +This finally involves a pathological liar in a network which is +difficult to untangle. Part of the causation of the present +lying, then, is the extensive lying which has been done +previously. + +Psychological analysis in such a case is most difficult because +of the unreliability of the individual's own statements about her +life, inner and outer. Psychoanalysts will be delighted, in the +light of what we long afterward found out, at the pregnant +opening sentence of an interview, recorded above, when Inez +blurted out that she was once in a State hospital. However, from +what we ascertained, we may see clearly that here is an +individual with a past that she desires to cover up. Much more +delinquency may be involved of which we know nothing. As the +result of circumstances and traits she finds herself, despite her +very good ability, inadequately meeting the world. Her forceful +personality carries her into situations which she is incompetent +to live up to. The immediate way out is by creating a new +complication, and this may be through lies or the simulation of +illness, at which she has become an adept. Altogether, Inez must +be thought of as one who is trying to satisfy certain wishes and +ambitions which are too much for her resources. Towards the goal +to which her nature urges her she follows the path of least +resistance. Being the personality that she is, the social world +offers her stimulation which does not come to others. + +To discuss the problem of her responsibility would be to +introduce metaphysics--it is sure that in the ordinary sense she +is not insane. The cause of her career is not a psychosis, +although we readily grant that out of the materials of her mental +experience she may ultimately build up definite delusions. + + + +CASE 4 + +Summary: A girl of 16 had been engaged in an extraordinary +amount of clever shoplifting under the influence of her +``mother.'' In the courts where the cases against her were heard +there was much sympathy with the girl, but it was difficult to +carry out any measures for her benefit because of the excessive +prevarications which had characterized her for a long period. +Under oath she falsely accused her ``father'' of sex immorality +with her. She was removed from her home, and with knowledge of +the mental conflicts which beset her, splendid efforts to +``cure'' this girl met with success. It is another case where +supposed inherited traits turn out to be the result of +environmental influences. + + +Through frequent communication with the highly intelligent woman +with whom Edna F. was placed in a small western city after she +was taken from her previous miserable environment, we have been +able to keep close check on the progress of the case for several +years. It was also very fortunate for our understanding that a +nurse who knew the girl's real mother in New York, where Edna was +born, appeared on the scene and gave us data upon which we could +base some opinions of the outcome. The case in its entirety had +proved very baffling to detectives because of the mass of +contradictory lies told by both the girl and her ``mother.'' + +Our attention was first called to this girl when a number of +court people were trying to solve the mystery. She had been +arrested for shoplifting and her curious attitude and statements +had made some believe she was not quite right mentally. Once +before she had been detected stealing things in a shop. One of +her remarkable statements this last time was that her parents +were implicated in the thieving and she named certain stolen +articles which might be found at their home. She went with the +detectives and accused her ``mother'' of wearing a dress which +she, Edna, had stolen. The woman was forced to give up the dress +and other articles, but it was found later that these goods had +been actually bought and paid for by the parents. Later it was +found that the woman was a party to the girl's stealing and this +made the girl's story seem all the more strange, for if she were +going to involve the people at all why did she not pick out the +actually stolen articles? However, long study of the case +brought out the fact that this type of statement was a +characteristic of Edna's. Her word on even important points was +absolutely unreliable and her own interests were frequently +thwarted by her prevarications. + +The case in its different aspects came up in court again and +again until finally most of the truth was ascertained, enough to +justify radical measures being undertaken. During this period +the mother was discovered to be an atrocious liar; even with her +last bitter confession that all she had said about her motherhood +had been untrue, she manufactured more quite unnecessary +falsehoods. In the meantime the family physician and the family +lawyer had both informed me of the peculiar mysteries of the case +and of the perfect mass of lies into which the statements of both +mother and daughter led. This sort of thing had been going on +for years. It is of no small interest to note that the woman was +greatly over-dressed and made up. On numerous occasions she +appealed to us to study the girl and find out why she lied so +much and why she had such an inclination to steal, in the +meantime attempting to fill us up with many inventions about the +girl's antecedents. + +Physical examination showed a perfectly normally developed girl. +No sensory defects. Pleasant features. Well shaped head. +Weight 101 lbs; height 5 ft. 1 in. We found no hysterical +stigmata. Menstruation had first occurred at 14. No trouble or +irregularity was reported. We learn the girl has never had any +serious illness. She herself told of fainting spells after being +whipped and so on, but these were undoubtedly falsifications. +The family physician informed us he had operated on the girl for +appendicitis about three months previous to the time we first saw +her. He had found some evidences of an old appendiceal +inflammation, but it is quite likely from the various accounts +which we heard that her symptoms recounted to him were largely +fabrication and that the signs which he found, at least in their +excessive phases, were partly deceptions. The most important +point for the court proceedings was his findings that the girl +had never been sexually tampered with and had no local disease. +At the time when we knew Edna she was being treated for a local +infection which must have been recent and superficial, for it +rapidly subsided. + +We had ample opportunity to test Edna's ability and found it +quite normal. She had been out of school much and had been +careless in general about her education, but she had finally +finished the grammar school. A long list of tests was done +almost uniformly well. Where a prolonged task which required +concentration was asked, Edna was inclined to work carelessly, +but in general her capacities proved to be decidedly good. She +was accustomed to read nothing but the lightest literature and +fairy stories and her interests were of the superficial sort. +Neither in powers of imagery or imagination, nor by anything else +ascertained about her mental abilities did we come to know of any +point of special bearing upon her behavior. + +On the ``Aussage'' picture test, she gave only 12 details, all +correct, on free recital. Upon questioning she gave 28 more +items and almost the only variation from accuracy was in respect +to the colors. Evidently she let her fancy run when she could +not remember correctly; through this she got 6 items incorrect. +She readily accepted 3 out of 4 suggestions. + +Our earliest impressions of Edna state that she seemed much +confused in her stories and in her manner of telling them, +leaving sentences unfinished and trying to explain +inconsistencies by other inconsistencies. At this time she was +referring constantly to her doubts about her age, her family, and +her origin. She then seemed highly suspicious of every one and +talked of suicide. However, when she was showing these signs she +could be diverted, for she worked with much pleasure at the +tests, particularly certain memory tests on which she did well. + +On account of the difficulties of the solution of this case under +the law considerable time and effort were spent in looking up her +record. It was found that some years ago Edna had run away from +home and there was a newspaper article published about her. Even +at that time an officer who went to the home was unable to +ascertain the truth in the case. The family had frequently moved +and the mother asserted it was because of the bad reputation +which the girl's actions had given them. The neighbors +complained of the cruelty of the parents to Edna, but this meant +only the whippings which the mother had given her. By all +accounts the father was a good man who insisted that affairs +between his wife and Edna were not his own. (Edna always +maintained that this man had been unusually good to her, although +she so strangely made in court the false accusations of prolonged +sex immorality on his part and reiterated these statements even +to us. It was not until many months afterward that she +acknowledged the falsity of her accusations, although we knew +from her physician that they were not true.) + +The first time Edna was in court was when she was about 14 years +old. At that time she had been observed by a department store +detective stealing hosiery and a bracelet. She perceived she was +being shadowed and walked up to the counter and ordered some +children's garments, having them charged and sent to a fictitious +name and address. The detective thought this a masterpiece of +slyness, this endeavor to throw them off the track. Since the +family, who really kept an account at this store, appealed to the +manager to have Edna let off as it was an ordinary trick of a +growing girl, the charge was withdrawn. Detectives who had been +employed from a private agency made a very poor showing on +getting at the real facts. The husband was doing well in his +business and there never seemed to be any reason to suspect his +wife of being directly or indirectly connected with the +shoplifting. Earlier there was some intimation that Edna was not +the child of these people, but the persons who suggested this did +not know the true facts and were found to have a grudge against +the mother. In the meantime the latter had strongly maintained +her relationship. + +It was months after this and just before we saw the case when a +detective, who had kept the case in mind, went to the house to +get the goods which Edna maintained had been stolen. There he +found the ``mother'' and another woman smoking and thought he +detected signs of their being drug habitues. Later, I myself +felt sure of this point, but we were never able to state to what +drug they were addicted. Edna frequently stated she had been +accustomed to buying morphine for these women, but her statements +about its appearance and its cost were so at variance with the +facts that though it is likely she had bought something of the +kind, yet no amount of inquiry brought out the definite facts. +The woman's appearance and her remarkable lack of veracity were +both highly suggestive of a drug habit. + +In our several interviews with this woman we were amazed by her +strange self-contradictions. It was not only that she stated +something different from what she had said a week before, but +even at different times on the same day her statements would be +changed. Concerning her relationship to Edna she gave us the +facts of the girl's birth and laughed off the idea that she was +not the girl's mother. ``Why, I can remember every moment of my +pregnancy with her.'' It was anomalous that this woman had hired +a righteous man as a lawyer to represent her and the girl. This +attorney, consulting with me, soon came to the conclusion that +the only interest he would serve in the case was that of the +girl, and then only in the effort to save her from the miserable +influences of her mother. + +Edna's school record was most peculiar. She had been frequently +changed on account of her dishonesty. In one sectarian school +she was said to steal all sorts of useless things--bits of +string, pieces of pencils, and articles no one else would want. +She also stole a two dollar bill from a grocery store; the +cashier followed her and recovered the money from her person +right there in the school. Edna always denied that she took +things. While in another school she had flowers sent to all the +teachers and the florist's bill was presented to her there. In +still another school she took a pair of shoes from a boy at +recess, wore these and left her old ones in the locker room. Her +word was everywhere recognized as being most unreliable. + +After the case had long been in court and Edna still stoutly +maintained that she was not the child of these parents, but had +complicated her story by adding incidents which were known to be +untrue, such as her ``father's'' immorality with her, that there +had been another adopted child in the family, that even the +dishes the family used were stolen by her, and so on, the woman +came and suddenly blurted out that she herself had been lying all +along and that this was not her child. She then alleged the +parentage was so and so, but this matter was in turn looked up +and found to be false. It was adjudged that these people had +absolutely no parental rights, and then work was begun on +constructive measures of redeeming the girl if possible. It was +not long after this that the nurse came to us who had known the +girl's real mother in New York and who had taken charge of Edna +as an infant before her foster mother had taken her. It seems +that the mother was an American, that this child was +illegitimate. A few months after her birth the mother abandoned +her, became dissolute and is said to have since died. + +Edna had run away from home on several occasions and slept in +hallways for a night or two at a time. She had not been sexually +immoral until just previous to our seeing her. Then while away +from home she had gone with a man to a hotel, and probably had +also been with boys. These were her first and last experiences +of the sort, but how much these affairs had been on her mind we +obtained some intimation of from herself. + +``My mother took me to S's when I was 8 years old and told me to +take anything I could and I got into the habit of it. I can't +stop myself. I take anything I want. Mother said she would kill +me if I told the truth. I had to say lots of things that were +not so. I had to lie and say mother did not beat me, but she had +a horsewhip that was plaited, father burned it. Then they bought +a little one, but she beat me with a rubber hose and everything. +The first thing I think I stole was jewelry in a store down-town. +The woman I call `auntie' said if I would give her the goods she +would pay me for them.'' + +``My mother fixed it up that if she got the goods and got caught +she would get a clerk to make out receipts and get them stamped +paid. She has not done this yet, but I think she will in this +case.'' (This was a statement at the very first interview with +Edna and no doubt had reference to the fact that the mother could +produce receipted bills for the dress and other articles which +Edna had maintained to the detective she herself had stolen. Of +course the girl's story of this was untrue; the receipts were +genuine.) + +``One of my sisters is adopted, but my father does not know it. +She ain't real. It was this way. When my pa was out west for a +year ma asked me to look in the papers for a baby and I looked +and found an advertisement about one. Ma said she must not be +redheaded because that ain't like the family. We went and got +her and ma went to bed for nine days and pretended it was her +baby. She took a shawl and gave the nurse $25 and made out +adoption papers. She took me with her. It was a month old. She +made me go and tell my aunt I had a little sister. My aunt said +it looked kind of big for 3 days old, but ma said she had been +keeping it in an incubator. She had padded herself out before, +and pretended it was her own child. Pa came home when it was six +months old and he loved the baby just like his own. I ain't +jealous, but it makes me sick to hear such lies.'' + +This alleged fact, reiterated to us and testified to in the +court, was in itself a source of the whole case being farther +followed up. The nurse was found who took care of Edna's +``mother'' during her confinement and it was found that Edna's +whole story was quite untrue. It was evidently an elaborate +fabrication representing the facts as they might have been about +Edna herself. The only part of it that was true was that one of +the younger children had been for a time in an incubator. + +``Since I was 10 years old I have known about that. I have known +I was not her child. She said something that sounded queer to me +once when I ran away. It made me think she was not my mother. + +``Why do I tell lies? I got started at it when I was small. She +used to make me tell lies to my father. I began to steal when I +was about 8 years old. My little sister has started to take +things already. She is only 4. I was trying to break her and +mother said, `Let her alone.' + +``She's had about nine different servants. She never can keep +any. She used to make me forge letters. She made me sign a +girl's name to a receipt for wages which the girl never received. +The girl had no case against her because she had the receipts. +The poor girl lost it. + +``I am going to tell the truth. There's going to be lots of +things come out. I am going to tell the judge I lied when I told +him I did not steal the things. Why did I lie? Well, she gave +me just one look and I knew what she would do to me when I got +home. Everything I told you about my father is the truth. Where +else would I get that disease? I was never allowed to go out +with boys.'' + +At another time when we inquired what bothered or worried her +more than anything else we obtained an account of her sex +repressions. Of course there would always be difficulty in +knowing just how true the details were but probably she gave us +the main factors in her mental life. + +``I used to be out in the streets all the time. There were +hardly any houses around there then. I used to hear mother talk +about things. She would send me out of the room and say it was +not for me to hear. Then boys lived near me and they asked me to +do bad things. I first heard about those things from a boy on +the porch. I was 7 or 8. I was always thinking about it--what +my mother said at that time, I mean. She did not explain it +enough. I am always fidgety, always nervous. My hands and feet +are always going. Whenever I would see a boy it would always +come up in front of my eyes. It was mostly when I saw boys. If +she had explained it more it would not have come up that way. I +know a girl who does that thing. She's bad. She does it with +boys too. The people said so. When I was little I imagined +there were some bad girls. You can't tell, but you can guess a +little. That boy had lots of things. I don't know if he took +anything. It was when I was about 4 until I was 8 that I played +with him. These things never came up in my mind when I was +taking things. It was only when I was not busy. I was always +thinking about it when I haven't anything else to do. These few +little words were not enough to explain. I remember I asked my +aunt once. I tried to put things together what I heard, and what +words about it meant.'' + +The above excerpts from many interviews with this girl represent +points upon which there is the least contradiction. It is +obviously useless to give any more of her story because of the +variation from time to time. Even on the last occasion when we +talked earnestly to her before she was taken to her new home, she +lied to us about a number of points. Any attempt at an accurate +analysis of her impulse to steal seemed quite beyond the mark in +the light of her ever-ready fabrications. + +The after-history of this case is of the utmost importance. A +woman of strong character took Edna and surrounded her with new +interests. Conference was had with us on the nature of the case. +For the next few months reports came that the girl was a liar +through and through and grave doubts were entertained of ultimate +success. It was after she had been tried in her new environment +for 3 months that, seeing us again, she confessed that her +stories about her foster father were absolutely untrue. From +about this time on there has been steady improvement. No more +elaborate fabrications have been indulged in. On several +occasions when Edna has been late from school she has lied about +it, but even that tendency for the last year has been nearly +obliterated. A good deal of interest in boys has been +maintained, but not with any show of immorality. There has been +nothing but normal flirting; accounting for the occasions when +Edna has been late from school. + +At two or three periods during her new life Edna has engaged in +stealing. She has taken articles for which she had no particular +use and has told lies about the matter. The thieving has not +been a single event, but each time has seemed to represent a +state of mind she has been in, and for a week or so numerous +articles have been taken. We warned her good friend to make a +study of her social and mental influences at such periods. It +was found then that Edna was undergoing special stress on at +least one such occasion. A young man had been making up to her, +and later she confided that this given period was one of great +turmoil because of the renewed arousal of many ideas about sex +affairs. After this there was still more attempts to win Edna's +confidence about her daily experiences, including such as the +above. There has been the gradual development of character, and +Edna is now, two years after she was taken from her bad +environment, only very occasionally guilty of falsifying, and she +is otherwise trustworthy. + +Our study of the causative factors of this girl's delinquency and +particularly of her extraordinary lying led us to see that +perhaps all of the following have a part: (a) Heredity. Father +unknown. Mother a free-living woman. (b) Home conditions. +Mental and moral bad influences in the home life on account of +the foster mother conniving at stealing and being herself an +extreme liar. (c) Psychic contagion from the atmosphere of lies +in which the girl has been brought up. (d) Mental conflict +arising from the suspicion of her parentage, early acquaintance +with sex knowledge, and the irregular morale of her home life. +(e) Bad companions, including her foster mother's friends, and +boys and girls. + +--------------------------------------------------------------- +Mental Conflict. Case 4. + Girl, age 15 yrs. +Home influences: Extremely bad, including + excessive lying. + Bad companions. + Heredity (?). +Delinquencies: Mentality: + Much stealing. (Shop lifting, etc.) Fair ability. + Excessive lying. + False accusations. + Sex immorality. +--------------------------------------------------------------- + + + +CASE 5 + +Summary: A young woman of 20, bright mentally, strong +physically, ``confessed'' to a professor of a university where +she was studying that she had shot and killed a man. The facts +were known to only three or four people and she was terribly +worried about it all. Upon her information the affair was taken +up by a group of professional men, one of them a lawyer of large +practical experience. She aided in an investigation which +attempted to uncover the ``white slave'' feature of the case. +The data of verification proved most elusive. Later, the young +woman implicated herself in a burglary, and altogether an +elaborate story of her life was evolved. It was found that from +early years she had been a great fabricator. + + +While a first year student at a university Marie M. begged for an +interview with one of her instructors at his home and there, with +him and others, she told a detailed story of how some months +previously she had escaped a difficult situation by killing a +man. + +The exceedingly long account which was given at intervals to +several professional men and enlarged upon in response to +inquiry, or as the occasion otherwise demanded, we are not +justified in taking space to retell. This case figures, as a +whole, in somewhat anecdotal fashion among our others, we freely +confess; it is cited to show the extent to which apparently +purposeless fabrication can go. It has been found impossible to +gain a satisfactory idea of the genesis of this young woman's +tendency, quite in contrast to the other cases we have cited. It +forms the only instance where we have drawn from our experience +with merely partially studied cases. + +Marie's story involved many items of her life since she was about +12 years of age. A distant relative who had come to know her +whereabouts (she was an orphan living with friends) figured +extensively in her narrative. This relative had hounded her in +an effort to get her to engage in an evil life. His attentions +varied greatly; sometimes for months she was not bothered with +him. Once when she was on her way to Milwaukee a gray haired man +approached her on the train, said he knew her relatives, they +were rather a bad lot of people, and he wanted to protect her +from them. Then came a long account of being driven in a +carriage, changing her clothes in a hotel, having her picture +taken in an immodest costume, signing a paper at police +headquarters, and, at last, safely returning home, all guided by +the mysterious gray haired man. Another trip led to an encounter +with a man who took her in an automobile under the promise of +meeting a friend. Entering a building where men carried +revolvers and girls were given hypodermic injections, just as she +was about to receive the needle in her arm, she reached the man's +revolver and shot him in the back. Events follow swiftly in her +tale, but all is thoroughly coherent, and a number of facts are +included which could be substantiated. The professional men +could not help being impressed and spent much valuable time +before they felt convinced that it was a fabrication. The exact +locations could not be discovered, but then Marie was a stranger +in the city. + +When we saw her the whole story was reiterated with but few +changes, which, however, from the standpoint of testimony were +most important. We soon found we could get direct testimony on +physical features which were provably untrue. For instance, the +description of a certain hallway in a building where she had gone +with one of the men interested in the events was totally unlike +anything that existed there. Then, too, certain embellishments, +which by this time included the payment of a large check to her +as hush money, a check which she as easily gave away again, +seemed altogether improbable. Marie by this time was implicating +herself in a burglary with this relative, and some other curious +incidents were given. In all of these, as we later found, there +was a central event about which her statements MIGHT have been +true. There was such a burglary; she had said in previous years +that she was hounded by a man, and so on. We, too, were struck +by the uselessness and lack of purpose in the lying--for we soon +felt assured that it was such. + +Physically we found Marie to be a decidedly good specimen. She +weighed about 140 lbs. Strong and firm in carriage. Vivacious +in expression. The physical examination at the university had +shown her to be without notable defect of any kind. We can +summarize Marie's characteristics by stating that from the +earliest age of which we can get satisfactory record, when she +was about 10 years old, she has been persistently addicted to +falsehoods. Even then she made up, without any basis, stories +which puzzled many people. It is much to the point that she has +been a great loser on account of this tendency; it has injured +her reputation on numerous occasions and destroyed many of her +good chances. When she was about 15 it was noticed that she was +a great day-dreamer. She thought she could write stories and +once began a novel. Much more peculiar than this was the fact +that she repeatedly wrote letters to her friends which were +simply a mass of fabrications, describing such things as +imaginary excursions. + +Tests for mental ability were not given in this case, there was +no need for it. Her marks in the preparatory course were just +fair. It had been noted by her teachers, as well as by her +foster parents, that she was prone to have periods when attention +to her work seemed difficult. Aside from her peculiarities, +which showed themselves entirely in her fabricating tendency and +her assumed illnesses, nothing much out of the way in her mental +life had ever been noted. On several occasions she had taken to +her bed, but when a physician was called, a diagnosis was given +of simulation, or hysteria. Nothing like major hysterical +attacks at any time occurred, + +From most excellent sources of information we have obtained an +account of the family history. No instance of insanity is known, +but it is said there is much evidence of ignorance and +superstition. Marie's mother bore a good character, but was +decidedly ignorant. At about the age of 50 she made a homicidal +attack upon a second husband and then killed herself. The father +was an industrious and sober laborer, but unable to support his +large family. At his death in Marie's early childhood the family +was broken up and the ten children were distributed about. None +of the children is said to be abnormal mentally, but there has +been a tendency to free living, even on the part of the older +sisters. It seems very sure that no other member of the family +was given to telling false stories. The brothers have been +inclined to be shiftless and to roam, but then the environmental +conditions often have been against them. However, some of them +have done well. In general, as far as Marie is concerned, it may +be said early home environment was not bad except on account of +poverty. Marie bears no traces of having suffered from defective +conditions before or after birth. Her early developmental +history appears to be negative. She has lived about in several +different homes, the longest stay being about seven years. In +one place she was suspected of masturbation, but we were unable +to get a perfectly definite statement that she was addicted to +the habit. + +Two years prior to the time we knew Marie she had worked up a +story of adventure in which she was the heroine. She used the +telephone to call for help, stating that she stood with a +revolver covering a burglar. From this incident she gained a +good deal of notoriety. The police found there was nothing to +the case and later Marie herself made a confession. By the time +we saw her this story varied somewhat from her original +statement, but was still persisted in, although she must have +known that we could readily trace the actual occurrence. + +After Marie had continued her stories for a few weeks while +attending the university they had grown so that they included +night visitations in her boarding-house from the man who was said +to be hounding her, she was found once more impossible to deal +with and, as her work became poorer, she had to leave. At this +period it was most significant to us that in spite of her +expressed desire for freedom from persecution she did not want us +to look further into her case because of certain mysterious +letters which would incriminate her. We felt entirely convinced +that the several reports which we received of her career in +preceding years gave a satisfactory clew to her character, +although we were never able to analyze the case far enough to +ascertain the genetic features. Thus it is impossible to make +any summary of causative factors. + + + +CASE 6 + +Summary: A thoroughly characteristic example of the type of +pathological lying which led to the invention of the term +pseudologia phantastica. A young woman, well endowed physically +and mentally, for years has often been indulging in extensive +fabrications which have no discernible basis in advantages +accruing to herself. The peculiarities of the falsifications +have given rise to much trouble for her, her family, and for many +others who have been incidentally connected with the situation. +The genesis of the tendency was finally found in early +experiences about which there have been much mental repression +and conflict. In the background there was also defective home +control and chronic neuropathic tendencies in both parents and in +their kin. + + +Janet B., 19 years old, we saw first in an eastern city at the +request of her parents. There she had become involved in +troubles which seemed particularly hard to unravel. However, we +were told that this was an old story with her. A diagnosis of +her mental condition was asked, and recommendations for the +future. Janet had told some very peculiar stories at her place +of employment where she was doing very well as a newcomer, +without any seeming reason for fabrication. Several who had +become interested in her were wondering if she were quite sane. + +After having made her way alone to New York, Janet readily +obtained employment. After a couple of weeks she approached a +department manager of the concern for which she worked and +related a long story, which at once aroused his sympathy. She +told him that her father and mother had died in the last year and +that she was entirely dependent upon herself. When she was about +four years of age she had been in a terrible accident and a +certain man had saved her life. Naturally, her father had always +thought very highly of this person and had pensioned him. +Formerly he lived up in the country with his family, but at +present was old, penniless, and alone in the city. Now that her +parents were dead she was in a quandary about keeping up her +father's obligation to the old man. Out of her $8 a week it was +hard to make both ends meet. She had to pay her own board and +for this man also. She found that he needed to be taken care of +in every way; she had to wash his face and dress him, he was so +helpless. She made no demand for any increase of salary and the +story was told evidently without any specific intent. The +services of a social worker were enlisted by the firm and the +girl reiterated the same story to her, even though it was clearly +intended that the case should be investigated. Janet's +boarding-house was visited and there she was found to be living +with distant relatives whom she had searched out upon her arrival +in the city. They knew she had run away from home and, indeed, +by this time the mother herself was already in New York, having +been sent for by them. + +The situation then became more complicated through the girl's +giving more explanatory details to the social worker, somewhat +accusing her own family. It was at this time I first saw her. +She then acknowledged that this story of a man who had saved her +life was purely an invention. Now she stated that in the western +town where she lived she had been engaged to a young man who was +discovered to be a defaulter and who had recently died. When +this fellow was in trouble, his mother, while calling on Janet's +family, used to make signals to her and leave notes under the +table cover, asking for funds with which to help him out. This +was a great strain upon Janet and even more so was his death. +She could stand it no longer and fled the city. Her lover's +stealing was a secret which she had kept from her own family. + +Before we had become acquainted with the true facts about the +family this girl gave us most extensive accounts of various +phases of her home life which included the most unlikely and +contradictory details. For instance, they had a large house with +beautiful grounds, yet before she left home she bought a sewing +machine for her mother, which she is paying for on weekly +installments. Her $8 a week is very little for her to live on +because she is paying this indebtedness. Janet wishes now to +take out a twenty year endowment policy in favor of her mother. +Her brothers and sister are all very bright, she tells us, but +she has never been particularly close to any member of her family +except her mother. The others always remind her that they are +better educated than she is. She expects to take up French and +Spanish in the evenings because they would be very helpful to her +commercially. She does not care to grow up, prefers simple +enjoyments, and has no desire for social affairs. She is only +desirous of improving her education. She relates her success as +a Sunday School teacher. She thinks at times she is very +nervous, and especially when she was in the high school she +showed signs of it. Then she used to stutter much, but of late +she has been able to control this. + +At another time, very glibly and without the slightest show of +emotion, she continues with her story. Tells of frequent +fainting spells when she goes from one attack into another. She +has not had them just recently, but she used to have them at +home. Tells us now that her mother has been very sick and she +has been worrying much about her. She wanted to send money to +her and help support her. `It's awfully hard on one to know your +mother is terribly sick and to think you can't reach her if +anything should happen.'' (It is to be remembered that all this +was told when the girl must have known, if she had thought at +all, that we would certainly get the full facts in a day or so.) + +On the physical side we found a very well developed and well +nourished young woman. Weight 148 lbs. No sensory defect noted. +Moderately coarse features, broad deep chest, quiet and strong +attitude. No signs whatever of nervousness. Her only complaint +at present is of headaches and ``quivering'' attacks. (We could +get no corroboration at all of either of these from any one +else.) She frequently spoke of herself as entirely healthy +except for these slight ailments. Some months later, vide infra, +it was discovered that Janet had a chronic pelvic trouble. The +most notable finding was Janet's facial expression when +confronted by some of her incongruities of behavior. Then she +assumed a most peculiar, open-eyed, wondering, dumb expression. +When flatly told a certain part of her story was falsehood, she +looked one straight in the eyes and said in a wonderfully demure +and semi-sorrowful manner, ``I am sorry you think so.'' Her +expression was sincere enough to make even experienced observers +half think they must themselves be wrong. + +On the mental side she demonstrated good ability in many ways. +She had been through two years of high school and showed +evidences of her training. We tested her for a number of +different capacities and, with one exception, we found all +through that she did fairly satisfactory work, showing herself to +have normal mental capabilities and control. + +This exception was in the ``Aussage'' or testimony test. Here in +reporting on our standard picture she gave in free recital 17 +items, which is a fair result, but she added several incorrect +details. On questioning she gave 12 more items, but invented +still more details. Of the seven standard suggestions offered +she very curiously accepted only one, and that not important. As +an example of how she would supply details from her fancy is the +following: The picture represents a little girl standing by the +side of an older person. Janet said it was a little boy, that he +had his hands in his pockets, a muffler on his neck, a stocking +cap on his head, and black shoes and stockings. All of these +were voluntarily offered and all were incorrect. + +Beyond this curious performance, and her peculiar lack of +foresight and shrewdness, or whatever it is that causes her so +readily to falsify and fabricate, we found not the slightest +evidence of aberration. Her conversation was coherent and to the +point. + +In the information obtained from the intelligent parents the +following points stand out clearly. The heredity is of interest. +There has been no known case of feeblemindedness, insanity, or +epilepsy on either side, but there is a great admixture of very +good with quite unstable qualities. This is true of both sides. +Some members of the family have taken high positions in the +community, and been exceptionally endowed mentally. Others have +been notoriously lacking in stability. We are informed that on +one side some have shown a marked inclination for tampering with +the truth, and it is suggested that Janet's tendency is the +result of early influence. The care of an incompetent +grandmother, whose word was notoriously untrustworthy, devolved +upon the family and it was impossible to prevent Janet from being +much with her. All of the children were aware of the old lady's +untruthfulness. One of Janet's parents had been addicted to +narcotics, but had managed to shake off the habit. The other +parent has had a severe attack of ``nervous prostration,'' +largely induced, it is maintained, by worry over family affairs. +It is most interesting to note that the other children, two boys +and one girl, have turned out remarkably well; two being +university graduates, and all being very stable in character. +Both parents are people of good moral ideals, and in spite of +their own nervous defects have given their children very good +care. + +The pregnancy with Janet was not entirely healthy, but no worse +than with the other children. Her birth and infancy were normal. +Walked and talked early. Started to school at 6. Menstruated +first at 13; not irregular. She never had any severe illnesses +of any kind. As a child she once fell down some steps and was +unconscious for a few minutes, but the accident was not known to +have left any bad effects. Janet's own stories of fainting are +much exaggerated. In fact, the mother has never really seen her +faint, nor is there any evidence of any minor lapses of +consciousness. At times the girl would feel faint and ask that +water be poured on her forehead--that was all there was to it. +She was removed in the middle of her high school course on +account of general nervousness. The doctor felt she was working +too hard. Her parents are sure she was never a great sufferer +from headaches. Nothing else of importance could be found in her +physical history. + +The story of this girl's falsifications and fabrications as +obtained from her people is exceedingly long. As a young child +she was not over-indulged in fairy stories, and the parents +noticed nothing peculiar about her then. She was not regarded as +a child who had any unusual powers of imagination. Somewhere +about 12 years of age, her parents cannot be certain just when, +they noticed she began the exaggeration and lying which has +continued more or less ever since. In the past two or three +years this has grown upon her and she has been making not only +untrue statements, but has been concocting peculiarly long and +intricate fabrications. The curious thing to the family is that +Janet seems to have little shrewdness in lying; of normal ability +in other things, she seems to have the mind of a child in this. +Very many deceptions are discovered in short order, but even then +the girl will sometimes argue at length that what she has said +was really the truth. The parents insist she must know that she +is lying, but her anomalous behavior has been so excessive that +they have long felt she should be studied by a psychiatrist. Her +mother asserts there is some periodicity in Janet's tendencies. +She maintains she has noticed that most of her lies are told in +the two or three days preceding menstruation. (This was +certainly not true during the period we observed the girl.) The +parents are sure there has never been any particular mental +shock, and the mother has always felt that Janet was particularly +free from contamination by bad children. At times she seems to +realize her own bad behavior, and not long ago said she would +become a nun, for in the tranquil life of the convent her +tendency to lying would not be stimulated. + +Further inquiry brought out the fact that it was true, as Janet +stated, that in her high school course she became nervous to the +extent of jerking and twitching, and that also for a time she +stuttered. Their physician said, however, that there was no +definite nervous disease. + +As a young child the parents never thought this girl in any way +different from the rest of the family. As she grew older she has +been regarded as physically the most robust, but, as she stated +to us, she has done the poorest intellectual work and that has +often been a matter of family comment. The other children are +careful truth tellers. + +The type of Janet's lying has been not only in the form of +falsifications about matters which directly concerned herself, +but also involved extensive manufacture of long stories, +phantasies. Meeting people she might give them extensive +accounts of the wealth and importance of her own family. She +once spread the report that her sister was married and living in +a fine home close by, giving many elaborate details of the new +household. Such stories naturally caused much family +embarrassment. Then she worked up an imaginary entertainment and +gave invitations to her brothers and sister at the request of a +pretended hostess. Just before the event she, simulating the +hostess, telephoned that an accident had taken place and the +party would not be given. An extremely delicate situation arose +because she alleged a certain young man wanted to marry her. The +truth of her assertions in this matter never was investigated. +The parents felt it quite impossible to go to the young man about +the facts on account of the danger of exposing their daughter. +They were long embarrassed by the extent to which she kept this +affair going, but it finally was dropped without any social +scandal occurring. In this and other affairs the family +situation was at times unbearable because of the possibility that +there might be some truth underlying the girl's statements. As +the years went on Janet, of course, suffered from her loss of +reputation, but still continued her practices of lying. In the +two years before she left home she worked as a clerk. Previously +she had held two or three situations and was reported to give +good satisfaction in her work, but something would always come up +about money matters, or other things, which would finally give +rise to trouble. It is not known that she ever really took any +money except the last time when she ran away and took a +considerable sum from her parents. + +A period of extensive untruthfulness and deception occurred +before she left home. Janet represented to her parents that she +was working at a certain place after she had left. She got into +some mix-up about money matters, the rights of which never were +straightened out. As usual, the affair was too complicated to be +understood by anything short of a prolonged investigation. After +things had come to this pass and her parents hardly knew what to +do with her, she took money from them and ran away. She was +readily traced because the ticket agent in her home town could +give a description of her. She had bought a ticket to an +intermediate point and there stopped over night. Her father +followed her thus far. It seems when she finally got to New York +she hunted up the distant relatives who took her in and informed +the mother. The girl intended to earn her own living and soon +found a good place. She was always able to make a good +presentation of herself, being a quiet and convincing +conversationalist. + +Out of the mess of lies surrounding her New York experience, it +was finally found that she had met a young man in a +boarding-house and had become infatuated with him. He was an +honest enough fellow, but fell in readily with her forwardness. +He took her to shows, and letters, intercepted by the mother, +showed that between them there had been some premature love +passages. At that time Janet started making weekly payments on a +gold watch to give to this young man at Christmas, a curious and +quite unwarranted expenditure. Perhaps this was the fact around +which some of her fabrications at that time centered. Perhaps it +was this money which became now the amount she was paying to her +father's pensioner, now what she had to send home to her mother, +and, again, her payments upon an imaginary sewing machine. In +this affair, as at other times, the lying was extremely childish, +inasmuch as the truth, through receipts found in her room, proved +to be readily ascertainable. + +A good example of the character of Janet's falsifications was the +story about the death of her lover, told to us at our last +interview with her when she had come to us with the specific +purpose of trying to get herself straightened out once and for +all. She was not aware that her parents had given me any account +of this young man, but she might well have supposed that I had +inquired about him, or at least would inquire. Only a few +minutes previously she had told about her lying and given a very +definite account of its beginnings which was much in accord with +what her parents had said. Mentioning her love affairs, she +maintained that, unbeknown to her parents, she had been engaged +to this man, but that he had proved to be a thief, stealing money +and robbing the mails. She started off on a story of how another +young man was accused, but no evidence was forthcoming about him, +and soon afterward her lover died. Getting him safely buried for +us, she was quite willing to go on to another topic. + +The workings of Janet's mind in connection with her alterations +of a story were sometimes most curious. We were interested to +study a long letter quite coherently written to her mother a few +days before we saw the young woman, and about the time when she +first told her long story to the department manager. In the +letter she spoke of the extraordinary opportunities she now had +in this place of employment, exaggerating her salary to $14 a +week. She stated she had already had a raise, and could get work +for other members of her family at good salaries. She was about +to start a bank account, and so on. But instead of making any +remittances to her mother (such as she asserted at one time) she +requested her parents to send her $5 to tide her over. We +counted no less than nine definite falsehoods in this epistle. +We were keen to know if Janet could remember her own +prevarications and so asked her if she could recall what she had +written to her mother. She trimmed her statements most curiously +then, being aware we knew her salary to be $8 a week. She said +she had told her mother her salary was $10, but in answer to our +reply, ``Oh, you said more than that,'' she blurted out, ``Well, +I said $14.'' It was quite evident she remembered this, as well +as certain other exaggerated statements and figures in the +letter. + +We were fortunate enough to be able to analyze out much of the +genesis of this girl's career as a pathological liar. After the +immediate situation was somewhat cleared and Janet asserted she +was anxious to make a new start in life, we began our inquiry +into beginnings. Janet showed willingness to enter into the +question of her mental antecedents and tendencies which she +maintained she heartily deplored. To be sure we had evidence +that even in her most sincere moments she was unable to refrain +from occasional falsifying, but the main facts seemed +self-evidently true, and some of them were corroborated at +interviews with the parents. + +After considering her own career with us for a time, she asserted +that it now was clear to her just how and when she began lying. +As a child of about 12 years it seems she was wont to meet with a +certain group of girls on a hillside and they indulged in many +conversations about sex matters. Evidently the circumstances +surrounding this important introduction into affairs of sex life +were indelibly impressed upon her mind. She was there instructed +not only in the general facts, but also in methods of +self-gratification. It is clear to her, she states, that it was +exactly at this time that she first began deceiving her mother +and telling lies. She explains these tendencies as the result of +a guilty conscience. It comes out that the mother did not know +this group of girls to be undesirable companions for Janet, but +the latter's consciousness of their frailties always led her to +state that she had been with other children when in reality she +had been in this bad companionship. Through dwelling on their +teachings she began sex practices by herself, and in order to +carry this out she had to indulge in other deceptions. She +remembers distinctly her willful repression of the facts, and +states that the nervousness which she displayed for two or three +years in her school work was undoubtedly due to this cause. In +fact, she thought so at the time, but persisted in deceiving her +mother and her physician in regard to the matter. + +Her mental repressions and conflicts did not begin, however, at +this period. By digging further into her memory Janet tells us +about a girl in another town where they used to live, a girl who, +when Janet was about 7 years old, wanted to show her about sex +practices. Janet knew this girl to be bad by general reputation, +and ran away when this offer was made, but it was too late--the +mental impress had been formed. She thinks her mother would +remember this girl. The things which this bad girl started to +tell came frequently up in Janet's mind and she wondered much +about them. No practices, however, were indulged in and even the +thoughts were fought against until the time mentioned above when +other sex ideas were implanted. Janet's mother had neither given +nor received confidences on this subject, and indeed never +throughout the daughter's life has there been anything except +vague warnings on the part of the mother about the general +dangers of sex immorality. + +We gradually came to learn that Janet had been subject to much +sex temptation from her own physical feelings. She never was a +good sleeper, she thinks, and she often lies awake, or will wake +up for a time in the middle of the night and think of sex +affairs. She feels sure there has been considerable stress upon +her on account of this temptation which she has felt should be +combated. The occasional giving way to sex habits also resulted +in mental stress and, as she expresses it, worry. + +At the time of her failure to do well in school work her internal +conflicts were especially acute. There was before her +continually the success which the other members of her family had +made, which she herself admired, and for which she was ambitious. +She hid at that time the cause of her nervousness and failure; +there was the danger of its being discovered. After thus +reviewing her case with us, Janet reiterated that she was sure +her tendency to prevaricate came on at the time when she first +began her bad sex habits. + +This girl was probably not much of a day-dreamer. She denies +being so, saying she had always been too busy for such to be the +case. We also obtained corroboration of this from others who had +closely observed her. She says she had lived no specially +imaginative life beyond occasionally thinking of herself as a +well-to-do lady with many good clothes to wear, or sometimes +lying in bed and imagining she had a lover there. Further +inquiry into her imaginative life seemed futile because she was +not trained in introspection and because even in her frankest +moments we were always afraid that she might fall into her +strongly formed habit of prevarication. We ascertained that in +her home life special efforts had been made to keep her busy and +she could not be regarded as a dreamer. Janet strongly denied +the periodicity in her lying which her mother maintained, but the +girl did state that her periods of sex temptation were mostly +just preceding her menstrual period. + +In giving the above account of what was ascertained by analysis +with Janet we have offered such of her statements as are clearly +probable or which are corroborated by the parents. Our many +experiences with the young woman led us to be particularly +careful in accepting as veracious any of her statements unless, +as in what is given above, they clearly followed the type of fact +which may be ascertained in the investigation of other instances +of pathological lying where the individual's word is more +reliable. The parents were able to corroborate many points. The +mother remembers the older girl in the town where they lived when +Janet was 7 years old and that this girl was notorious for her +sex tendencies, although she was not in the least aware that +Janet had been contaminated. Then she recollects that Janet used +to tell her so particularly about going with a special crowd of +girls (those which she now says were not her companions). Both +parents considered the matter at great length in order to help my +study of the case and both are very certain that it was just +about this period when Janet says she was beginning her covert +sex experiences that she began the lying, which was petty at +first, but after a time expanded into the type of detailed +falsifications we have enumerated above. Altogether there was +little doubt in our minds that Janet was giving the truth in its +main outlines. Undoubtedly it was merely her habit which always +led her to alter somewhat the details. + +We were interested to note that in her letters and in her +ordinary conversation Janet took up the topics that a fairly well +educated girl would naturally discuss. For instance, she would +give us some account of her recent reading, or a visit to an art +gallery, telling us with normal vivacity about a couple of +pictures which had deeply impressed her. She spoke not only of +their subjective influence, but discussed the details of +composition and coloring. We might mention that in a +characteristic way she interjected some remarks that she herself +used to be very good at drawing and won several prizes at it. +She stated that she thought of going farther in art, but that her +parents could hardly afford to allow her to do this. These +remarks were found later to be quite aside from the truth. + +Telling us the story of her school career, Janet insists her +memory had never been good for learning poems or for languages, +particularly Latin, but anything in the way of a picture she +could recall with ease. What she has read she often thinks of in +the form of pictures. Concerning her lying she denied it was +done particularly to cover up things, at least since the time +when the habit was first formed. She feels that it really is a +habit, a very bad one. She hardly knows she is going to +prevaricate; the false statement comes out suddenly. In thinking +about it all she harks back once more to that crowd of girls; +everybody thought they were good, but she knew they were not. + +After a time of quieting down in her behavior tendencies, +although there was never complete cessation of the inclination to +falsify, a new exacerbation of lying arose. This time it seemed +to center about a clandestine love affair of a mild type. There +was one trouble with this case which neither I nor any one else +was able to clear for the parents. It was perfectly apparent +that the girl might naturally be expected to marry at some time. +Now, when an honest young man felt inspired to keep company with +this vivacious, healthy, and generally attractive young woman, +what were the parents to do? It was easy enough for them to +decide that she must not go with a man of bad character, but were +they bound in honor to inform any young man, before affairs had +gone too far, that the girl had this unfortunate tendency and +that she had had rather a shady career? It was perfectly clear +to them that she herself would not tell him. This was how the +matter stood at the time we last heard of the case, and while the +parents were holding back, a young man's affections and the +girl's fabrications were growing apace. + +Janet had been suffering from a chronic inflammation of the +bladder, which, however, did not cause any acute symptoms. A +chronic pelvic inflammation was discovered, for which she was +operated upon in her home town. The surgeon reported to the +parents that conditions were such that they would naturally be +highly irritative, although there had been no previous complaint +about them. The girl made an exceedingly rapid recovery. It was +after this that her last affair of the affections was causing the +parental quandary and distress. + +Our final diagnosis of this ease, after careful study of it, was +that it was a typical case of pathological lying, mythomania, or +pseudologia phantastica. The girl could not be called a +defective in any ordinary sense. Her capabilities were above the +average. She showed good moral instincts in many directions and +was at times altogether penitent. Nor could she be said to have +a psychosis. The trouble was confined to one form of conduct. + +The lying, as in all these cases, seemed undertaken sometimes for +the advantages which thereby might accrue. On the other hand, at +times the falsification seemed to have no relation to personal +advantages. Indeed, this girl had experience, many times +repeated, that her lying very quickly resulted in suffering to +her. There were aspects of her falsifications which made it seem +as if there was pleasure in the mere manufacture of the stories +themselves and in the living, even for a short time, in the +situations which she had created out of her imagination and +communicated to others. Frequently there seemed to be an +unwillingness on her part to face the true facts of existence. +In her representation of things as different from what they +really were she seemed to show even the desire for +self-deception. Another point: no student of cases of this kind +should allow himself to forget the potency of habit formation. +There can be little doubt but that a large share of this girl's +conduct was the result of her well developed and long maintained +tendency to trim the facts. + +As far as we were able to determine, and we undoubtedly got at +the essential facts, this girl's falsifying trait was based on +the following: The fact that she came of neuropathic stock would +make us think that she possibly inherited an unstable mental +make-up. To be sure, the only evidence of it was in this +anomalous characteristic of hers, namely, her pathological lying. +She seemed sound in her nervous makeup. The idea that the +grandmother passed on as inheritance her prevaricating traits is +open to discussion, but we have seen that environmental +influences from this source may have been the only effect, if +there was any at all. Very important in this case, without any +doubt, is the early sex teaching, its repression and the mental +conflict about it for years, and then the reintroduction into the +subject just before puberty. Probably this is the vital point of +the girl's whole career. The success she early achieved in +deceiving her mother, not by denials, but by the elaboration of +imaginary situations, has been the chief determinant of her +unfortunate behavior. Added to that was the formation of a habit +and of an attitude towards life in which the stern realities were +evaded by the interposition of unrealities. Even the affair of +the imaginary social gathering can be conceived in this light, +for evidently she and her family were not engaged then in social +affairs and the preparation for a gay event would for a time be a +source of excitement and pleasure. Her autoeroticism may have +helped towards the production of phantasies and the general +tendency to evasion of the realities of life. + +It was clear from first to last that the exploration of the +genesis of the tendencies in such a case as this could be but one +step towards a cure. What was also needed was prolonged +disciplinary treatment under conditions which were well nigh +impossible to be gained at her age. Willingness on the part of +the individual to enter into any long period of discipline or +education, such as an institution might offer, is not easily +obtained. + +--------------------------------------------------------------- +Mental conflict: early and severe. Case 6. + Early sex experiences and habits. Girl, age 19 yrs. + Mental habit formation. + Home conditions: defective understanding + and control, although ordinarily good + home. Early acquaintance with lying. + Heredity: neuropathic tendencies on + both sides. +Delinquencies: Mentality: +Excessive lying. Ability well up to +Runaway. the ordinary. +--------------------------------------------------------------- + + + +CASE 7 + +Summary: A girl of 16 brought to us by her mother, who regards +her as abnormal mentally because she is an excessive liar and +delinquent in other minor ways, proved to be an habitual +masturbator. Under direction, the mother succeeded in curing her +of this habit, with the remarkable result that the young woman +became in the course of a couple of years quite reliable. + + +We first saw this young woman of 16 with the mother who +maintained that there must be something wrong with the girl's +mentality because of her lying, recent running away from home, +and some minor misconduct. There had been trouble with her since +she was 7 years old. She was the twin of a child who died early +and who never developed normally. Her mother said she seemed +smart enough in some ways; she had reached 7th grade before she +was 14, but even at that time she was a truant and would run off +to moving-picture shows at every opportunity. Her father was a +rascal and came of an immoral family. He had a criminal record, +and that was another reason why the mother felt this girl was +going to the bad. The mother herself was strong and healthy; she +was remarried. The existence of feeblemindedness, epilepsy, or +insanity on either side was denied. + +We quickly observed by the physical conditions of this girl that +something was the matter. Expression sad and dull. Long thin +face and compressed lips. Vision almost nil in one eye, but +normal in the other. Hearing normal. Color only fair. Weight +115 lbs.; height 5 ft. 4 in. Most notable was her general +listlessness. ``I feel draggy and tired. I'm yawning all the +time.'' + +On the mental tests we found much irregularity. Tasks that were +done without effort were done fairly well. The girl was a good +reader and wrote a good hand. A long task in arithmetic was with +difficulty done correctly. When she was able to get hold of +herself she could do even our harder tests with accuracy. Her +failures were apparently from lack of concentration and +attention. Although she did some things well we felt obliged to +call her dull from physical causes, feeling that if she were in +better condition she might give a much better performance. + +On the ``Aussage,'' or Testimony Test, 11 items were given on +free recital and 2 of these were wrong. Upon questioning, 17 +more details were added and 4 of these were incorrect. 2 out of +5 suggestions definitely accepted. + +Under observation it was just as the mother said. The girl was +an extreme falsifier. As one observer puts it, ``she is not +malicious in her lies, but just lies all the time and seems to +try to make herself believe what she is saying.'' + +``I was in the 7th grade. Had a hundred jobs since then. Can't +keep them because I'm so draggy. They want their money's +worth--they want a more live girl. Sometimes I don't mind my +mother and I get spunky. I feel lonesome and get mad. I feel +tired. I can't please my mother no matter how hard I try. I'd +like to go in some little home where I could have a chance.'' + +After a few days we found this girl in a decidedly good mood, +wanting to be helped. She willingly entered into the analysis of +her case with us and said she thought most of her trouble came +because she was a day-dreamer. ``Sometimes I dream of things in +the day time. I'll sit and stare and stare and think of +different things. I'll think I'm doing them. I'll dream of +things what I do and if I read a good play I'll dream of that. +When I think of myself or somebody starts looking at me I'll stop +dreaming.'' + +To another observer this girl gave a vivid description of how she +felt after seeing pictures in the nickel shows. She states that +love-making scenes lead her to practice self-abuse. This matter +was taken up with her mother who stated that when this child was +7 years old she and the father had caught her at this habit and +had severely reprimanded her and had thought she had stopped it. +We were particularly interested to hear this because it was +exactly the time the mother had specified as the beginning of her +lying and general bad behavior. Going farther into the case with +the mother and the girl we ascertained that her bad sex habits +had been continued more or less during all these years, and of +late, particularly under the influence of picture shows, and of +what some other girls were doing in the way of delinquency, the +habit had become worse than ever. It was closely connected +evidently with day-dreaming all these years and with the +development of the fabricating tendency. + +The mother who had been apparently so negligent of causes proved +now to be a stalwart in this case and took the girl under her +immediate charge. There was steady betterment. The girl went +back and finished school and at the end of a year was reported as +tremendously improved. There was no further complaint about her +lying. We know that after this she long held a good position +which any hint of untrustworthiness or lack of capacity would +have lost her. Thus the cure of her sex habits brought about +cessation of her extreme untruthfulness. + +--------------------------------------------------------------- +Bad sex habits long continued. Case 7. + Heredity. (?) Father immoral Girl, age 16 yrs. + and criminal. + Home conditions. + Lack of understanding and + supervision. +Delinquencies: Mentality: +Excessive lying. Dull from physical +Early truancy. causes. (Later +Running away. quite normal.) +--------------------------------------------------------------- + + + +CASE 8 + +Summary: A thoroughly illustrative case of long continued, +excessive pathological lying on the part of a very bright girl, +now 17 years old. As this young woman has well known, her +falsifications have many times militated against the fulfillment +of her own desires and interests. In the face of clear +apperception of her fault, the tendency to react to a situation +by lying sometimes appears to be fairly imperative. The only +ascertained bases of the tendency are her early reactions, +unthwarted by parental control, followed by habit formation; all +in an environment peculiarly favorable to deception. The lying +passed over into swindling. + + +Gertrude S., who immigrated from England with her parents ten +years previously, was seen by us when she was 17, after she had +been engaged for months in a career of misrepresentation which +had led her case into the hands of several social agencies. Much +difficulty was encountered because repeatedly when people had +tried to help her she had led them astray in their investigations +by telling ridiculously unnecessary falsehoods. Her parents came +to see us and gradually we obtained a detailed and probably quite +reliable family and developmental history. About the evolution +of the young woman's mental life we have unfortunately had to +rely much upon her own word. This has made our studies rather +more unsatisfactory than in other cases where corroboration from +parents was obtained. However, there is much that rings true and +is of interest even in the unverifiable part of the study. + +There is not much to be said about the physical examination; it +was negative in most respects. She is of rather slight type; +weight 110 lbs., height 5 ft. 1 in. Delicate features of mature +type. Expression intelligent and decidedly refined for her +social class. Gynecological examination made by a specialist +revealed nothing abnormal and no evidence of immorality. +Menstruation said to have taken place at 13 years and to be +regular and not difficult. + +In studying Gertrude's mental powers we gave a considerable range +of tests and found her to be well up to the ordinary in ability. +She showed no remarkable ability in any direction, but gave an +almost uniformly good performance on tests. Concerning her other +mental traits and especially her range of information and reading +more will be said later. No signs of aberration were discovered +by any one. + +The record on the ``Aussage'' picture test is as follows: She +gave 16 items on free recital with considerable reference to +functional details and with side comments as to who the little +girl might be, and what the dog wanted, and so on. So far, this +was the performance of a rational, quick-minded person. On +questioning, 28 more items were added, but no less than 12 of +these were incorrect--she evidently supplied freely from her +imagination. Of the 7 suggestions which were offered she took 5. +Twice not only was the main suggestion accepted, but imaginary +details were added. Naturally, this is a very unusual record +from a normal person. + +There is absolutely nothing of significance in the heredity, +according to the accounts received by us. All the grandparents +are still alive in the old country. They are small townspeople +of good reputation. Epilepsy, insanity, and feeblemindedness are +stoutly denied and are probably absent in near relatives. The +father is a staunch citizen who feels keenly the disgrace of the +present situation. He is a hard working clerk. We early learned +the mother was not to be relied upon. Our best evidence of this +came from Gertrude. She told us she had always been accustomed +to hearing lies in her own household. According to the father +his wife's falsifications are merely to shield the children and +she only shows the ordinary deceit of woman. We have no history +of this woman ever having indulged in elaborate fabrications and, +in general, she is of thoroughly good reputation. In delicacy of +feature the girl is her mother over again. + +Gertrude's birth was comparatively easy after a normal pregnancy. +After a healthy first infancy she had an illness at 2 years which +lasted for three or four months. The exact nature of this is not +plain, but it was probably bronchitis with complications. There +were no evidences of any involvement of the nervous system. She +walked and talked early, at about 1 year of age. She has had no +other serious illness in all her life and has had no convulsions. +None of the children has suffered from convulsions. Gertrude is +one of five, all of whom are alive and well. In the last couple +of years she has complained a little of headaches and some other +minor troubles. It was typical of the family situation that +after Gertrude had told us of a series of fainting spells a year +previously, the mother corroborated her and, indeed, made them +out even worse. But when the reliable father was consulted on +the matter it turned out there had been no such fainting attacks, +nor could they be verified by communication with a doctor who is +said to have attended Gertrude. Unquestionably they never +occurred. Gertrude went to school at the usual age, but on +account of poverty and immigration missed many long periods. +However, at 14 she had gone through the 6th grade. + +About Gertrude's moral evolution we got very little aid from the +parents or indeed from any others. It was very evident that from +earliest childhood the girl had led a mental life of which her +relatives knew nothing. Naturally, the mother gave us no account +of the development of the tendency to lying; she merely glossed +over her daughter's deceptions. The father, who had been obliged +to work away from home much during Gertrude's early years, merely +knew that at about the time she left school, namely 14 years, she +began to lie excessively. + +Anything like a complete account of Gertrude's prevarications, +even as we know them, would require much space. Some idea of +their quantity and quality may be gained from the facts which we +have gleaned from several sources. As might be supposed, +Gertrude has established a reputation for falsification among +many of her acquaintances. One friend tells how she represented +herself as a half orphan, living with a hard-hearted step-mother. +Demanding promises of secrecy, Gertrude told this girl about a +sum which she had with much difficulty gradually saved from her +earnings in order to buy needed clothes. She asked the friend to +come and help her make a selection. (Now the $20 or so that was +spent Gertrude had stolen. By following her strange impulse she, +with danger to herself, related a complicated story to this other +girl who needed to know nothing of any part of the affair.) We +have knowledge of scores of other fabrications which were +detected. They include her alleged attendance at a course of +lectures, her possession of a certain library card, and her +working in various places. For many of these stories not a +shadow of a reason appeared--especially during the time we have +known her she has had every incentive to tell the truth about +everything. + +When by virtue of our court work we first knew the case, her +lying centered about her other delinquencies, but even so its +peculiar characteristics stood out sharply. + +Gertrude was held to the adult court in the matter of the forgery +of a check, which had been presented in an envelope to a bank +teller by her and cashed as in the regular line of business +between the bank and the firm for which she worked. Finding the +girl had lied about her age, she was held, after the preliminary +hearing, to the proper court. There, in turn, she did not appear +at the right time, it being stated that she was sick in a +hospital. One officer knew better and further investigation +showed that Gertrude herself had come to the court, represented +herself as her sister, and made the false statement about the +illness. A telephone call the same afternoon to her house +Gertrude answered. + + +Months of difficulty with the case began now. Her employer and +all concerned experienced much difficulty in getting at the truth +of the forgery, particularly through her clever implication of a +man who had no easy task in freeing himself. Even after the girl +confessed herself a confirmed liar she told more untruths which +were peculiarly hard to unravel. Gertrude's firm bearing, her +comparative refinement and her ability made every one unusually +anxious to do her justice, and to save her from her own +self-damaging tendencies. + +During the continuance of the case, when all her interests +demanded her good behavior, Gertrude could not refrain from what +were almost orgies of lying and deceit. She well realized how +this would count against her and, indeed, wrote letters of +apology repeatedly for her misconduct. + +``Let me come and tell you all. The time has come when things +must stop, therefore I feel that I must talk to someone. I have +lived a lie from the day I was born until now.'' + +After these letters she went on making false statements which +could readily be checked up. Nothing is any more curious in +Gertrude's case than the anomaly of her telling several of us who +tried to help her that up to the time of the given interview she +had not thoroughly realized how bad it was to lie, and how she +now felt keenly that she must cease, while perhaps at the end of +the very same interview a reaction to a new situation would +produce more fabrications. Personally I have seen nothing any +more suggestive of the typical toper's good resolutions and +sudden falling from grace. + +The story of the forged check was fancifully embellished and ever +more details were supplied at pleasure. While this matter was +under investigation Gertrude stayed away from home several +nights, two of which have never been accounted for. She told +fairly plausible stories about going out of town, but she first +should have studied time tables to make them wholly convincing. +The mother, too, told that the girl had been out of town, but in +this she was caught, for it was found that Gertrude had been part +of the time with other relatives. + +The main story of the check involved a man who worked in the same +office. She stated that he made an immoral proposal to her on +the basis of immunity from prosecution. After a couple of months +Gertrude got round to confessing that she alone was responsible +for the entire forgery and that her previous quite clever stories +were not true. Her main confession was made in the form of a +long letter written entirely aside from the influence of any one. +In this she also stated that she had stolen money and jewelry, +which was known to have been taken. There was no untrue self- +accusation, except that she may have exaggerated her own tendency +to falsify at a very early age. Naturally, in such a case as +this, even the latest confession must always be taken cum grano +salis. + +Passing from the above probably sufficient account of Gertrude's +falsifications as we knew them, we can take up her mental life +and traits. We have had to rely on the girl herself, as we +stated above, for many of these facts. She was brought up in +poor circumstances in a manufacturing town in England where there +had been many labor troubles. On two occasions when she was a +child she had seen encounters on the street, and during one riot +in their neighborhood her uncle was injured. She was +considerably frightened, but, so far as we could learn, this was +the only time in her life that she experienced any fear. Very +early she found that stories told to frighten her were untrue, +and what was said about the undesirability of certain children as +playmates proved false when she came to know them. She early +discovered that for self-satisfaction she would have to live a +mental life of her own. There were many things which she could +not discuss with her mother. In early childhood she was a great +reader of novels and spent many hours lying on the bed living an +imaginary life. She never discussed her ideas with any one. +Later she took to more serious reading, and of recent years she +has assailed many of the world's greatest problems. Particularly +she tells of the influence of Tolstoi's ``Kreutzer Sonata'' upon +her. During two years she has read it four times and it has +convinced her of the shams of character and that people lead dual +lives. + +When she was about 9 or 10 years old she began talking with other +girls about sex problems and up to the present time has never +consulted any grown person about them. Her first information of +this kind was obtained from a crowd of girls who used +successfully to lie to their teachers and mothers to get out of +school work. Going further into the question of this hidden +knowledge of sex things, she tells us she has never worried much +about the things she has heard, but she has wondered a great deal +and they have often come up in her mind. She pursued the course +of asking many girls what they knew about this subject and then, +getting unsatisfactory answers, picked up what she could from +ordinary literature. Gertrude maintains that all her dwelling +upon sex affairs never aroused within her any specific desires. +(Gertrude is anything but a sensuous type and it may be that her +statement in this respect is true.) When she went to work she +fell in with girls who talked excessively about boys and sex +affairs, but at this time she had a mental world of her own and +so did not pay much attention to them. Gertrude talked much to +us of the possibility of her studying civil law, history, +economics, and so on--it is very clear that she has really dwelt +on the possibility of being a student of serious subjects. + +Very willingly this young woman entered into the problem of +solving the genesis of her own tendencies. She repeatedly said +that she, of all things, wanted to break herself of this. She +maintains she can perceive no beginnings. It seems to her as if +she has always been that way. She spoke at first of this crowd +of girls who successfully lied to their parents and talked to her +about sex things, and we are inclined to believe that this really +may have been the beginning, but later she affirms this was not +the beginning and that her lying began in earlier childhood. All +that she knows is that it has grown to be a habit and now ``when +I speak it comes right out.'' After she has told a lie she never +thinks about it again one way or another. Her conscience does +not trouble her in the matter. She does not tell lies for what +she gets out of it, nor does it give her any particular pleasure +to fool people. She does not invent her stories, but at the time +of talking to people she simply says untrue things without any +thought beforehand and without any consideration afterward. To +one officer she flung the challenge, ``Oh, I'm clever, you'll +find that out.'' After months of effort and when it was clear +that the girl for her own good must be given a course of training +in an institution she quite acquiesced in the wisdom of such +procedure, after a few hours' rebellion. + +It has been noted by many that one of Gertrude's outstanding +traits is her lack of emotion. She never cries and only rarely +does the semblance of a blush tinge her cheeks. She neither +loves nor hates strongly. She seems remarkably calm under +conditions where others storm. She says she never is frightened, +that she never worries, or is sorry. She is well aware of her +own ego; that she may be trespassing upon the rights of others +never seems to enter her head. Certain simulations of physical +ailments, which at times she showed, we could only interpret as +part of her general tendency to misrepresent. + +Our summary of the causative factors in this case, made, +unfortunately, partly on the basis of this unreliable girl's +testimony, offers the following explanation of her remarkable +tendencies: + +(a) There was early development of an inner life which dealt +vividly in imaginary situations. This grew into a mental +existence hidden entirely from the members of her family. + +(b) There was early experience with successful lying on the part +of others, and this as a main episode probably occurred at the +time when the emotion natural to first knowledge of sex life was +present. + +(e) There was frequent experience with the falsifications which +were her mother's frailty. + +(d) For her lying there were no parental disciplines or +corrections at any time, so far as we have been able to learn. + +(e) The young woman shows unusually little emotion, and only +sporadically demonstrates conscience. + +(f) There is unquestionably marked habit formation in the case. + + +--------------------------------------------------------------- +Habit formation: Very strong. Case 8. + Lack of parental correction. Girl, age 17 years. + Early experience with lying. + Development of inner life: Imaginative and + hidden. +Delinquencies: +Excessive lying and misrepresentation. +False accusations. +Forging. Mentality: +Stealing. Good ability. +--------------------------------------------------------------- + + + +CASE 9 + +Summary: A girl of 14 had been notoriously untruthful for years. +She had created much trouble by her petty false accusations, and +her lying stood often in the way of her own satisfactions and +advantages. Analysis of the case shows the girl's dual moral and +social experiences and tendencies, her inner conflicts about the +same, and her remarkably vivid mental imagery-- all of which +leads her to doubt sometimes concerning what is true and what is +false. + + +A strange admixture of races, of religion, and of social and +moral tendencies was brought out in the study of Amanda R. and of +her family conditions. We were much helped in the study of this +case, which has long been a source of many social difficulties, +by the intelligence of certain relatives who knew well the family +facts, and also by the good mental capacities of the girl +herself. + +Amanda is an orphan and has been living for years with relatives. +She has caused them and others, even those who have tried to help +her, extreme annoyance on account of her quite unnecessary lies, +her accusations, and some other delinquent tendencies. The main +trouble all concede to be her falsifications, which vary from +direct denials to elaborate stories invented without any seeming +reason whatever. Reports on her conduct have come from a number +of different sources. Neighbors have complained that she has +come to them and borrowed money with the statement that her +family was hard up. At school she stated for a time that she had +come unprovided with lunch because her people were so poor, but +it was ascertained that she had thrown away her lunch each day. +The lies which she told to the other school children were +extraordinarily numerous and fertile; unfortunately they +sometimes involved details about improper sex experiences. A +long story was made up about one of her relatives having +committed suicide and was told to the school teachers and others. +She defamed the character of one of her aunts. To her pastor she +told some outrageous falsehoods. A home for delinquent girls, +where she was once placed on account of her general bad behavior, +would not put up with her, so much trouble arose from her +prevarications. She accused the very good people there of not +treating her well because she was not of their race. All of the +above is quite apart from the girl's own romantic stories which +have been told in her family circle and have done no especial +harm. Of these we had the best account from the girl herself. + +An intelligent relative gave an account of the facts. Amanda has +been tried in a number of households, but has been given up by +everyone after a short period of trial. Her word is found so +unreliable that in general she is regarded as thoroughly +untrustworthy. This particular relative, who is most interested +in her, tells us she thinks the girl is mentally peculiar. She +states that in general her mind is both romantic and rambling. +She constantly has the idea that her beauty will bring her a +wealthy husband. She lies about other people to these relatives +and about them to others. They have a comfortable home and are +very anxious for Amanda to do well, and many times have had +serious talks with her, all to no purpose. They themselves have +attempted to analyze the nature of the girl's characteristics, +and say it is quite evident that the telling of untruths with +this girl is the result of quick reaction on her part. Fictions +of all kinds come up in her mind constantly and are uttered +quickly. It is doubtful whether she premeditates her stories. +She has threatened suicide. They think she is the biggest liar +that ever lived and can't understand how she can engage in such +unforesighted behavior unless she is somewhat abnormal. Only +once did they ever notice anything suggestive of a mental +peculiarity other than her lying. Then she did talk quite +incoherently and at random for a time (she is a great talker +anyhow), but later she said she realized what she had done, and +said not to mind her--she had just let her tongue rattle on and +did not mean anything by it. + +On two or three occasions Amanda has started to school in the +morning and wandered off and kept going all day. She had been +immoral with boys, but not to any great extent. She undertook to +be religious for a time, but her sincerity was always in +question. She knows the character of her own mother and +threatens at times to follow in her tracks. + +The racial heredity of this girl is a strange mixture. Her +father was a Scandinavian and her mother colored. The maternal +grandfather was colored, and the maternal grandmother was an +alcoholic Irish woman and died in an insane hospital. It is +possible, also, that there is Indian blood in the family. The +mother kept an immoral resort and drank at times. The father is +said, even by his wife's relative, to have died some years ago of +a broken heart about her career. She died of tuberculosis a few +years after him. Amanda was the only child. About the early +developmental history we have no reliable information. The girl +was taken by relatives before her mother died, but was allowed to +visit her, and there was evidently real affection between mother +and daughter. Long contention over religious affairs in the +family led to some bickering about placing the girl. + +We found Amanda to be rather a good looking girl with very slight +evidences of colored blood. Quiet and normal in her attitude and +expression. Slightly built--weight 93 lbs.; height 4 ft. 10 in. +Vision R. 20/80, L. 20/25. Coarse tremor of outstretched hands. +No evidence of specific disease. All other examination negative. +The girl complains of occasional sick headaches with photophobia. +Pelvic examination by a specialist negative. + +On the mental side we quickly found we had to deal with a girl of +decidedly good general ability. Tests were almost uniformly done +well. Memory processes decidedly good-- span for eight numbers +auditorily and for seven numbers visually. No evidence whatever +of aberration. + +Results on the ``Aussage'' test: Amanda on free recital gave 12 +details of the picture; on questioning she mentioned 32 more +items, but a dozen of these were incorrect. Of 7 suggestions +offered she accepted 6. This was an exceptionally inaccurate +performance. + +In the course of our study of this case we obtained from Amanda a +very good account of her own life, deeply tragic in its details, +and a probably correct analysis of her beginnings in lying. It +seems that she remembers well her mother, particularly in the +later visits which the relatives allowed. These must have been +when she was about 5 or 6 years old. ``I know a lot. There +isn't anything bad that I have not seen and heard. I try to +forget it, but I can't. What's the use anyhow? When I think of +my mother it all comes up again. When I was very little I would +sit in a room with my mother and a crowd of her friends and they +would say everything in front of me. I would see men and women +go into rooms and I kept wondering what they did in there. I +think I was quicker and sharper then than I am now. I think I +was about 3 when I used to see them smoking and drinking. Then I +used to think it was all right. I thought it was swell and that +I would like to do it too. I thought about it a lot. Mother, +you see, would tell me to be good one minute and the next would +teach me how to swear. I remember once when I was about 7 they +brought her home drunk. She looked terrible. I can close my +eyes and see her just as plainly as if it is there before me. A +protective society once found me and took me to their place. +Then I lived with my grandfather. Mother stole me from them and +then my uncle took me. I lived around in lots of places. I have +done lots of bad things. . . . . + +``I picture these things too--I can't help it. The pictures come +up in my mind as plain as can be--not just at night, but in the +daytime too. The only thing I have ever been really afraid of is +the dark. Then I imagine I hear people talking. I see things +too. I see whole shows that I have been to. But then, as I have +said, I see them when I'm awake and in the daytime. I dream +about them also. Sometimes they are so real I don't know whether +I'm asleep or awake. For instance, a long time ago I read Peck's +Bad Boy and I can see those pictures now just as plain as when I +read the book. It is always that way about what I read. The +things I read I always see in pictures. It's that way with the +love stories too. I used to read lots and lots of them. I like +to read about murders. I can see those too. When I read about +the R. murder in the papers lately I just felt like I was there. +I could see everything he did. I don't know why I like to read +such things so much. It was the same way last winter. I read a +story with suicide in it and someway I just wanted to commit +suicide myself. I did go to the railroad tracks and stood around +until the train came and then walked away. . . . . + +``My aunt says that I am too attractive and that I stare at the +men. Well, when she was with me a man did stare at me and I +stared back at him. I could have turned my head away, but I'm +not that kind of a girl. I'm a bad girl. Everyone believes me +so and I might just as well be. When I was little in my mother's +place I used to smoke and drink. I dream every night--often +about men doing bad things. I wake up and sit up to see if men +are there or if they are gone. My dreams are always just that +plain. If I read a book I can sit down and imagine all the +people are right before me. I can get it just by reading. If +anybody speaks to me I jump, and it is all gone. When I go to +the theatre or the nickel show I can come home and see the whole +show over again. I have been that way ever since I could +understand things. When I was small and people would tell me +things I could imagine them right in front of me. Even now I +will be sitting still and I will imagine I see my mother taking +me up in the way she used to. When I came to see her she would +rock me to sleep, and I can plainly see her lying in the coffin. +Often I think I see my mother brought home drunk. + +``If I have anything to recite in school I just think of it all +the time. I dream a good deal about what that boy did and about +these other things. I can sit and think of everything he did to +me. I go to bed and I lie awake and think all these things and I +can't get them off my mind and then I start to dreaming about +them. + +``There is always this trouble--my mother wasn't good and I can't +be good. That's what people say, but, of course, that's not so. +I know I start talking to girls about these things when they are +talking to me. I sometimes think that things will come +back--that the Chicago fire is coming back, and that slavery is +coming back. + +``About my lying? I don't know why I tell things like that about +my aunt committing suicide--it just came into my head. Oh, I've +got lots of things in my head. I never had any chance to forget. +I can't forget at school. School does not interest me any more. +That's why I want to go to work. Perhaps then I should be +interested in something new. + +``I used to tell lots of things that were not so out there at P. +Sometimes I did it as a joke and sometimes I meant it. It is +hard sometimes to tell just what is the truth, I imagine things +so hard. I can remember lots that I've read.'' + +Amanda in several interviews went on at great length in a very +rational way, but altogether the gist of her view of her case is +to be found in the above. She told that she was a masturbator, +as might be supposed. She feels she can't help this and never +felt it was so particularly bad. Apparently it is a part of her +life of imagination at night. She insisted frequently on the +vividness of her mental content, and indeed was anxious to talk +about her peculiarities in this respect. It was very apparent +that she showed real understanding of the forces which had +influenced her. It should be noted that we felt sure that it is +not only the strength of imagery, namely, of actually recollected +material, but also of imagination which is characteristic of this +girl's mental make-up. This was noticeable, as we have shown +above, in the ``Aussage'' Test. In our notes on psychological +findings we stated that the girl has both strong emotions and +strong convictions, together with her other qualities. She +expressed herself with considerable vehemence, and under +observation we noted changes from pleasantness to extremely ugly +looks when her relatives were mentioned. It was true that she +had seen immorality in other households than that of her mother, +and this, of course, rendered her even more skeptical about true +values in life. + +It seemed clear that this bright girl had experienced so many +contradictions in life that she was much mixed about it all. We +might venture to suggest that the delinquency involved in lying +could seem very little compared to the actual deeds with which +she had come in contact. No idea that falsification was wrong +was expressed by her. She had used double sets of standards in +behavior all through her life. What she was urged to be and to +do seemed impossible in the light of her past and its +connections. Even her apparent decency belied the reality +underlying her career, she thought. With all this and her vivid +imagery it is little wonder that her magnificent powers of +imagination had full sway and that she said and half believed all +sorts of things which were not true. Then, probably, +habit-formation of indulging in day-dreams accentuated the +falsifying tendency. + +It is too early to report on further progress of this case. For +some months she has been in a school for girls where discipline +and education are both emphasized. + +--------------------------------------------------------------- +Mental traits: special powers of imagery Case 9. + and imagination. Girl, age 14 years. + Early immoral experiences: much later conflict + about them. + Home conditions: unstable for many years. + Heredity (?): mother immoral, + maternal grandmother + alcoholic and insane. +Delinquencies: Mentality: +Excessive lying. Good general ability, +Sex. special capacities. +--------------------------------------------------------------- + + + +CASE 10 + +Summary: A boy of 14, supernormal in ability, coming from family +circumstances which form a remarkable antithesis to his +intellectual interests, is found to be a wonderful fabricator. +His continuous lying proves to be directly inimical to his own +interests and, indeed, his own satisfactions are thwarted by the +curious unreliability of his word. The case unfortunately was +not followed far, but study of it clearly shows beginnings in the +early obtaining of advantages by lying, and brings out the +wonderful dramatic and imaginative traits of the boy and his +formation of a habit of falsification. + + +This case in its showing of intrinsic characteristics and +incidental facts is of great interest. Robert R. for about a +year when he was 14 years old we knew intimately, but after that +on account of the removal of the family we have no further +history of him. Intellectually and in his family and home +background he presented a remarkable phenomenon. His parents +were old-country peasants who just before Robert was born came to +the United States. The father had never been to school in his +life and could not read or write. Here he was a laborer; before +immigration he had been a goose-herd. The mother was said to +have had a little schooling at home and could read and write a +little in her native language. In 15 years in the United States +she had failed to learn to speak English. It is needless to say +that our knowledge of the forebears is almost nil. Inquiry about +mental peculiarities in the family brought negative answers. +These parents had had nine children, seven of whom had died in +early infancy. Robert was the older of the two living. We did +not learn that the other child displayed any abnormalities. The +mother helped towards the support of the family by doing coarse +sewing. + +About the developmental history we had the assurance that it was +entirely negative as regards serious diseases. Pregnancy and +birth were said to have been normal. For long, Robert had been +very nervous and frequently slept an unusually small number of +hours. Sometimes he would go to bed very late and get up early. +Although he was a very small boy he was accustomed to drinking +six or seven cups of coffee a day. No suspicion from any source +of other bad habits or of improper sex experiences. The boy's +home was clean and decent. The father was accustomed to +celebrate once a month or so by getting intoxicated, but +otherwise was a well behaved man. + +On physical examination we found the boy in fair general +condition, although very small for his age. Weight 80 lbs.; +height 4 ft. 7 in. Well shaped, normally sized head. No +prematurity or other physical abnormality. Somewhat defective +vision. No complaint of headaches. All other examination +negative. Regular sharp features. Much vivacity of expression. +A nervous, alert, responsive, apparently frank and humorous type. +Speech notably rapid. + +Our acquaintance with this boy on the intellectual side proved to +be a great treat. He was only in the 4th grade. His retardation +was the result of having been changed back and forth from +foreign-speaking to English schools and having been sent away to +an institution for truancy. In spite of his backwardness Robert +had a fund of remarkably accurate scientific and other +information which a mature person might envy. We found our +regular series of tests were all done unusually well, except +those which called for foresight and planfulness. It was +interesting to note that when a problem in concrete material was +given that required continuous thoughtful effort he proceeded by +a rapid trial and error method and without the application of the +foresight that many a slower individual would show. He +consequently did not always make a good record. + +It seems an important fact that on the ``Aussage'' Test this +exceedingly bright lad gave a fairly good detailed narrative +account of the picture and proved himself not in the least +suggestible, but he added a number of items which were not seen. + +It was in the field of general information, obtained from a +really wide range of reading, that this young boy shone. We +found that he remembered an unusual amount of history he had +read, that he had a lot of knowledge picked up from the +newspapers, and that he had digested considerable portions of +scientific works. He described correctly the main principles +involved in the use of telescopic and other lenses, he knew well +the first principles of electricity, and he could draw correctly +diagrams of dynamos, locomotives, switchboards, etc. We noted he +had read books on physiology, astronomy, physics, mechanics, etc. + +It seems that neither his school nor his home offering him much +intellectual satisfaction, he had frequented the public library, +sometimes being there when he was truant from school, and staying +there in the evening when his mother supposed he was out in a +street gang. In regard to his selection of reading: he had +perused novels and books on adventure, but ``I wanted to read +something that tells something so that when I got through I would +know something.'' He copied plans and directions, and with a +hatchet, hammer and saw attempted at home to make little things, +some of which were said to have been broken up by the parents. +The boy had much in mind the career of great men who had +succeeded from small beginnings, and he spoke often of Benjamin +Franklin, Morse, and Bell, all of whom had started in the small +way he had read of in their biographies. Robert had not been +content with book knowledge alone, but had sought power-houses +and other places where he could see machinery in actual +operation. + +Our acquaintance with Robert began and continued on account of +delinquencies other than lying. He had run away from home at one +time, he had stolen some electrical apparatus from a barn and was +found in the middle of the night with it flashing a light on the +street. He also had taken money from his parents and had +threatened his mother with a hatchet. After much encouragement +and help he yet stole from people who were trying to give him a +chance to use his special abilities, and he began various minor +swindling operations which culminated in his attempt to arrest a +man at night, showing a star and a small revolver. Before we +lost sight of him Robert had gained the general reputation of +being the most unreliable of individuals. + +Given splendid chances to use his special capacities, his other +qualities made it impossible for him to take advantage of them. +His wonderful ability was demonstrated in the school to which he +was sent; there the teacher said that if she had the opportunity +she really believed she could put him through one grade a month. +His mental grasp on all subjects was astonishing and he wrote +most admirable essays, one of the best being on patriotism. But +even under the stable conditions of this school for six or seven +months the boy did not refrain from an extreme amount of +falsification and was much disliked by the other boys on account +of it. + +Robert had continued his lying for years. At the time when we +were studying his case his prevaricating tendencies were shown in +the manufacture of long and complicated stories, in the center of +which he himself posed as the chief actor. These phantasies were +told to people, such as ourselves, who could easily ascertain +their falsehood, and they were told after there had been a +distinct understanding that anything which showed unreliability +on his part would militate against his own strongly avowed +desires and interests. After special chances had been given this +boy with the understanding that all that was necessary for him to +do was to alter his behavior in respect to lying, on more than +one occasion new fabrications were evolved in the same interview +that Robert had begged in fairly tragic fashion to be helped to +cure himself of his inclination to falsify. + +A great love of the dramatic was always displayed by this boy, +which may largely account for the evolution of his lying into +long and complicated stories. When truant one day he boldly +visited the school for truants, and when under probation, after +having fallen into the hands of the police two or three times, he +impersonated a policeman. The latter was such a remarkable +occurrence and led to such a peculiar situation that much notice +of it was taken in the newspapers. The incongruity between +apperception of his own faults and his continued lying, +considering his good mental endowment, seemed very strange. One +day he sobbed and clung to my arm and begged me to be a friend to +him and help him from telling such lies. ``I don't know what +makes me do it. I can't help it.'' Over and over he asserted +his desire to be a good man and a great man. This was at the +same time when some of his most complicated fabrications were +reiterated. + +No help was to be had from his parents in getting at the genesis +of this boy's troubles; we had to rely on what seemed to be the +probable truth as told by the boy himself. It is only fair to +say that in response to many inquiries we did receive reliable +facts from the lad. My assistant also went into the question of +beginnings and was told at an entirely different time the same +story. Robert always maintained that his lying began when he was +a very little boy, when he found out that by telling his +grandmother that his mother was mean to him he could get things +done for him which he wanted. Later it seems he used to lie +because he was afraid of being punished or because he did not +like to be scolded. We found there was no question about 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. +Absolutely no suggestibility shown. The examination was made +before our later methods of scoring this test, and the +inaccuracies were not counted, but even so the positive features +are of interest, namely, the good memory and non-suggestibility . + +We found this youngster all along to be evasive, shifting and +self-contradictory, even on vital points. She glibly stated +anything that came into her mind, and ideas came very rapidly. +She told us stories that with a moment's thought she must have +known we could discover were false. + +This child was a foundling, and was adopted by people whose +family was broken up by death when she was about 6 years old. By +the time she was 8 years old she was expelled from school and was +generally known as an habitual liar and a child who showed most +premature sex tendencies. She then went much with little boys +and was constantly in trouble for stealing as well. Occasionally +good reports were made of her, but sometimes she was stated to +have a perfect mania for taking things. A number of people who +have tried to help her have spoken of the elaborateness of her +verbal inventions. At one place she destroyed letters and took a +check from the mail and tore it up. She talked freely of sex +affairs to many people, particularly to women, and showed +evidence of intense local feelings. At one time she expressed +great desire to be spanked, probably from a sex impulse. One +intelligent person reported her as being simply animal-like in +her desires. In a country home a thoroughly intelligent woman +was unable to cope with her and she was finally delivered into +the hands of an institution. + +Through dearth of reliable information about the antecedents in +this case we were unable to make a card of causative factors. It +is sure, however, that the pathological lying and other +delinquencies sprang from a background of congenital defect, +probably syphilitic in nature, of lack of early parental care, of +precocious sex desires, and sex experiences. + +In the school for girls, where this unfortunate child remained +for four years, it is stated that her tendencies to prevarication +were mitigated, but never entirely checked. Her school record +was decidedly good; she was regarded as a bright girl, and +advanced rapidly to the eighth grade. She was tried again in the +world midway in her adolescent period with the most untoward +results. She found temptations offered by the opposite sex +irresistible and began a career of misrepresentation concerning +her own conduct. Through her lies, proper oversight was not +given in the home which received her once more. Pregnancy ensued +and again she had to receive institutional care. + + + +CASE 12 + +Summary: An extremely interesting case showing strong +development of a tendency to swindling on the part of a young man +of curiously unequal mental abilities, a subnormal verbalist. +Pathological lying in this case quite logically developed into +swindling. The main behavior-tendencies of this individual +closely follow the lines of least resistance, the paths of +greatest success. As a matter of fact, the use merely of his +general subnormal abilities would never have led to as much +advancement as he has enjoyed. His special capabilities with +language have brought him much satisfaction at times, even if +they have also led him into trouble. An astonishingly long list +of legal proceedings centers about this case, illustrating very +well the urgent need for cooperation between courts. + + +Adolf von X., now just 21 years old, we, through most unusual +circumstances, have had more or less under observation for a +number of years. Correspondence with several public and social +agencies has given us close acquaintance with his record during +this time, and earlier. Our attention was first called to Adolf +in New York, when he was a boy under arrest in the Tombs. A fine +young lawyer, a casual acquaintance of Adolf's through court +work, asked us to study the case because he felt that perhaps +grave injustice was being done. Before his arrest the boy, who +seemed to be most ambitious, had been about the court rooms +looking into the details of cases as a student of practical law. +He had attracted attention by his energy and push; he earned +money at various odd jobs and studied law at night. At this time +the boy was under arrest charged with disorderly conduct; he had +beaten his sister in their home. + +We found a nice looking and well spoken young fellow who said he +was 17. Although he had been in this country only three years +from Germany, he spoke English almost without an accent and did +quite well with French also. He had been brought up in Hamburg. +His statement added to that previously given by the lawyer +aroused in us great interest concerning the constructive +possibilities of the case. It seemed as if here was an immigrant +boy for whom much should be done. + +``I was taking up law suits, little law suits. There was a case +on before Judge O. and I wanted a new suit of clothes to wear to +go to court in. My sister said I could not take my brother's +suit. He told me to take it and bring it home in good condition +at night. My sister is supposed to be the plaintiff, but she did +not make the complaint. The landlady came in and hit me three +times in the head with a broom. My sister called her in and then +she threw a piece of wood after me. Sister started crying, but +she did not get hit. The landlady got hit. When I fell down I +striked her with my head and hurt my head bad. I think I hit her +with the left side of my head. The landlady made complaint in +German to an Irish policeman. He could not understand. The +officer did not do what the law tells because he took a complaint +from a boy of the age of 6 years. He translated for her. + +``The trouble started because I wanted to get my brother's suit +because I wanted to appear before Judge O. to protect a party in +the hearing of a case. I took a few lessons over in the Y.M.C.A. +class and in a law office I read books through. I have books at +home, rulings of every court. I know I got a good chance to work +up because I know I have a good head for the law. My father he +wont believe it, that's the trouble. I know I could stand my own +expenses. I said, `Officer, wait here a minute. I'll explain +how this is.' He began stepping on me. He threw me on the +floor. I wanted to go out the back way so nobody would see me. +He kicked me down the front way. There was a big crowd there. +Another rough officer pinched my arm. At the station when the +officer said this boy hit his sister, my sister said, `No, he did +not hit me,' but she said it in German. + +``I was in court awhile ago because father thought I would not +work. I was paroled. I was trying to find a position. This man +that had the rehearing said, `You wont lose anything.' He made +as much as a contract with me. He said to another person in my +hearing, if that fellow wins my case I will pay him $10 for it. +The first case I had was in X court. I was interpreter there. I +want to make something out of myself. Labor is all right, but I +like office work or law work better. I tell you, doctor, if I +come up before the judge I will tell him just the same story I +tell you. I can remember it just that way.'' + +This young man told us he had graduated from intermediate school +in Hamburg; in this country he had attended for about a year and +a half and, in spite of the language handicap, he was in sixth +grade. There is a brother a little older and an older sister. +Mother has been dead for 5 years. His father is an artisan and +makes a fair living. + +We soon found means of getting more facts concerning this case. +The first point of importance was concerning his age. It +appeared that he at present was lying about this, probably for +the purpose of concealing his previous record in the Juvenile +Court and in other connections. There had been previously much +trouble with him. He had been long complained of by his father +because of the bickering and quarreling which he caused in the +household and on account of his not working steadily. He had +shown himself tremendously able in getting employment, having had +at least twenty places in the last year and a half. He was known +to lie and misrepresent; on one occasion when he was trying to +get certain advantages for himself he falsely stated that he was +employed by a certain legal concern, and once he tried to pass +himself off for an officer of a court. + +The father willingly came to see us and proved to be a somewhat +excitable, but intelligent man of good reputation. We obtained a +very good history before studying the boy himself. Mr. von X. +began by informing us that we had a pretty difficult case on our +hands, and when we spoke of the boy's ambition he became very +sarcastic. He stated that up to the time when the boy left +school in Hamburg he had only been able to get to the equivalent +of our third grade. To be sure, it is true that Adolf had +learned English quickly and much more readily than any one else +in the family, and in the old country had picked up French, but +``he hasn't got sense enough to be a lawyer.'' + +Both the older children did very well in school, and the father +and mother came from intelligent families. All the children are +somewhat nervous, but the two older ones are altogether different +from this boy. They are quiet and saving. A grandfather was +said to have been a learned man and another member of the family +very well-to-do. The mother has one cousin insane and the father +one cousin who is feebleminded. All the other family history +from this apparently reliable source was negative. Both the +father and mother were still young at the birth of this child. +The mother died of pneumonia, but prior to this sickness had been +healthy. + +The developmental history of Adolf runs as follows: His birth +was preceded by two miscarriages. The pregnancy was quite +normal; confinement easy. When he was a few days old he had some +inflammation of the eyes which soon subsided. Never any +convulsions. His infancy was normal. He walked and talked +early. At three years he had diphtheria badly with delirium for +a couple of weeks and paralysis of the palate for some months. +After this his parents thought the boy not quite normal. He had +slight fevers occasionally. At 9 years he was very ill with +scarlet fever. Following that he had some trouble with the bones +in his legs. Before he left Hamburg he had an operation on one +leg for this trouble which had persisted. (It was quite +significant that in our first interview Adolf had told us his leg +had been injured by a rock falling on it, necessitating the +operation.) Up to the age of 14 this boy, although apparently in +good physical condition, used to wet the bed always at night, and +sometimes during the day lost control of his bladder. Also lost +control of his bowels occasionally after he was 10 years old. He +sleeps well, is moderate in the use of tea and coffee, and does +not smoke. + +When young he played much by himself. After coming to this +country his chief recreation was going to nickel shows. He was +fond of music as a child. He had been a truant in Hamburg. As a +young child he was regarded as destructive. The general +statement concerning delinquency is that Adolf is the only one of +the family who has given trouble and that the father was the +first to complain of the boy to the authorities. Before he +reported it there had long been trouble on account of frequent +changing of employment and misrepresentations. The boy had +forged letters to his family and others. In the office of a +certain newspaper he once represented himself to be an orphan, +and there a fund was raised for him and he was outfitted. The +father insists that the boy, in general, is an excessive liar. + +Further inquiry brought out that other people, too, regarded +Adolf as an extreme falsifier. The principal of a school thought +the boy made such queer statements that he could not be right in +his head. In the office of a clerk of a court he represented +himself to be employed by a certain legal institution and +demanded file after file for reference. Everybody there was +friendly to him at first, but later they all changed their +attitude on account of his unscrupulous and constant lying. + +Physically we found a very well nourished boy, rather short for +his age. Weight 121 lbs.; height 5 ft. 1 in. Musculature +decidedly flabby; this was especially noticeable in his +handshake. Attitude heavy and slouchy for a boy. Expression +quite pleasant; features regular; complexion decidedly good. A +North European type. Eyes differ slightly in the color of the +irides. Noticeable enlargement of breasts. Well shaped head of +quite normal measurements; circumference 54.5, length 18, breadth +15 cm. No sensory defect, nor was anything else of particular +interest found upon examination. + +The mental study, particularly the testing for special abilities, +has been of very great interest. Fortunately for the scientific +understandings of the problems involved we have been able to see +Adolf many times at intervals and to check up previous findings. +Our first statement will be of the results obtained at the +earliest study of the case. + +When we first saw Adolf, although he talked so intelligently, we +asked him to give us some evidence of his educational ability, +and to our tremendous surprise he failed to be able to multiply +simple numbers or even to do addition correctly. There was no +evidence of emotional upset, but we waited for further testing +until we had seen the father, that we might be sure of the school +history. As mentioned above, we found that the boy had entirely +misled us. + +We then entered upon a systematic study of the boy's abilities +and found some strange contrasts. Perceptions of form and color +were normal. Given a very simple test which required some +apperceptive ability, he did fairly well. Given simple +``Construction Tests'' which required the planful handling of +concrete material, Adolf proceeded unintelligently. He showed no +foresight, was rather slow, but by following out a trial and +error procedure and with some repetition of irrational placing of +the pieces he finally succeeded. Moderate ability to profit by +trial and error was shown, but for his age the performance on +this type of test was poor. On our ``Puzzle-Box,'' which calls +for the analysis of a concrete situation, a test that is done by +boys of his age nearly always in four minutes or less, Adolf +failed in ten minutes. He began in his typically aggressive +fashion, but kept trying to solve the difficulty by the +repetition of obviously futile movements. On a ``Learning +Test,'' where numerals are associated in meaningless relation +with symbols, Adolf did the work promptly and with much +self-confidence, but made a thoroughly irrational error, inasmuch +as he associated the same numeral with two different symbols--and +did not see his error. His ability to mentally represent and +analyze a simple situation visually presented in our ``Cross Line +Tests'' was very poor. In this he failed to analyze out the +simple parts of a figure which he could well draw from memory. +This seemed significant, for the test is practically always done +correctly by normal individuals, at least on the second trial, by +the time they are 10 or 12 years of age. A simple test for +visual memory of form also brought poor results. + +As an extreme contrast to the above results, the tests that had +to do with language were remarkably well done. A visual verbal +memory passage was given with unusual accuracy, also an auditory +verbal passage was rendered almost perfectly. Considering that +the former has 20 items and the latter 12 details, this +performance was exceptionally good. Also, the so-called Antonym +Test, where one is asked to give as quickly as possible the +opposite to a word, the result, considering his foreign +education, was decidedly good. Three out of twenty opposites +were not given, apparently on account of the lack of knowledge. +The average time was 2.3 seconds. If two of the other +time-reactions were left out, which were probably slow from lack +of knowledge, the average time would be 1.6 seconds for 15 +opposites. This shows evidence of some good mental control on +the language side. Motor control was fair. He was able to tap +75 of our squares with 2 errors in 30 seconds, just a medium +performance. A letter written on this date contains quite a few +mis-spelled short words: ``My father Send me to This Court for +The troubels I had with my sister,'' etc. + +While awaiting trial Adolf, stating that he was desirous of doing +so, was given ample opportunity to study arithmetic. After a few +days he told us unhesitatingly that he now could do long +division, but he utterly failed, and, indeed, made many errors in +a sum in addition. He had acquired part of the multiplication +table. + +Study of his range of information brought out some curious +points. He told of some comparative merits of law schools, had +some books on home-taught law, and was a great reader of the +newspapers. In the latter he chiefly perused reports of court +cases. He was quite familiar with the names of various attorneys +and judges. He could give the names in contemporary politics, +and knew about sporting items. His knowledge of the history of +this country was absolutely deficient, but he does not hesitate +to give such statements as the following: ``The Fourth of July +is to remember a great battle between President Lincoln and the +English country.'' Again he makes a bluff to give scientific +items, although he has the shallowest information. When it comes +to athletics, much to our surprise, we hear that our flabby boy +is a champion. Of course, he knows some of the rulers in Europe +and by what route he came to New York, but he informs us that +Paris is the largest country in Europe. + +Adolf says he plays a very good game of checkers, that he had +played much, but on trial he shows a very poor game, once moving +backwards. When purposely given chances to take men he did not +perceive the opportunities. + +We asked him to analyze out for us a couple of moral situations, +one being about a man who stole to give to a starving family. He +tells us in one way the man did right and in another way wrong. +It never is right to steal, because if caught he would be sent to +the penitentiary and would have to pay more than the things are +worth, and, then, if he was not caught, a thief would never get +along in the world. The other was the story of Indians +surrounding a settlement who asked the captain of a village to +give up a man. Adolf thought if he were a chief he would say to +give battle if the man had done no wrong, but on further +consideration states that he would rather give up one man than +risk the lives of many, and if he were a captain he would surely +rather give this man up than put his own life in it. He thinks +certainly this is the way the question should be answered. + +On our ``Aussage'' or Testimony Test Adolf gave volubly many +details, dramatically expressing himself and putting in +interpretations that were not warranted by the picture. Indeed, +he made the characters actually say things. On the other hand, +he did not recall at all one of the three persons present in the +picture. He accepted three out of six suggestions and was quite +willing to fill in imaginary details, besides perverting some of +the facts. This was unusually unreliable testimony. + +Our impressions as dictated at this time state that we had to do +with a young man in good general physical condition, of unusually +flabby musculature, who showed a couple of signs that might +possibly be regarded as stigmata of inferiority. Mentally, the +main showing was irregularity of abilities; in some things he was +distinctly subnormal, in others mediocre, but in language ability +he was surprisingly good. No evidence of mental aberration was +discovered. The diagnosis could be made, in short, that the boy +was a subnormal verbalist. His character traits might be +enumerated in part by saying that he was aggressive, +unscrupulous, boastful, ambitious, and a continual and excessive +liar. In the exercise of these he was strikingly lacking in +foresight. This latter characteristic also was shown in his test +work. The abilities in which he was overbalanced gave him +special feelings of the possibility of his being a success and +led him to become a pathological liar. From the family history +the main suggestion of the causation of the mental abnormality is +in illness during developmental life, but neither ante-natal nor +hereditary conditions are quite free from suspicion. + + +At the time of this first trial Adolf maintained a very smart +attitude and tried to show off. He had succeeded in having two +witnesses subpoenaed in order to prove that he did not hit his +sister, but on the stand it came out that one of them was not +there at all, and the other, who was a little girl, stated that +she saw Adolf hit some one. Just why the boy had these witnesses +brought in was difficult to explain. Perhaps he had the idea +that some one ought to be called in every case, or perhaps he +thought they would be willing to tell an untruth for him. His +statement in court did not agree with what he had told us and was +utterly different from what his sister stated. It came out that +he had struck her on a number of previous occasions. It was +shown clearly that the boy was a tremendous liar. The case was +transferred to the Juvenile Court and from there the boy was sent +away to an institution for a few months. After the trial his +father said in broken English, ``To me he never told the truth.'' + +Just after his release the family moved to Chicago and Adolf soon +put himself in touch with certain social agencies. He found out +where I was and came to see me, bright, smiling, and well. He +had gained eight pounds during his incarceration. He wanted to +tell all about his life in the institution and because we were +busy said he would come the next day. He did not do this, but a +few months later came running up to me on the street with a +package in his hands, saying he was already at work in a downtown +office and was doing well and going to night school. Five years +more would see him quite through his law course. A few months +after this he applied at a certain agency for work as an +interpreter and there, strangely enough, some one who knew him in +New York recognized him. He, however, denied ever having been in +court and produced a list of twenty or twenty-five places where +he worked and gave them as references. It is to be remembered +that at this time he had already been brought up in court at +least three times, that he had been on probation, and been sent +away to an institution. + +During the last four years we have received much information +concerning the career of Adolf, although his activities have +carried him to Milwaukee, Cleveland, St. Louis, and other towns, +in several of which he has been in trouble. He has very +repeatedly been to see us and we have had many opportunities of +gauging his mental as well as his social development. + +His family continued to live in one of the most populous suburbs +of Chicago and Adolf maintains that his residence is there, an +important point for his political activities which are mentioned +later. + +What we discovered in our further studies of Adolf's mental +condition can be told in short. We have retested him over and +over. (When he has been hard up we have given him money to +induce him to do his very best.) There are no contradictions in +our findings at different times. Once, in another city, in +connection with his appearance in court, Adolf was seen by a +psychiatrist who suggested that he was a case of dementia precox, +but nothing in our long observation of him warrants us in such an +opinion. His mental conditions and qualities seem quite +unchanged in type during all the time we have known him, and +instead of any deterioration there has been gradual betterment in +capacities, certainly along the line of adjustment to +environment. His wonderful ability to get out of trouble is +evidence of these powers of adjustment, as is also, perhaps, his +keen sensing of the utility of the shadier sides of politics and +criminal procedure. + +In work with numbers Adolf is still very poor. He is unable to +do long division or multiplication, and cannot add together +simple fractions. Addition he does much better, but even at his +best he makes errors in columns where he has to add five +numerals. He now can do simple subtraction such as is required +in making change, but fails on such a problem as how much change +he should get from $20 after buying goods costing $11.37. His +memory span is only six numerals, and these he cannot get +correctly every time. + +After numerous attempts to mentally analyze our simple ``Cross +Line Test,'' with much urging and extreme slowness he finally +succeeded at one time in getting it correctly. As stated above, +this is a test that is done with ease usually by normal +individuals 12 years of age. On our ``Code Test,'' requiring +much the same order of ability, but more effort, he entirely +failed. For one thing, he has never known the order of the +alphabet either in English, German, or French. Our ``Pictorial +Completion Test,'' which gauges simple apperceptive abilities, he +failed to do correctly, making three illogical errors. + +The result on the Binet tests are most interesting. From years +of experience with them we ourselves have no faith in their +offering sound criteria for age levels above 10 years. Adolf +goes up through all of the 12-year tests (1911 series) except the +first, where he shows suggestibility in his judgment of the +lengths of lines. In the 15-year tests he fails on the first, +but does the three following ones correctly. Two out of the +adult series are done well--those where the definition of a word +is required and the statement of political ideas. Two or three +of his specific answers are worth noting: ``Honor is when a +person is very honest. It means he will never do what is wrong +even if he can make money by it.'' ``Pleasure is when everything +is pleasant, when you are enjoying yourself.'' Adolf tells us +that the king is head of a monarchy, he has not the power to +veto, and he acquires his position by royal birth. In contrast +to this he says the president is the presiding executive of a +republic, he has the power to veto, and he gains his position by +election. It is perfectly clear in this case, as in many others, +that the Binet tests show very little wherein lies the nature of +a special defect or ability. Adolf's capacity for handling +language has grown steadily. He has been reading law and knows +by heart a great deal of its terminology. In a short +conversation he talks well and is coherent. The aggressiveness +which is ever with him leads him to stick to the point. He has +had very little instruction, his pronunciation is often defective +and he does not know the meaning of many of the longer terms with +which any lawyer should be acquainted. He speaks fluently and +has now long posed, among other things, as an interpreter. + +Our final diagnosis after all these mental tests is, that while +he could by no means be called a feebleminded person, still Adolf +is essentially subnormal in many abilities--we still regard him +as a subnormal verbalist. Probably what he lacks in powers of +mental analysis has much relation to the lack of foresight which +he continually shows in his social career. His lying and +swindling have led him almost nowhere except into difficulties. + +Adolf has been steadily gaining weight, although he has grown +only an inch and a half in these years. He is stout and +sleek-looking and as flabby as ever. He has not been seriously +ill during this time. Whereas before he used to be untidy in +dress he now gets himself up more carefully. + +The following are examples of Adolf's conversation and show many +of his characteristics: (Soon after he came to Chicago we spoke +to him of his progress.) + +``The other day I met a fellow and he says, `How long have you +been in this country?' and when I says four years he says, +`You're a liar. There never was a fellow I ever heard of who got +hold of the language and was doing as well as you are in four +years.' '' A few months later he tells us he is selling goods on +commission and descants on how much he can make: ``That's +`Get-rich-quick-Wallingford' for you. There's Mr. A. and +Congressman X., they started out from little beginnings just the +same as me. I'm going along their line. + +``Do you know I got sued by the Evening Star for libbel. That's +what I got for testifying in that case. I tell you what I would +like and that's vice investigation work.'' + +At another time: ``Well, doctor, I am general manager for my +brother's business now. He's got a bottle business. There's +money in that, ain't there? I was down in court to-day. I tell +you, there was a fellow who got what was coming to him. It was a +case before Judge H.--assault and battery. He was fined $10 and +costs--all amounted to about $30. Well, I had a little dog and I +tell you I have a heart for animals just the same as persons. He +kicked the dog and I told him not to do it and he says, `You're a +liar,' and then he ran down stairs and pushed me along the stones +over there. I called the police and they did not come for about +three quarters of an hour. + +``I'm studying law. Taking a correspondence course. They give +you an L.L.B. It's a two years work and you get all the volumes +separately,'' etc. ``Then we have a slander suit. A neighbor +called my sister dirty names. I am going to file a $5000 slander +suit. I would not let that man call names like that, and then +he's got about $5000 in property. + +``Some people are down on me, but I tell you I have been a leader +of boys. We got the Illinois championship--you know, the boy +scout examinations. There was an examination on leaves. I was +their leader. I had 9 boys up and there were 117 leaves and +every boy knew every leaf. Of course I told them or they would +not have known. Some people are down on me for what I do for the +boys, but I tell you I've been in court and I've made up my mind +I will help other kids. Sometimes kids can be helped by talking +to. Then there is me. I won the boxing championship this +year.'' (At this period I enquire about his prowess and the +recent encounter with the young boy who dragged him over the +stones. With a blush he says he never was any good at real +boxing or real fighting.) ``I'm this kind of a fellow. If they +let me alone I'm all right, but if they start monkeying with me +something is going to happen. When you start a thing don't start +it until you can carry it through. These people that started +with me were not able to do that.'' + +Later it came out that the alleged fighting with the boy is all +in Adolf's mind. He tells us, without noticing any discrepancy, +that no complaint against this boy, who he said had been already +tried and fined, would be received by the police authorities, nor +will they issue a warrant. + +Within the last year or two there has been almost complete +cessation of Adolf's attempt to become a lawyer. At an earlier +time he came to us with a speech written out in a book. He was +going to recite it when a certain case came up in the Municipal +Court. As a matter of fact we heard that the boy said nothing on +the occasion. At various times we have heard of his getting +mixed up in different ways in a number of cases. Once he +succeeded in giving testimony in a notorious trial. His own +account of his interest in the case is shown in the following: + +``Doctor, you remember that X. boy and that Y. boy. Judge B. is +going to try them. They are down in the S Station and they are +going to stay there unless they sign a jury waiver and they can't +do that. They are only 15 years old--I got their ages--it cost +me $1 to get their ages and I am going to be there when they are +being tried.'' (The statement of the ages is untrue.) ``It +ain't right to keep these boys down there. They look pale. They +don't give them anything but black coffee. I'm going to +represent them boys. You know, doctor, I'm working in three +places now--holding three jobs. Two days in the week I work for +the A's, two for Mr. B.--he ain't exactly my boss--and then for +myself. The A's pay me $6, Mr. B. pays $3, and then I make $7 or +$8 myself interpreting. I'm saving it up to go to law school. +In three years I graduate. They are going to hold it up against +them boys, their records, and I am going to deny it. It ain't +right. I was talking to the detective that arrested X. and I +says to him, `Look here, you took the knife. What right have +they got to take in one fellow without the little fellow?' I +want to represent this case myself.'' + +Adolf has worked for law firms and aided at times as an +investigator of criminal and vice situations. Occasionally he +has been much worried about his own court record. He did not +want it to stand against him. He thought he could get his sister +to swear that he never quarreled at home. Shortly afterwards he +served a short sentence for stealing from a law firm. Later he +came in and said he had a job in the legal department of a large +concern and that he had changed his name because he believed his +old name was ruined. ``I'm determined to be a lawyer. Ever +since a little fellow I have wanted to be--ever since I have had +an understanding of what the law means. I used to play court +with the other little ones and talk about law.'' At this time he +wanted a little loan. He had become particularly interested in +philanthropic work and thought he could do something on the side +about that--perhaps become a leader of boys, or help the +unprotected in some way. Adolf was really employed now to +investigate cases by some lawyer. About this time he had been +wearing a badge, impersonating an officer of a certain +philanthropic society. + +For long this young man was concocting all sorts of schemes how +he might work in at the edge of legal affairs, as an interpreter, +a ``next friend,'' an investigator, etc. More recent activities +have taken Adolf away from the field of his first ambitions and +he has tried to use his talents in all sorts of adventuresome +ways. The accounts of his lying and impostures belong logically +together, as follows. + +During all our acquaintance with Adolf we have known his word to +be absolutely untrustworthy. Many times he has descended upon +his friends with quite unnecessary stories, leading to nothing +but a lowering of their opinion of him. Repeatedly his +concoctions have been without ascertainable purpose. His +prevaricating nearly always centers about himself as some sort of +a hero and represents him to be a particularly good-hearted and +even definitely philanthropic person--one who loves all creatures +and does much for others. Pages might be taken in recounting his +falsehoods. Most of them, even when long drawn out, were fairly +coherent. I remember one instance as showing how particularly +uncalled for his prevarications were. After hearing one of his +tales, we started downtown together, but missed a car. Adolf +walked to the middle of the street and said he could see one +coming just a few blocks away. Being doubtful, I a minute later +went to look and no car even yet was in sight. Adolf sheepishly +stared in a shop window. He never took any pleasure in his +record of misdeeds. He was never boastful about them and indeed +seemed to have quite normal moral feeling. But so far, none of +his perceptions or apperceptions has led him to see the +astonishing futility of his own lying and other +misrepresentations. + +Already this young man's court experiences we know to be very +numerous and possibly we are not acquainted with all of them. +Early we knew of his forging letters and telegrams and engaging +in minor misrepresentations which were really swindling +operations. Later his transactions have been spread about in +different cities, as we have already stated. The young man +borrowed small sums frequently on false pretenses. He has found +the outskirts of legal practice a fruitful field for +misrepresentations galore. For instance, at one time he stood +outside the door of a concern which deals with small legal +business and represented to the prospective patrons that he as a +student of the law could transact their business with more +individual care and for a less sum. He really succeeded in +getting hold of the beginnings of a number of legal actions in +this way. In one city he posed as the officer of a certain +protective agency and posted himself where he would be likely to +meet people who knew of this organization, in order to obtain +petty business from them. We have heard that he has been a +witness in a number of legal cases and has earned fees thereby. +In Cleveland Adolf succeeded in starting a secret service agency +and obtained contracts, among them the detective work for a newly +started store of considerable size. This was a great tribute to +his push and energy, but his agency soon failed. In St. Louis, +where he stayed long enough to become acquainted with not a few +members of the legal fraternity, he forged a legal document. A +great deal was made of the case by the papers because of its +flagrancy and amusing details. It seems Adolf had become +enamored of a certain woman who was not living with her husband. +The account runs that he urged his suit, but she refused because +she was not legally free. Adolf replied that he would make that +all right and in a week or two produced papers of divorce. These +were made out in legal form, but it seems that he over-stepped +the mark. The alleged decree stated that the fair divorcee must +be remarried inside of a week. This seems to have aroused her +suspicion, as had also some violence which Adolf had prematurely +displayed. The young man was duly sentenced for the fraud. + +Concerning punishments we can say that in the five years since he +left New York he has served at least four terms in penal +institutions and has been held to trial on one other occasion. +This latter event concerned itself with Adolf's impersonating a +federal officer. He made his way into a home under these +conditions, just why we do not know. The case was difficult to +adjust and was dismissed because no statute exactly covered it. + +Perhaps nothing in his remarkable history shows Adolf's +aggressiveness and peculiar tendencies any more than his +political career. He had been voting long before he was of age +and had even succeeded in getting a nomination for a certain +party position during his minority, polling a considerable vote +at the primaries. Following his defeat at election, which was at +the time when the new party showed marked weakness, Adolf told us +that he, after all, was only in the Progressive Party to wreck +it. He felt that the leaders belonged back in the Republican +ranks, and he thought he could help to get them there. + +--------------------------------------------------------------- +Mentality: Subnormal verbalist type. Case 12. + Man, 21 years. + Developmental: Early illness with + involvement of nervous + system. +Delinquencies: +Lying excessive. +Swindling. +Stealing. +--------------------------------------------------------------- + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +CASES OF PATHOLOGICAL ACCUSATION + +We include in this chapter pathological self-accusation as well +as incrimination of others. In court work one sees many cases of +false accusation, but few belong to the pathological variety. We +have not considered those based upon vindictiveness, or +self-defense, or where any other even slight, recognizable, +normal gratification was at the bottom. We have tried to hold +strictly to our definition. Selection of the cases for this +chapter has been easier than discriminating those who are merely +pathological liars in general. It is simpler to distinguish +those who accuse others for the purpose of injury or +self-protection, or those who make self-accusation under the +influence of delusional conditions, than it is to decide upon +similar distinctions in cases of mere pathological lying. +Several authors, such as Gross, have noted false accusations made +during a short period of early adolescence, or in connection with +menstrual disturbance. Our cases corroborate these facts, but +show also that extreme false accusations may be made by girls +BEFORE puberty. Satisfactory knowledge of such cases is not +gained by learning merely that the accuser is under temporary +physical stress--it is to be noted that our material clearly +shows that there is always more in the background. + +The many cases observed by us of false accusations made, rarely, +by the feebleminded and, more often, by those suffering from a +psychosis, need not be mentioned here--they are obvious in their +abnormality and have little bearing upon our immediate problem. + +For the sake of illustration of the fact of pathological +accusation Case 17 is given in this chapter, but in its mental +aspects it belongs more properly under the head of border-line +cases. In our final deductions this has not been counted as a +mentally normal case. + + +CASE 13 + +Summary: An exceedingly important case from a legal standpoint. +A girl of 16 years persistently, but falsely accused her own +mother and her step-father of the murder of the youngest child of +the family. Some apparent physical corroboration was found. The +woman and her spouse were held from the inquest to the grand jury +and later were indicted. They were in jail for four months until +the case was finally tried, when they were discharged. + + +We studied Libby S. as a delinquent some eight months after her +mother and step-father had been acquitted of murder. These +unfortunate people had been held and tried almost entirely upon +the testimony given by this girl. It goes without saying that +they were very poor and not ordinarily self-assertive, and so did +not obtain competent legal advice. We were naturally interested +in this remarkable affair and were glad to be able to get at the +truth of the matter and bring about forgiveness and +reconciliation within the family circle. + +Libby was now under arrest for stealing and for prostitution. +Her statement to us was that she had been immoral and wanted to +be sent away to an institution where she would be kept out of +trouble. She had been working in a factory. Her mother and +step-father were temperate and the latter was always good to her +and to her brother. She told about being extremely nervous when +she got to thinking about different things, and maintained that +she worried so much at times that she did not know what she was +doing. Later we learned from her of her little sister's death, +of the fact that the child was not really her sister, and that +her mother had not been married to her present husband until the +time of the trial, although for long they had been living +together. She added that she had been a witness five times in +court against her mother and step-father. A younger brother had +also testified against them to some minor extent. ``We had to +tell what we saw--we told enough lies as it was.'' + +Following the latter remark as a clew we went as thoroughly as we +could into the details of the whole case. No report of the court +proceedings being available we obtained what we could from the +newspaper accounts. Obviously, however, much of these was +impressionistic and unreliable. The coroner's physician +testified to many bruises being on the body, and to the bottom of +the feet being blistered. The report of what the police said at +the inquest made anything but conclusive testimony. Even from +that, the murder seemed highly improbable. It was shown that a +physician was called to the child before she died, but did not +respond. Libby testified at the inquest and later against her +mother, stating that the child had been beaten and tortured in +various ways. We also learned from other than newspaper sources +that when Libby was waiting to testify, with her mother suffering +imprisonment in the same building, the girl was nonchalantly +singing ragtime songs in the court-house corridors. + +The facts about the alleged murder of the five year old child as +we could finally summarize them from various accounts, and after +hearing the confession of Libby, are as follows. This child was +an epileptic and had frequent attacks of falling, when she +injured herself, once having fallen in this way against a hot +stove. The little child engaged in extremely bad sex habits. +Indeed, Libby herself had been somewhat involved with her in +these. Once when she was ill hot bricks had been placed in the +bed, and, while unconscious, her feet had been blistered. The +child had also suffered from various other ailments, including a +skin disease which left sore places and scars. When she died +Libby first told a neighbor that the parents were responsible and +this person referred her to the police. The false testimony +began there and continued at the inquest, before the grand jury, +and at the trial. Upon thorough final sifting of the evidence in +court nothing was found in the least indicating that the child +had died from mistreatment. The younger brother had been told by +Libby to testify against the mother. There was no question but +that Libby started and continued the whole trouble, but the +unnatural fact that she was willing to make sworn statements +jeopardizing her mother made her testimony have all the earmarks +of antecedent probability. + +The mother herself, in whom we gradually came to have full +confidence, informed us that the dead child had an epileptic +attack and was unconscious for several hours before she died. +They lived on the outskirts of the city and it was bad weather, +and although they sent twice for doctors, no one appeared. The +child had been mildly whipped at times in an attempt to cure her +of her bad sex habits. She had many sores from her skin trouble +and these were by some interpreted as caused by beatings. + +When under our observation, and during our attempt to analyze her +career, Libby underwent a change of attitude and confessed +thoroughly and definitely that the story about the murder was +lies all the way through. For the sake of the poor little mother +we had the girl make a sworn statement to this effect. It was of +some little interest to us to note that the police account given +in the newspapers about the little child being beaten with a +rubber hose was derived from the story told by Libby. It was a +wonderfully dramatic and pathetic scene when this woman met her +daughter and the latter confessed to her lies and asked +forgiveness. All the mother could say was, ``Oh, the suffering +she has caused me! But I do want her to be a good girl.'' + +From the girl's long stories to us we may derive the following +points of interest. Before her confession she was very emotional +on the subject of her little sister. She dwelled much upon her +dreams of the child, but proved self-contradictory about the +matter of her death, as well as about her own history. Even then +she began telling us what a bad girl she herself was in various +ways. She said, ``I did not see Laura die, but I guess they did +burn her up because her finger tips were all gone and her hands +were all swollen up. Ma said she would burn her up if she did +not quit wetting the bed. Yes, I used to worry about Laura +awful. She always had been the trouble. I would have been a +good girl if it had not been for her. I used to worry so fierce +that I could not help from stealing and then when I stole I was +scared to go back to my jobs. I had to have money and so I made +good money by going with these fellows. I used to feel fierce +about the money I took from my mother and used to put it back and +then would say, `No, I just must have it.' '' + +This girl had been working at different factories and homes since +her mother's trial. She confessed to thieving from stores. The +stealing she had done at home was, it seems, long before the +death of the little child. Libby made much of her mental states +and of her dream-life in talking to us. ``I like to go to nickel +shows. I saw a sad piece once and if I feel sad now I think +about it and it makes me want to go to my mother. I have a funny +feeling about going home. I don't know what it is. At night I +dream about it and something keeps telling me to go home. I want +to go to an institution now and learn to do fancy work and to be +good, and then I want to go home.'' + +Libby told us enough about her first father for us to know he had +had a terrifically bad influence upon her. She also long +associated with bad companions who instructed her thoroughly in +the ways of immorality. She described attacks in which she felt +weak and thought she was going to fall, but never did. (The +young child in the family who had epilepsy was no relation +whatever to her.) She knew that her mother had long been living +with her step-father in common-law relationship, but insisted on +what was undoubtedly the truth, namely, that they were temperate +and very respectable people. Libby never gave us any explanation +for her testimony against her mother, but acknowledged that she +herself had been delinquent earlier. + +The physical examination showed a normally developed girl: weight +108 lbs.; height 5 ft. 3 in. Well shaped head and rather +delicate features. Her teeth showed a defective line in the +enamel near the gums on the incisors and the cuspids. Bites her +finger nails. Slight irregularity of the left pupil. Careful +examination of the eyes in other ways entirely negative. Prompt +reaction of pupils to light. No sensory defect of importance. +Knee jerks active. Heart sounds normal, and all other +examination failed to show defect. Complained of frequent +headaches, but these were not of great severity. After +information from the mother we felt that Libby's feelings of +weakness and tremblings were probably of the hysterical variety. + +During the period in which we had Libby under observation she +showed more or less emotional disturbance, but even so we were +able to assure ourselves that her mental ability was fair. We +did not expect good results from formal education because in her +case it had been very irregular. Many of our ability tests, +however, were done well, but she failed where she was asked to +demonstrate good powers of concentration and attention. We noted +that she showed a very eager attitude toward her work, but was +nervous about it. Always pleasant demeanor. + +Most significant results were obtained on the ``Aussage'' or +testimony test. After viewing our standard picture she +volunteered only 8 details in free recital. On cross-examination +she gave 21 more, but no less than 7 of these were incorrectly +stated. Then she accepted the 4 suggestions which were given +her. This result from a girl of her age and ability was +exceedingly poor. + +We never found any evidence whatever of aberrational mental +conditions. Our final diagnosis was ``fair in mental ability +with poor educational advantages.'' + +It should be definitely understood in considering this case that +even to the time of our last interview with Libby, after she had +acknowledged her own extensive prevarications, we had evidences +of the unreliability of her word. In giving details she never +made any special effort to tell the truth, whether it was in +regard to the date of her father's death or any other immaterial +detail. We were inclined to classify her as a pathological liar, +as well as a case of pathological false accusation. Her traits +as a liar and a generally difficult case have, we learn, been +maintained during her stay up to the present time in an +institution for delinquent girls. + +From the fairly intelligent mother, who cooperated well with us, +we obtained a carefully stated developmental history. During +pregnancy with Libby the mother was run over by a bicycle, but +was not much injured. The child was born at full term and was of +normal size and vitality. Instruments were used, but no damage +was known to have been done. Libby walked and talked early. A +couple of times when she was an infant she had convulsions, but +never after that. From 7 weeks until she was 3 years old there +was constant trouble on account of some form of indigestion. For +a time at that age she was in the hospital, but the mother was +never told exactly what the trouble was. Her stomach was large. +As an older child she was subject to fits of anger when she could +not have her way. She never had anything that was suggestive of +epilepsy. Twice she fainted, but once was when she came home +half frozen one winter's day. At 11 years she had pneumonia. +She menstruated at 14 years. + +The heredity and family history in this case is of great +interest. Libby's mother went to work for her first husband's +family in the old country. At about that time this man's first +wife died, but he had previously left her. He came of a good +family, he was himself, however, a hard-drinking man. He left +two children by his first wife with his parents and came to this +country with Libby's mother. Here they lived in a common-law +marriage relationship for many years, and two children (one of +them Libby) were born to them. The man continued to be a +terrible drunkard and was probably insane at times. He once +bought a rifle to kill his family. He was notorious for his +great changeableness of disposition. Sometimes he would be very +pleasant, and then quickly be seized by some impulse when he +would grind his teeth, become very angry, and use vile language. +Even when sober he would go along talking to himself and people +would follow him on the street to hear what he was saying. He +threatened often to kill his wife. He deserted her at times for +months together. He only partially supported his family and his +wife worked as a washerwoman. She left him once, but later went +back to him. + +In evidence of the character of this man and his wife we have +seen several statements from reliable people. The man's son by +his first wife came to this country and lived with them. He +found his own father impossible--a terribly bad man who was +continually fighting at home. He himself urged his step-mother +to break up the home on account of the way in which she was +abused. He made a statement of this fact under oath. (It is +only fair to say in this whole connection that these people all +came from a part of Europe where what we call a common-law +marriage is an ordinary relationship.) It was from the language +of her father that Libby first gained acquaintance with bad sex +ideas, we are assured by the mother. After a terrific time of +stress Libby's mother was rescued from her miserable conditions +by the man who later lived with her and finally married her, and +who has supported her and been true to her ever since. He is a +sympathetic man of good reputation. + +Libby's maternal grandparents died early and her mother had to +begin very young to support herself. All that we know of the +mother's developmental history is that she had some sort of +illness with convulsions once as a child and is said to have been +laid away for dead. She has brothers and sisters who are said to +be quite normal. She knows her own relatives and her first +husband's, also, and feels very sure there has been no case of +insanity, feeblemindedness, or epilepsy among them. + +Libby's moral history is of great import. She became definitely +delinquent very early in life. At 13 years she had already been +in an institution for delinquent girls in an eastern State and +the superintendent writes that she was notorious for +disobedience, lying, and stealing. She was placed there twice, +besides having been returned once after an escape. When she was +6 or 7 years of age she began thieving. She took things from her +mother's trunk and pawned them. The child stole from the +people's rooms where her mother worked as janitress. Later she +was truant and associated with immoral girls. In Chicago she +stole a bracelet and a ring from a down-town store, wearing the +bracelet later. She took $15 from a neighbor's house. She went +to saloons in company with an immoral woman, and at least on one +occasion she had been drinking. At 12 or 13 she was known to be +``crazy about boys,'' but probably was not immoral then. The +mother insists that the girl, resembling her father in this, is +most changeable in disposition. Long before the trial for murder +her pastor had urged the mother to put the girl away in an +institution, but the mother's heart was too soft. (It seems +strange that all this evidence of the girl's own bad character +and unreliability, which was readily obtained by us, was not +utilized at the time when she first made the charges of murder.) + +The mother's explanation of Libby's behavior is that it was spite +work. However, that is, of course, unsatisfactory. The mother +not long previously earnestly had warned the girl against +pursuing her downward path and had stated she must be sent away +again if she did not do better. Libby then was doing pretty much +as she pleased, for the mother, who was all along a frail woman, +sick much of the time, had really no control over her daughter. +Another feature of the case that is interesting came out in the +fact that Libby herself had neglected the little epileptic girl +who died. When the mother was ill in bed Libby had refused to +properly care for the child. To some extent she also engaged in +bad sex practices with the little girl. Libby never gave us the +slightest indication that her false testimony was incited by +spite. Anyhow, she involved the step-father, who she always +insisted had been very good to her. The motive undoubtedly is +not so simply explained. A really deep analysis of the behavior +could not be undertaken. + +--------------------------------------------------------------- +Mental conflicts: About sex experiences Case 13. + and own Girl, 16 yrs. + misbehavior. + Bad companions: Including father. + Home conditions: Notoriously bad in early life. + Heredity: Father alcoholic, brutal, and + perhaps insane. +Delinquencies: Mentality: +False accusations. (Extreme case.) Fair ability. +Stealing. +Sex immorality, etc. +--------------------------------------------------------------- + + + +CASE 14 + +Summary: A girl of 13 during the last year or more had been +lying excessively and in uncalled-for ways. She also obtained +money by misrepresentations and had made false charges of sex +assault against a stranger. To be thought of as causative +factors were defects of environment and possibly heredity, +markedly imperfect vision, improperly obtained sex knowledge, and +a distinct mental conflict. + + +We were asked to study this Emma X. on account of the various +social issues involved in her case. Her family found her beyond +control; she had been expelled from school; by her false +accusations she had created much trouble for the police in her +home town; officials of a public welfare agency found her +altogether difficult to understand. We obtained an account of +the case from several sources, including the mother. + +The trouble with her had begun about a year previously. She had +been notoriously untruthful, and had forged a relative's name to +the extent of obtaining $40--in small sums. Emma remained out +late in the evening sometimes, and on three occasions stayed out +all night. The first time this happened she came home scratched +and untidy and told a sensational story which led to much +newspaper notoriety. She said a man took her to the woods--this +was in the summertime--and kept her there all night. A loafer in +the town, who was arrested the next day, she positively +identified as the one who had assaulted her. This man was later +discharged in the police court, however, because he abundantly +proved an alibi, and because by this time the girl's story had +become so twisted that even the mother did not believe it. A +physician's examination also tended to prove that no assault had +been attempted. + +After this Emma was known to sleep one night in a cellar +coal-bin. In stealing and general lying she became worse until +with a change of residence to an uncle's home she improved for a +time. It was after a little backsliding that we saw her. + +The mother frankly tells us that the girl's mind must be +affected; otherwise how could she act as she does. Emma has +complained frequently of headaches and of a little dizziness. +She has lately been lonely for a sister who went away. For the +last two years Emma has not seemed altogether well; she has been +nervous. A time ago she had for a friend a girl who spoke too +freely with men, and her mother stopped the companionship. This +other girl has a sister in the Industrial School. Emma's mother +does not know of any definite harm done by the companionship. + +During the pregnancy with Emma the mother had a rather hard time +for a while on account of the severe illness of another child. +The pregnancy began when the mother was still nursing a baby. +However, when Emma was born she proved to be a healthy and normal +child. Birth was normal. No convulsions. First walked and +talked at the usual age. She was a fat child until 8 years, and +then, after an attack of pneumonia, she began to ail somewhat. +At 10 years tonsils and adenoids were removed. The mother had no +knowledge of Emma's defective vision. Emma started to school at +7 years, but at 13 had reached only the 5th grade. + +There are 8 living children in the family; one died in infancy. +There has never been much illness among them. Most of them did +well in school. The family physician says the boys show a +``queer streak,'' but nothing, evidently, at all well defined as +compared with the career of Emma, whom he characterizes as a +``moral pervert.'' The mother is a well-meaning, hard-working, +moderately intelligent woman of about 45. She is said to be +somewhat slack in her household, but perfectly honest. The +father is desperately alcoholic and peculiar at times. It is not +known that his aberrations are ever shown apart from his +drinking. Years ago he was in a hospital for the insane for +several months as an alcoholic patient. The trouble with this +girl is said to have led him to drink again. Both parents were +from immigrant families. It is positively denied that there are +any cases of insanity, feeblemindedness, or epilepsy on either +side. Some other members of the family are known to have better +homes. + +On the physical side we found a small child for her age; weight +81 lbs., height 4 ft. 9 in. Nutrition and color fairly good. +Vision about 20/80 R. and 20/60 L.; never had glasses. Crowded +teeth. High Gothic palate. Regular features. Expression +peculiarly stiff with eyes wide open. Flushes readily. With +encouragement smiles occasionally. Other examination negative. +Tonsils, and probably adenoids, removed three years previously; +formerly had trouble with breathing through the nose. Complains +much of frequent frontal headaches. Says she gets dizzy often in +the schoolroom. + +Our ``psychological impressions,'' dictated by Dr. Bronner, state +that at first we found Emma very quiet and diffident, possibly +somewhat shy and timid. At best she did not talk freely, only in +monosyllables as a rule. She appears rather nervous. She says +she thinks of lots of things she does not speak of. Emma smiles +in friendly enough fashion, and later became more at ease, and +more talkative. She was rather deliberate in work with tests. +With concrete material she did better than with tasks more purely +mental. She succeeds eventually with nearly everything, but is +slow. She seems anxious to do well, but acts as if unable to +rouse herself to any great effort. She is quite inaccurate in +arithmetic, and only fair in other school studies. Emotions +normal. In many ways appears normally childish. Her interest in +fairy tales and in the type of make-believe plays in which she +engages with her younger sisters seems mixed with her wonderment +in regard to sex life. There is a distinct tendency to +day-dreaming. + +In reviewing the results of tests the only peculiarities to be +noted are a definite weakness displayed in the powers of mental +representation and analysis (she failed on Test X, usually +readily done at 12 years), and a rather undue amount of +suggestibility and inaccuracy in response to the ``Aussage'' test +(Test VI). The latter, naturally-to-be-supposed important test +in a case where lying was a characteristic, showed a result that +belonged to the imaginative, inaccurate, and partially +suggestible type. Many details of the picture were recalled +correctly, but a few were manufactured to order, and 4 out of 7 +suggestions were accepted. + +About the general diagnosis of mentality there could be no doubt; +the girl had fair ability, but there had been poor educational +advantages on account of extremely defective vision. No signs of +mental aberration were discovered. + +Our attempt to try to help Emma decide why she got into so much +difficulty resulted in a most convincing discovery of beginnings. +We found a keynote to the situation in asking her about the +companionship which the mother had said she had broken up. It +seems that Emma had for a year, quite clandestinely, been +familiar with this family. She apparently now desired to reveal +the results of the acquaintance. Long ago the older sister, at +present in a Reform School, boasted of her escapades with boys. +Emma states that she herself never talked of these topics with +her mother, who had said that girls who don't do such things +should not talk about them. But Tessie, the younger sister of +the delinquent girl, says many bad words about boys. These words +and ideas about them bother Emma much. They come up in her mind, +``sometimes at night and sometimes in the day.'' She even dreams +much about them and about boys. ``I seen the girls do bad things +with boys. It is in the dream, it was in the house, in the front +room on the floor.'' Emma says she never saw it in reality, but +Tessie had boys in their front room when she went there, and then +came running out when she heard Emma coming. She wonders just +what Tessie does. Boys never bother Emma, but all these ideas +bother her. ``Then I think that the boys are going to do it to +me.'' In school she cannot study for this reason. ``Sure, when +I start to study it comes up. I just think about what she tells +me, Tessie. She tells me she liked to do these things with +boys.'' + +This little girl in the couple of interviews we had with her gave +vent to much expression of all this which had perplexed her, and +she really seemed to want help. She was very willing to have her +mother told. She went on finally to say that the delinquent girl +had taught her long ago about masturbation and that she thinks of +it every night in bed. She can give no explanation of why she +runs away and why she falsely accused the man. She says it was +not true at all what she said about him. She thinks she would +behave better if she were less bothered about the things which +those girls taught her. Emma says she questioned a young woman +relative who did not tell her any more than her mother did. + +Regarding her diversions Emma says that she likes reading, +especially fairy tales. She reads mostly Andersen's Fairy Tales. +She enjoys dressing up as a grown lady and playing make-believe. +She particularly likes to go to bed early and lie and imagine +things. She imagines sometimes that she is grown up and married +and has her own home and children. + +The neglect, through ignorance, of the several genetic features +of Emma's case was quite clear. The mother was made acquainted +with the facts, which her little daughter then affirmed to her, +and she promised to alter conditions. We insisted on attention +to Emma's eyes and general physical conditions, on removal from +neighborhood association with these old companions, on the +necessity for motherly confidences, on watchfulness to break up +sex habits, and on the development of better mental interests. +Through relatives in the home town it seemed there was some +chance to get these remedial measures undertaken. + +A year and a half later we can state that a certain number of our +suggestions were followed out. The mother gained a better +understanding of the case and there were some, although not +enough, environmental changes. The father's mental condition has +been much better, perhaps because he has largely refrained from +drink, and consequently family affairs are more stable. The girl +herself is said not to be doing perfectly either in school or +home life, but to be vastly improved. We have obtained no +definite statement concerning whether she now lies at all or not, +but it is sure that Emma has engaged in no more egregious types +of prevarications and in no more false accusations. Competent +observers think the case is fairly promising in its general moral +aspects if environmental conditions continue to improve. + + +--------------------------------------------------------------- + Mental conflict. Case 14. + Improper sex teachings. Girl, age 13. + Bad companions. + Home conditions: Lack of understanding + and control. + Father alcoholic, + insane (?) + Defective vision. +Delinquencies: Mentality: +False accusations. Ability fair. +Runaway. +Obtaining money by false representations. +--------------------------------------------------------------- + + + +CASE 15 + +Summary: Girl of 16, over a period of some weeks made extreme +accusations against several members of her family. She gave +detailed account of sex immorality, alleged drunkenness and +thieving, and an attack on her own life. She had herself, it was +found, begun delinquent tendencies. The family circumstances and +her clearly detailed account gave the color of possibility to her +accusations, but investigation proved some of them false, and all +of a sudden, after maintaining for long a most convincing +demeanor, she withdrew her allegations. Both before and since +this episode she has given no marked evidence of being a +falsifier. + + +We were asked to study this case by police officials who thought +perhaps the girl was the victim of some delusional state. She +appeared at the police station and informed them her adult +brother had been thieving from the place where he worked. She +lived with him. Investigation by detectives on the strength of +her convincingly given details proved his innocence. When the +brother appeared on the scene he said he had been intending to +report her on account of her being away from home. She herself +was then held in custody. + +We found a girl in very good general physical condition. Well +developed in sex characteristics and a very mature type of face. +Outside of a somewhat enlarged thyroid and moderately defective +vision, we found nothing abnormal. Weight 114 lbs.; height 5 ft. +Notable was her strong features, deep set eyes, high, broad +forehead and sharp chin. + +Our study of her on the mental side led us to denominate her as +having fair general ability. She had had poor educational +advantages. We noted much irregularity on work on tests. She +did comparatively poorly on anything that called for careful +attention and concentration. This was especially notable when +she was dealing with abstractions or situations to be mentally +represented. Although she could do arithmetic up to simple +division she made a bad failure in the continued process of +subtraction as given in the Kraepelin test of taking 8's from +100. In the work on the Code, Test XI, she found it altogether +impossible to keep her mind concentrated. In tests where +perceptions were largely brought into play she did very well. We +noticed that she was possessed of a very dramatic manner. She +sighed frequently as she worked. She was very nervous, +continually moving her hands and tapping the table. She was +quite satisfied with her superficial efforts. It was very +curious that we, as well as others, were able to note her +apparent sincere belief in her own statements about her family. +As she made them she looked the interviewer straight in the eyes; +there was not a hint of evasiveness. + +Her result on the ``Aussage'' (Test VI) was very meager. She +only recalled 10 details of the picture. On cross- examination +she gave correctly 14 more items and was wrong on 3 of them. She +accepted only 2 out of 5 suggestions offered and these were the +most probable ones. + +A full family history was never to be obtained. The best that we +came ultimately to know was that her father and mother had been +long dead and she had lived in institutions for years, then with +a relative who was not at all a good person, and then with her +brother and sister, whom she bitterly accused. These were people +in decidedly poor circumstances and living in very congested +quarters. Indeed, we were inclined to believe, finally, that +crowded housing conditions with the necessary unfortunate +familiarity with sex affairs and the like was largely responsible +for her trouble. A few months prior to these events she had +become acquainted with a girl who had drawn her into running away +from home a few nights. During her unsettled home life she had +seen a good deal of immorality in other houses, but had not been +immoral herself. Conditions of squalor surrounded the whole +situation. + +Her accusations against her family as told to others, and +reiterated to us, involved the drunkenness of her own father and +mother. (We were never able to verify whether this charge +against her mother was true or not.) Then she went on to allege +extreme immorality on the part of her three sisters. She gave +these in the utmost detail. (There is little doubt but that one +of her sisters was rather free living before she was married.) +She constantly maintained that she was the only virtuous one in +the family and had withstood all advances. She then recounted +much personal abuse and cruel treatment, and accused the brother +and his wife of an attempt to poison her because they wanted her +out of the way. + +Her story was told in such detail, was so well remembered from +time to time, and she presented such outward form of sincerity +that experienced people were led to believe there must be much in +what she said. On one occasion, under observation, she cried +nearly all of two days because one good woman would not believe +her statements. At least she said this was the reason of her +tears. Her general behavior during this period of observation +was perfect. + +We found her hazy and somewhat incoherent about a number of the +details of her life, but she had lived under such varied +circumstances that this alone was not convincing of her +insincerity. When we met her brother we were very sure that at +least a part of her story was false. He seemed to be a very +decent fellow and was really interested in her. Several months +earlier he had trouble with her on account of her staying out +late at night, and had threatened her. Then there was no more +difficulty until her recent acquaintance with this other girl. +He stated that he had been obliged to scold her very severely, +and then finally she stayed away for five nights and wound up by +going to the police station and making the accusations against +him and the other members of the family. When the case came up +in court she stated she wished to go back to live with this +brother and admitted having continued misrepresentations about +him and the others in the family since her acquaintance with this +girl. It really was all false. She was placed under probation +and the case has been, except for environmental circumstances, +entirely successful. She is now a young married woman, and has +had no further delinquent record against her. + +Our investigation of the causation showed perhaps self- +protection from punishment for her own behavior, but there was +apparently much mental conflict about sex affairs and she had a +very unfortunate acquaintance with such details, resulting +partly, as she acknowledged, from her peeping through keyholes +and so on. On account of her peculiar unreliability of statement +and many quiet and staring periods, seen while she was under +observation, we questioned whether she was not verging on +psychotic conditions. However, all this tendency seems to have +passed away. + +--------------------------------------------------------------- +Adolescent instability. Case 15. + Girl, 16 years. + Home conditions: Defective through poverty + and congestion. + Early sex experiences and mental conflict + about them. + Reaction to own delinquencies, self + protection phenomenon. + Heredity. Mentality: +Delinquencies: Fair ability, poor +False accusations. advantages. +--------------------------------------------------------------- + + +CASE 16 + +Summary: A motherless girl of 9 1/2 years, following her +complaint of local symptoms, which proved to be due to vulvitis, +accused her father and brother of incest. She was a bright child +and normally affectionate, even towards these relatives. Her +father and brother were held in jail for several weeks, but were +dismissed at the trial because of the ascertained untruth of the +charges. + +As causative factors of her false accusations our study showed +(a) her local irritation, (b) for which her father had treated +her, (c) prior crowded housing conditions with her father and +brother, (d) her lack of mother's control, (e) early and intimate +acquaintance with atrocious sex knowledge and sex habits, and (f) +recently becoming the center of interest in a group of friends +made through her statement of the vileness of family conditions. + + +We were requested to study this case by the judge of the court in +which the father and brother of Bessie M. were to be tried for +the crime of incest with her. At a preliminary hearing the judge +had felt that the remarkable statements of the little girl +savored of untruth, and that the character sustained by the +brother, in particular, was quite out of keeping with the grave +accusations against him. The girl's charges, so clearly +detailed, together with her local ailment, had proved thoroughly +convincing to a group of women who had become interested in her. +Bessie was evidently quite normal mentally and apparently +affectionately regarded her only near relatives--this father and +brother. Her story appeared thus entirely credible. The judge +stated that he had been approached outside of court by these +women, who in their righteous indignation were insistent upon the +need of dire punishment of the outrageous conduct of Bessie's +natural protectors. + +We found a rather poorly developed little girl. Weight 64 lbs.; +height 4 ft. 4 in. Bright, pleasant, vivacious expression. +Attitude normal. High, prominent, narrow forehead. Head: length +19 cm., breadth 13 cm. Slightly asymmetrical frontal bosses. +Snub nose; eyes fairly bright; ears asymmetrical in size--.6 cm. +difference in greatest length. Thyroid palpable. Tonsils +enlarged moderately. No sensory defect of importance. Strength +good for size. Color only fairly good. (Results of gynecologic +examination later.) + +Bessie was given a wide range of mental tests, with the result +that we classified her as being well up to the ordinary in +ability. Indeed, considering her poor school advantages through +frequent changes of residence she did very well in the subjects +covered by formal education. Her memory processes and ability to +testify correctly--in which we were naturally most +interested--seemed, so far as we were able to test them, quite +normal. Of a standard passage about a fire (Test XII), which she +read once to herself, she recalled 17 out of the 20 items. A +passage containing 12 main details (Test XIII), which was read to +her in the usual way four times, she recalled with 2 details +omitted. The ``Aussage'' test (Test VI) was done very well +indeed, with 17 items of the picture given correctly on free +recital, and 5 rejections out of the 7 suggestions proffered. +Bessie's conversation was fluent and coherent, her range of +information was good. She showed fondness for the dramatic +statement. + +Her mother died in the old country when she was about four years +old, and her father had immediately come to America, but had +never established a home of his own. For the last nine months +Bessie had been living with a woman, Mrs. S., who was deeply +interested in her. Previously to this she roomed for about six +months with her father and brother, and prior to that time she +had been placed about in different homes by her father. After +some months with Mrs. S. she complained of local pain and +irritation. When taken to a physician, she said her father was +accustomed to touch her, and her story involved incest by both +her father and brother. After others had become interested in +her case, the matter was turned into the hands of the police. It +was notable that during this period Bessie's love of the dramatic +was being fostered by her newly found woman friend, who was +providing her with lessons in dramatic reading and taking her +extremely frequently to moving picture shows and theatres. + +When first seen by us, Bessie reiterated her story of sexual +relations with her father and brother. As she had done with +others, and with the judge, she went into almost convincing +details. Her knowledge of such relationships was apparently +complete. She informed us that she had caught ``an awful +disease'' from her father. She said that while rooming with them +her sexual relations with her father and brother were nightly +occurrences. They all slept in one bed. + +A careful inquiry into Bessie's earlier knowledge of such things +brought forth the most astounding account. One may say that this +little girl had the most extensive acquaintance with many kinds +of pervert sex practices that one has ever known in a young +individual. She now said that the last ones who engaged in such +things with her were her father and brother. Her experiences +began at 5 years with a boy and a girl, and, she maintained, they +had been very frequent ever since, up to within the last 9 +months. A number of boys and girls were involved, as well as the +men in two households where she had been placed. The practices +she had engaged in were many, running all the way from self use +of pieces of broom to normal intercourse, and both active and +passive forms of pervert practices. It is unnecessary, even in +this medical case, to go into details or to give her actual +phraseology. It is sufficient to say that she frankly stated her +early discovery of the pleasures of local stimulation and how she +asked others to give it to her in various ways. Then she +performed different perversions on boys and men. She told about +observing sex relations between husband and wife in households +where she had lived. She now says she had a disease before she +came home to her father--a doctor had told other people +previously. The men in two homes frequently had complete +intercourse with her, she maintains, and gives description of it. + +The credible substance of Bessie's long story elaborately told +upon inquiry into her life history was that she certainly had had +many sex experiences. When, in the light of these, it finally +came to the question of the charges against her father and +brother she said that it was really she who had been the +instigator. When in bed she had begun playing with them. She +described her method, learned before. She now says they did not +have real intercourse with her, but the other men did. + +The account of local physical conditions as obtained from several +sources is as follows. Bessie was taken to a physician for +vulvitis, etc., by some people before she came back to her +father. During the period she roomed with her father he +regularly treated her locally with a salve and a wash. The +physician who later examined her for Mrs. S. found the parts so +swollen that he could make no diagnosis of ruptured hymen, but +took it for granted. After the father and brother had been in +jail for some weeks the inflammation had subsided. (It is only +fair to say that the father had clamored for a specialist's +examination, which, he contended, would prove his innocence. Of +course he was not aware of her earlier experiences or he would +not have been so sure.) Then a competent gynecologist found that +coitus had never taken place. The hymen was intact. This was at +the time we studied the case. On the day of the trial, I with +two other physicians examined the girl. It was found that a +cotton swab about 3/8 of an inch in diameter could with +difficulty penetrate the vaginal orifice. There was not the +slightest evidence of any rupture of the hymen or of any +vaginitis. So far as the ``awful disease'' was concerned, +repeated bacteriological tests over a considerable period failed +to show the extensive vulvitis to be due to gonorrhea. It seemed +much more likely that it was due to nonspecific infection +following traumatism from the use of the various foreign objects +which the girl told she had used. Perhaps it was partly the +result of the perversions which, judging by her knowledge of +them, had been practiced by others on her. + +We were informed later that much indignation at our report to the +judge was expressed by the crowd in attendance at the trial. The +girl's first story was so well told that many had been +irrevocably convinced of the utter guilt of the father. + +The father himself, who was brought to us in the course of our +study of the case, was rather a low type in appearance. He was a +poor earner, evidently had earlier been alcoholic, a small +whining figure with tears in his eyes. His appearance would +prejudice against him. The brother, on the contrary, made an +unusually good impression. He had the best of recommendations. +His sister's first charges ought not to have been believed on the +basis of his qualifications. There had been 5 children, 3 died +in infancy. No history of any significance was obtained except +that the development of Bessie had apparently been normal in all +ways. Her mother was said to be normal. Both parents were +evidently representative products of the underfeeding and +generally poor hygienic conditions of the laboring classes in a +large Irish city. There was unquestionably a great feeling of +affection between the three. Indeed, Mrs. S. stated that it was +the excessive kissing of the child by the father which made her +suspicious. Bessie always maintained that both father and +brother treated her very well and that she loved them much. + +It seemed clear to us that Bessie never knew in the least the +significance of the charges she so glibly made at first. Her +mind had long been so full of these things, and their social +import seemed so slight, that it meant no vindictiveness towards +her loved ones to say what she did about them. She asserted to +us later that she really did not know what she said to the judge +at the first hearing. The case illustrated well the fallibility +of a young girl's accusations coming even from the lips of a +normally bright and affectionate daughter or sister. + +For her own protection Bessie was given a trial in an +institutional school. From there it was reported after a few +months that her mind was found to be so continually upon sex +subjects that it would be most advisable for her to remain long +under the quietest conditions and closest supervision. + + +--------------------------------------------------------------- +Physical conditions: Local irritation. Case 16. + Girl, age 9 1/2. + Housing conditions: Crowded. + Early sex experiences: Excessive and pervert. + Parental control failure: No home, no mother. +Delinquencies: Mentality: +Serious false accusations. Good ability. +--------------------------------------------------------------- + + + +CASE 17 + +Summary: Boy of 16 years, not living at home, made false +accusations of excessive immorality against his own family. +These involved sex perversions, and he implicated even his own +sister and brother, and alleged the connivance of his mother. +The main complaint was against the step-father, who he also said +was a professional thief. The improbability of such stories +being told without good foundation led to much time being spent +on investigating the case. + +As possible causative factors of the unmitigated lying we found +(a) defective heredity leading to (b) typical constitutional +inferiority with the peculiar states of mind characteristic of +the latter, (c) poor developmental conditions through early +illnesses; (d) excessive bad sex practices on the part of the boy +himself. Vindictive reaction to charges of delinquency against +himself might be considered a factor if his false accusations had +not been made without any such stimulus a long time previously. + + +(According to another classification this case belongs in our +chapter on Border-line Types. It is retained here because it so +well illustrates pathological accusation.) + +John S., an undersized boy of 16, a pitiable specimen, when under +arrest for vagrancy told such a heartrending story of home +conditions, with assertions against family morality, that the +judge and others were moved to indignation and an investigation +was started. The general feeling was that no one who was not +insane could make such statements about their nearest of kin +without foundation in fact. + +We found a poorly developed, but fairly nourished young fellow; +weight 112 lbs., height 5 ft. 2 in.; good strength for his size. +Stigmata: slight facial asymmetry, ears very long and narrow, +dentition very irregular--one upper canine having erupted behind +the central incisors. Tattooing on the chest. Vision defective, +but how much so was impossible to estimate on account of corneal +ulcer and general gonorrheal ophthalmia. Gait and attitude very +slouchy. In contrast to general poor development, has already +full sex development and much hair over body for his age. + +On the mental side we found an excitable and talkative fellow, +quite coherent, and giving in no way any indication of aberration +by the form or trend of his conversation. He tells us he reached +the 6th grade. He willingly works on tests and we note the +general result as follows: Learning and memory processes, both +for logical verbal and for meaningless associations, quite good. +Perception of form, normal. Power of analysis of situations +mentally represented, only mediocre. Associative processes, +verbal, not normally accurate. Writes good hand. Simple +spelling correct. Arithmetic correct for 4th grade. Tests for +several other points hardly fair to register on account of +defective eyesight. On one he failed because of not knowing the +alphabet in order. Suggestibility extreme, as evidenced by +testimony test. In giving report on the ``Aussage'' picture, +Test VI, he enumerated 12 items, 11 of them correct, on free +recital. Then he gave 11 more details, all correct, on +cross-examination, but he accepted no less than 7 out of 8 +suggestions offered. + +Information on current events is good, but on points said to have +been learned at school is much mixed up. In giving responses to +questions, he seized on any slight suggestion and adopted the +idea. For instance, he said he had read the life of Napoleon, +but could not remember to which country he belonged. When +England was suggested he agreed to it. He then told various +wrong incidents of Napoleon's life and death, also as suggested +by the examiner. It finally came out that Bonaparte was an +English nobleman who fought against France and Waterloo, was +never defeated, and got sick in England. Then in the same way we +get the information that this country gained its freedom from +France, that Lincoln was president directly after Washington, and +so on. John has read books from the library and various +magazines, a considerable assortment. He knows almost nothing of +even simple scientific facts, but is well acquainted with items +gained from the newspapers and the theatres. + +Going into his story, as we were requested, we heard at once +about the cruel conditions at home. The boy's own father had +been dead for ten years and up to within three years he had lived +with a relative. While he was there letters indicated that queer +things were going on at home, and the step-father was cruel to +the other children. The mother was afraid to tell the whole +story. When the boy came home the step-father at once began +pervert sex practices with him, horrible things, and John found +this man had been doing deeds of the same kind with an older +sister and a younger brother. It seems the step-father also +beats the children and has put this older girl out of the house. +Recently he has left his wife. + +When we go into John's own record, with which we had already made +ourselves acquainted, he tells us he does not know what gets into +him, but he has run away from home no less than eleven times. He +works for a while, takes his wages and then stays at a hotel. He +says he has been arrested several times on this account. His +mother always telephones to the police about him and that is why +he is under detention now. He wishes he were at home. The next +day we went into more of the details which had been liberally +sketched to the judge and other officials. We now learn that the +step-father is a professional thief and that stolen goods he has +taken are to be found in their home. He often leaves home and +perhaps takes his wife's wages--she has to work out--and just now +is again living at a hotel. The family have been informed by a +physician that he is probably crazy. + +On a later occasion the boy told my assistant that he wished to +relate the whole story of his family. He then describes how the +step-father even blackens the eyes of the sister and that he has +long been immoral with her. It now appears that perversions +began between this man and John some two months ago, never before +that. The mother is there in the house all the time and knows +about and permits the step-father's immorality with daughter and +son. Cross-questioned afterward, the boy (evidently remembering +what he said before) states these practices with him began the +night he came home three years ago, but they had been going on +with his sister before that. He knows this because his mother +wrote and told him about it. His uncle wrote and told her to put +a stop to it, but the step-father intimidates her with a +revolver. + +Our notes state that one afternoon when tests were being given +him, John seemed to be in an excited state and often interrupted +the procedure with talking. Seen in the hallway soon afterwards +he waved his hand and insisted on telling more about home +conditions and about what the officers would find if they went up +there. On still another occasion he reiterated the same things, +giving many details. + +It was about this time that John was found to give strangely +fantastic and childish accounts of circumstances with which he +had been connected. We transcribe his story of a celebration at +a school--it is a good example of his tales. + +``They had it on Lincoln's birthday and on the 4th of July, too. +The teacher did not believe that Abraham Lincoln freed the +slaves. The children said, oh yes, he did. But they did not +believe it. The children all hollered and said yes, he did. +Then they all run up on the platform and got to fighting about +it. The teachers would not believe that Lincoln freed the slaves +till an old soldier came up there and told them yes, he did do +it.'' I questioned him about this matter whether it was only a +play they had, or were they in earnest. ``Oh, all in earnest and +they had a fight about it. The teachers would not believe that +Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves and the children all run up on +the platform and had a fight about it.'' + +Home conditions were next looked up by a court investigator and +we came to know the mother and sister. Much to our surprise we +found them to be quite self-respecting, entirely credible people +of good reputation in the neighborhood. The mother is an honest +hard-working woman and is exceedingly depressed about the career +of this boy. The sister is a modest and unquestionably good, +self-supporting, young woman. Not a word was heard against them +in any way. In their distress they gave us the full story. + +The parents were immigrants when young. The father died through +an accident some ten years previously. The mother has kept track +of the members of both families fairly well. She had a sister +insane, said to have become so as the result of the menopause. +The father himself had occasional attacks of epilepsy, but they +were never frequent enough to hinder him working as an artisan. +He was a very moderate user of alcohol. The mother has always +been fairly healthy. Thinks she now has a cancer. There are no +other significant points in heredity that she knows. There are +three living children; a number of miscarriages came after John +was born. + +The pregnancy and birth were, normal. John walked and talked +very early. Never any convulsions. At about two years of age he +was very low with a complication of diseases. He was sick at +that time for three months. Later he was operated on for +rupture. The trouble with his eyes is of recent origin. When he +was a young boy in school a teacher once told her she did not +consider him right mentally. + +There has been an exceeding amount of trouble with this boy. He +was a great truant and reached only the 4th grade. When he was +living with the uncle he caused much trouble, and the uncle +warned her. He has run away from home twelve times, stays away +perhaps two weeks at a time, and comes home ragged and filthy. +He has had many jobs, but stays only a day or two at work. He +steals in petty ways, takes money from home when he runs away. +He is very lazy, but a great reader, especially of cheap novels. + +Among the troubles with this boy is his extremely filthy talk. +He has even lost one position on account of this. An aunt caught +the boy in bad sex practices several years ago and told the +mother. Neighbors, and earlier the school people, warned the +mother that this was what was the matter with the boy. About a +year ago John was found in a room with a man and other boys +engaged in bad practices. The man was sentenced to a long term +in the penitentiary on account of it. + +Worst of all, the mother says the boy is the most malicious liar +she has ever heard of. They have had a frightful time with him +on account of this. For over two years John has been telling bad +stories about the step-father. Recently he could not stand it +any longer and left the mother. He was a good and rather strict +man who took much interest in the children. He tried rewards +with John, but this was of no avail. The boy has destroyed the +home life, but she thought it her duty to try further with her +own flesh and blood. The sister is in utter despair about what +John has said concerning her. The younger brother also feels +great humiliation. The boy has told his worst stories about them +even in their own neighborhood. + +After our investigation the boy was sent to an institution for +delinquents where he could have the best of treatment for his +ailments. The report from there after a few months was that he +proved to be an exceedingly weak and vacillating type. He was +notorious for being a boy that would do anything that was +suggested to him. An outlook was kept for signs of insanity, but +none was noted. + +Over three years later we hear that John's character has not +shown any radical change as demonstrated by his mode of living. +He has served at least one term in a penal institution for +adults. We do not know anything further about lying or false +accusations in the case. + +--------------------------------------------------------------- +Constitutional inferiority: Stigmata. Case 17. + Mentality. Boy, age 16. + Heredity: Father epileptic. + Maternal aunt insane. + Masturbation plus. + Pervert sex experiences. + Developmental: Much early illness. +Delinquencies: Mentality: +False accusations excessive. Dull from physical +Running away repeatedly. causes (?). +Stealing. Beginning psychosis (?). +Sex perversions. Pathological liar (?). +Vagrancy. +--------------------------------------------------------------- + + + +CASE 18 + +Summary: Little girl of 7 makes false charges of sex assault +against boy in the same institution. She is later found to be an +excessive liar and to steal. + +Causative factors: (a) atrociously immoral home environment, (b) +early sex experiences, (c) local irritation from active +gonorrhea. + + +This case illustrates the fact that a young girl, who has had +unfortunate sex experiences, especially if her mind is kept +dwelling on sexual subjects through bodily irritation, is apt to +take advantage of the stir which she knows she can make by her +statements, and glibly make false accusations. The case offered +no difficulties for study and can be presented in short as +typical of a number of similar cases seen by us. + +We were asked to see this girl a few days after she had been +taken from very bad home conditions and temporarily placed in a +good institution for dependent children. While there she had +much upset the high-minded superintendent and her helpers by +stating that an older boy in the place had sex relations with +her. + +She was a small, bright-eyed, vivacious child. General physical +conditions decidedly good. No sensory defect. Well shaped head. +Weight 55 lbs.; height 4 ft. Active gonorrheal vulvovaginitis. + +On the mental side we found, although she spoke in somewhat +broken English, an ardent conversationalist. With her many ideas +about many subjects, she appeared decidedly precocious. We noted +her also to be very defiant and self-assertive, and her tendency +to lie without rhyme or reason was soon discovered. Her exact +age never was ascertained, but undoubtedly it was about 7. She +was in the 2d grade. At times when doing the Binet tests +inhibitions would appear and she would give no answer at all even +to some easy questions. Her positive responses graded her as 6 +2/5 years, but undoubtedly she could have done much better had +she so wished. + +In her talkative way she used English very graphically, but with +curious misuse of pronouns and a few other words. Considering +the fact that her family spoke a foreign language at home and she +had been but a short time in school this was not strange. Her +lack of veracity was shown even in her assertions about her +inability to understand English. At the first approach she +denied her ability to do so, but later showed that she understood +very well. This behavior was of a piece with her attitude shown +in doing the Binet tests. + +``Police bringed me. Don't know why. Cause my father run away, +she don't want to stay with my mother. My father Austrian. +Sometime my father talk Italian. Then God make him sick cause +she talk Italian. My neck is sick. I go to Italian church and I +talk Italian and God makes me sick. + +``They bringed me home to-day, then they bringed me back here, +then I stay here all along.'' (What is the matter with you?) +``A big boy--up in school--upstairs--don't know his name. I came +Saturday. She came Saturday. She came Sunday, too. When we +come to listen to music then she gave to me that disease. + +``Papa is bad. She run away. She run away. She take from my +mama $12--all the clothes. She got another lady. Is that your +lady? Why do you write? I could write better than you because I +go to school all the time. I never take money. I Catholic and +Catholic can't tell lie. Well, I going to tell the truth now. I +found it in bed, in paper inside. Then I give it to teacher and +then I give it to nurse. I never tell lies.'' + +Before we had seen her this child had given some sort of +description of a big boy in the institution who she said had +assaulted her. There was no such person there, but her vehement +statements caused much disturbance. Later she denied this to us +and accused somebody at her own home. She came from miserable +environment, as may be surmised from the fact that her father was +a deserter and probably immoral. On account of her unreliability +nothing could be done in the way of prosecuting the offender. We +always felt it a possibility that some member of her own family +was guilty and that was the reason she had told so many different +tales about it. An owner was not found for the money which she +had stolen. The person from whom she said she had taken it had +not lost it. She took it under conditions when she had no chance +to spend it. Her excessive lying was a continual source of +trouble as long as she was kept in this institution. She was +long treated in a public hospital for her gonorrhea. Since then +she has been lost track of. It is interesting in this case to +note that the child maintained that she belonged to a church, +which made it impossible for her to tell lies. We have heard +almost exactly this same assertion on numerous occasions. It is +clearly made by way of affirmation when the offender covertly +feels the need of bolstering up false statements. + +--------------------------------------------------------------- +Early sex experiences. Case 18. + Bad companions. Girl, age 7. + Physical conditions: Local irritation. + Home conditions: Father immoral and + deserter. + Heredity(?): Father as above. +Delinquencies: Mentality: +Stealing. Fair ability. +Sex. +Lying. +False accusations. +--------------------------------------------------------------- + + + +CASE 19 + +Summary: Girl of 18 made accusations to officials that a lawyer +for whom she worked had been immoral with her. About the same +time it was found that she herself had been stealing and lying +about other matters. Later, when there was reiteration of the +charges, a physician's examination showed that she had not been +immoral. Some months afterward she went to other officials and +insisted she ought to go to a reform school. A year still later +she did have sex experiences and contracted venereal disease. +Her succeeding record is totally different. For several years +now she has been a young woman of thoroughly good character. + + +In its progress, after extended exhibition of exceedingly erratic +conduct, to complete stability now long observed, this case is of +considerable interest. It was after some months of effort on the +case by experienced social workers that we were asked to study +this girl. We found no difficulty in rapidly becoming intimately +acquainted with her conditions and troubles. + +Physically she was a normally developed young woman of distinctly +good strength, but slouchy attitude. In expression rather dull +and pleasant; laughs much in rather childish way for her age. +Weight, 110 lbs.; height, 5 ft. 2 1/2 in. No sensory defect. +Good color. + +Mentally we gave her a wide variety of tests with the result, in +general, that she did well on them. She had left school at 14 +years when in the 7th grade, but had not forgotten what she had +learned. Her arithmetic was done very well indeed and she wrote +a very good hand. The tests, which brought her abilities in many +directions into play, were done almost uniformly well. Her +memory processes were distinctly good and showed her capacity by +her remembering logical connections as well as details. Her +casuistic responses which were asked for in two moral situations, +verbally presented, Test XXI, were rather vacillating, but +evidently sound. It was easy for her to appreciate the intricacy +of the situation. + +On the ``Aussage'' experiment, Test VI, out of 15 details given +as remembered from the picture just seen two were imaginary, and +of 9 more items given on cross-examination two were erroneous. +Her account as given was functional, not at all enumerative as in +the usual childish fashion. Out of 6 suggestions proffered she +accepted 4. This was a poor result for a person of her age. Her +range of information was normal. Her interests while at home had +been very simple; for instance, she had not been allowed to read +novels nor go to theatres. In all our work on tests and in our +several interviews with her we never discovered any signs of +aberrational tendencies. Her social conduct furnished the only +evidence of erraticism. + +This young woman's mother, who is said to have been a normal +person, died a few months before we knew her daughter. She had +long been ill and consequently had had very imperfect control +over her daughter all through adolescence. The father had been +dead for several years previously; he was a storekeeper in a +small way, fairly educated and non-alcoholic. No other family +history of importance was ever forthcoming. There was only one +other child in the family, a younger brother, who was quite +normal. Outside of bronchitis during infancy it was said this +girl had never had any serious disease. In the last few months +there had been much complaint about suffering at the menstrual +period. Menstruation began at 13 years of age and was said to +have been regular until seven months or so prior to the time when +we first saw her. However, this latter statement was made by the +girl herself and at this stage her word was not particularly +reliable. + +When we began study of this case we were put in possession of the +following notes made by an unusually competent social worker, +extending over the previous nine months. Attention was first +drawn to her when she was living with someone who had offered to +give her a home while her mother was mortally ill in a hospital. +She then had clothing and trinkets the possession of which she +could not satisfactorily explain. It was discovered that she was +lying. It was about this time that the girl told her friends +that she had been immoral, and accused a man for whom she had +worked of being responsible for her downfall. She had also been +flirting with a married man who had been talking to her about +eloping with him. It was learned that she stayed all one night +at a downtown hotel, but probably alone. Further investigation +showed she had stolen a considerable sum of money from an +acquaintance and also a watch. Then a physical examination was +made and a certificate given that the girl had not been immoral. + +Much trouble was taken about the case in the ensuing year, the +notes naively say, ``object being to see if the girl could not be +reclaimed.'' She was given an unusually good opportunity with a +sterling family. She made much trouble for them and others who +were interested in her. Her mother died early in the period. On +a number of occasions she left her place and stayed away all +night, sometimes walking the streets. On one occasion she is +reported to have gone to a certain agency, looking as if she had +been recently intoxicated, and appealed to be sent to a reform +school. She was taken in by the police on one occasion. We +first saw her after she had been living in this good home for +several months. + +At the same time we studied her physical and mental conditions we +attempted to make some analysis of her self-orientation. She +maintained then that her main trouble was because she had got +mixed up with this married man. She declared he threatened her. +(This was very likely from what was discovered about his +character.) She had very good words for the officials who had +helped her so much. She told us how she had stolen a matter of +$100 or so. When we questioned her about her early accusations +she said that she did tell a lot of lies when her case first was +looked into. ``I thought they were too inquisitive. I thought +if I told them a few lies they would leave me alone. Everybody +has to know everything. I forget half of what I'm to say. I +don't know why I stole that watch. I would have brought it back +home if he had not taken it on me. I never told anybody that I +wanted to go to the reform school. I was afraid to go home +because I was afraid I would get a good scolding. I think I have +told all the truth to the officers since the first. I was +ashamed to tell it, that's the whole truth. That's the truth, +there was no one with me this other night. I did not meet a soul +I knew. I went out to the South Park. I had never been there +before. Where I have been living they would not let me go out +anywhere. I had to stay there Sundays and all the time. When I +got out I was worse than a wild calf. Maybe if I went out +oftener I would not be so bad. I am here now because I went to +the police station and told them I would not go home. It was +late and I was afraid to go home. I had stayed out on the street +all night. One night I went home and it was all dark and I was +afraid to ring and I stayed on the street all night. I was on +the street all the next day too. I went to the cemetery. Late +that afternoon I met a young man and stayed talking to him and a +detective came along and told us we shouldn't stand there. I +never did anything bad with any man. I never said so. A +visiting nurse told me the dangers of life. My mother told me I +should be careful. Oh, I worked for that lawyer before my mother +died. I worked for him about two weeks and he did not pay me +what he owed me. No, he never did me any harm. A man came along +with a lady from that office and he asked me some questions and I +was so scared because I thought they were going to lock me up. I +guess that was the question maybe and I said, yes, but I did not +know just what it was.'' + +It was after this that the girl gave much trouble because of +queer little trickery concerning some insurance papers, and about +losing some money. Her friends wasted much time in the endeavor +to get these matters adjusted. The family she was with thought +she was very childish for her age. + +Our opinion as dictated at this time was that the girl was +physically and mentally all right, but that she showed a +decidedly childish reaction towards the world and was very +suggestible and unreliable. We knew many more facts about her +which proved these points. Our judgment set down was that she +was an unstable adolescent with possibility of showing very +different characteristics inside of a year or two. We noted she +had a weak type of face. + +She was seen four months later, after a period of having run away +twice for several days at a time. On inquiry she maintains she +was impelled to do it by her own feelings of restlessness and +general dissatisfaction. She thought the people with whom she +lived were very nice and only strict as they should be. There +was some question raised about this time about the periodicity of +her impulsions, but except for her own statement that it was just +before her menstrual time, nothing definite was proved. On the +last occasion she did pick up with a young man and was immoral +with him. She stayed out in a hallway all night. A venereal +disease was then acquired. This was speedily treated in a +hospital and the girl was found another place. Three years have +elapsed, and during the time this girl has continued under the +observation of one of her old friends. She has remained steady +and trustworthy, and shows no tendency whatever towards +untruthfulness or evasiveness. She has lived in one good home +for two years and the people are deeply attached to her. + +-------------------------------------------------------------- +Adolescent impulses: Lack of self-control. Case 19. + Sex temptations. resisted. Girl, age 18. + Lack of parental care. + Deficient interests: Both mental and + recreational. +Delinquencies: Mentality: +False accusations. Good ability. +Stealing. +General lying. +Staying away from home. +--------------------------------------------------------------- + + + +CASE 20 + +Summary: A girl of almost 16 years, of attractive and innocent +appearance, alleged that she had been leading an immoral life and +frequenting houses of assignation. She told the story to the +people of her church, who were naturally horrified and demanded a +thorough investigation of the social vice problems involved. +This was undertaken by the police authorities, but they failed to +get any satisfactory evidence from the girl. It was later found +that the story was all a myth and the girl had not been in the +least immoral. Her first statements followed directly after her +attendance at an emotional revival meeting where these topics had +been preached about. Afterward this girl was in court many times +for various reasons. She is a mild psychoneurotic type, +exhibiting under stress unusual mental phenomena. She and her +family have created an astonishing amount of trouble in law +courts as both defendants and complainants, because their +peculiar unreliabilities have not been understood. + + +This case has long been under observation and we have much +information concerning it. It was found difficult to understand +by pastors and others who had given considerable attention to +various aspects of it. Annie F. was first seen by us when under +custody because of her own statement that she had been leading an +immoral life. We have seen her and members of her family many +times since. The account of the case can best be given, not by +commencing with the cross-section study as obtained at first, but +by going at once into its whole connections and evolution. At +first it was merely learned that we had to do with an unstable, +adolescent girl who had engaged for apparently no purpose +whatever in false self-accusations which would naturally blight +her career. + +On the physical side we found a rather slight girl, however, of +normal development. Weight 102 lbs.; height 5 ft. 3 in. No +organic defect was ever discovered. Neurological examination +showed as follows: No tremors. Tendon reflexes normal. +Conjunctival and palatal reflexes absent. The sense of pain to +pin pricks was almost nil on the arms, and diminished on the +face. Strength poor in the arms even when there was evidently +great effort made. (Several of these functional findings, +however, have varied from time to time in the ensuing years.) +Hearing normal. Ocular examination showed hypermetropia 1.5 D. +R. and L. with marked astigmatism. Fields and 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, it is +undoubtedly a fact that her notions of self-accusation came from +a Sunday School session in which her teacher repeated what had +been talked about in the revival meeting concerning the scarlet +woman. A day or two afterward the girl told that she herself was +``a scarlet woman.'' She told it first to the teacher, was then +taken to the pastor, when she reiterated the story, and the +police authorities were called in. Of course her story implied +lack of home guardianship and consequently the whole affair was +handled for some days by the police alone, after the girl had +given a very detailed description of her immoral life. By the +time we saw the father it had been ascertained that this girl had +never been away from home a single night in her life and probably +had never been in the least immoral sexually. + +It is necessary to have knowledge of the heredity and +environmental background to understand this case. Almost nothing +is known of the maternal family. After losing his first wife, +the father was twice remarried, and even the third wife has +divorced him. He had a brother who, after going insane and +killing two laborers, committed suicide. His grandmother, and +probably also a cousin, were insane. Two of his sisters were of +a nervous and hysterical type and said to have attacks of +aphonia. A child by his second wife is epileptic. This man +gives us a long account of his own defective heredity and of his +own physical ailments. He does not recognize the fact, however, +that he also is mentally below par. We have seen him on numerous +occasions and known of his great activity in the courts, and have +attempted to size him up. He is undoubtedly a constitutional +inferior, in poor general physical condition and subject to +episodic mental states. One would be inclined to call him a +semi-responsible individual with mild delusions, defective +reasoning ability, great energy in self-assertion, and of +combative disposition. This latter shows itself in his voluble +emphasis on the alleged ill treatment of himself and family, even +by his wives. He is never physically violent. On account of +false accusations, whether delusional or not, he got at least one +pastor into a peck of trouble, and, strangely enough, his wives +have been involved in some other church embroilments when his own +character was called severely into question. On one occasion we +were interested to enumerate an astonishing list of people and +organizations which, he stated, had treated him and his family +unfairly. It seemed to us that during the last two or three +years he must largely have lived in the courts to carry on his +transactions there. His concern for his daughter seemed genuine +and her delinquency led him to seek the law more than ever. Some +of the good people who have become interested in his affairs tell +us that his is the strangest story they have ever heard. His +veracity is often in question. On more than one occasion with us +he has dwelled on his nervous states, and on the fact that he is +subject to times of mental confusion, but he defends his own +judgment and actions on all occasions with great vigor. + +This most erratic father has nearly always sided with Annie and +offered excuses for her under all circumstances. However, she +has stated that he was most difficult to live with on account of +his quarreling at home and general bad management of the +household. We know that at times he has been a seeker of +newspaper notoriety. From his conversations with us and with +others we know that his mind dwells much on sex affairs and these +things are frequently discussed in the home. There has been much +turmoil and quarreling in the family circle, at least with the +last two wives. On several occasions the family have had to +appeal for aid from the charities because none of them succeeded +in making a living. Annie alleged she was taught shop-lifting by +the second wife--we regard this as being possibly true on account +of the woman's general reputation, the fact that they were +desperately poor, and that she drank at times. + +The father has the ability to make a very good presentation of +himself, to use the best of language and he has had musical +training enough to be able to give lessons. Annie herself has +taken many lessons in music. + +The after-history of this case is instructive. Almost none of +our suggestions were taken when our first diagnosis was made. +Two years after we first saw Annie she was placed in an +institution for delinquents, then having run away from home, +``picked up'' a man on the street and stayed all night in a hotel +with him. At the institution the girl became very nervous and +behaved badly and the authorities decided it was a poor place for +her. The father, who at first wanted her placed there, very soon +decided that she should be removed. It is very likely his +attitude had something to do with her behavior there. + +About this time Annie worked in a millinery shop where she proved +herself quick and skilful. There she told stories again defaming +herself. She said she had had a baby and went into complete +details, such as giving the name of the nurse who had taken care +of her, and so on. On account of this she was discharged. Later +she told us she related these stories to get even with her +father, for if there was ever a hell on earth it was living with +him. + +About three years after our first study of Annie, the father +himself brought a complaint against her of untruthfulness and +general unreliability. This was at one of the times when he was +complaining bitterly of other people. It seems he had lately +tried to restrain her from leaving the house and she had cut his +head open with an umbrella. It was evident she had started +downhill again, and she was placed in a Rescue Home. She now +repeatedly told people she was pregnant and made charges against +some man, but these soon fell through because a little detective +work showed she was corresponding with a boy and had very likely +been immoral with him and others. She was then making an attempt +to lead a dual life, maintaining she wanted to save some of the +unfortunates with whom she was placed, while at the same time +entering into various escapades with them and others. At this +period a suicidal attempt was reported, but we never had +satisfactory proof of the genuineness of this. Annie was now +regarded as being excessively delinquent. + +A few months afterwards, when the young woman was in one of her +better moods and wished to do well, we made a few vocational +tests on her. We found her quite unfit for the position of +telephone operator which had been suggested for her. Psychomotor +control appeared then decidedly defective. However, there was +great improvement on work done on intellectual tests two or three +years previously. Although she had developed physically (she now +was a particularly good looking young woman) we felt she was +quite unfit for work which demanded steady effort. One trouble +all along was the fact that she did not wear her glasses. We +advised then, as we had advised at first, a quiet country life +for Annie and the other members of the family. The constant +stimulus of city conditions was too much for them. + +Again our advice was not taken and some months later the father +came to us with the story of extreme poverty, some recent attacks +of unconsciousness on his part, separation from his third wife, +and the information that Annie was about to become a chorus girl. + +Even a final consideration of the general diagnosis in this case +which has been so long observed by us does not seem to justify +our including it among our border-line mental types. Application +of the term constitutional inferiority seems a priori warranted +by the family history and yet we have no proof that her physical +and mental conditions as enumerated above are not the result of +her many early illnesses and the excessively erratic +environmental conditions, rather than of causes which existed at +birth. + +On account of the peculiar inhibitory phases which arose nearly +always during observation, we never relied merely on the results +of laboratory tests for our judgment, and her success in some +social situations has proved the wisdom of this. Our earliest +feeling that we had to do with a temporary and mild psychosis was +perhaps justified, but further observation of her has led us to +see clearly that she is not to be considered as a deeply +aberrational type. Could she ever have been free from the +extraordinarily upsetting home conditions one could have gauged +much more accurately her mental capabilities. As time went on, +the moral difficulties, which were largely induced by family +conditions, led to mental as well as moral upsets which could be +considered as little else than normal reactions to the situation. +Her conduct lapses, under the circumstances, are no indication of +any mental breakdown. On the contrary, it is clear by our own +examinations and the accounts of other observers that she +gradually has showed greater mental stability. + +(Since writing the above, we have had, by chance, the opportunity +of getting some important information about this case from an +entirely new source. A person who knew the family many years ago +corroborates the father's remarkable story of antecedents. The +father himself remains in about the same state of social +incapacity. Annie, now married to a young man with a long +criminal record, has a child. Her word has recently been found +absolutely unreliable, and testimony lately given by her in court +concerning her husband was grossly false when it would seem that +her interests and welfare demanded her testifying the truth +concerning his non-support.) + +--------------------------------------------------------------- +Mentality: Psychoneurotic. Case 20. + Heredity: Extremely defective. Girl, age 16. + Developmental conditions: Defective antenatal + conditions. Difficult birth. Earlier neurosis. + + Physical conditions: Earlier dental defects. + Defective vision, usually uncorrected. + Stigmata of eyes. + Stimulants: Excessive use of tea. + Home conditions: Highly erratic and unstable. + Many bad influences there. + Excitement and suggestion from revival. + +Delinquencies: Mentality: +Self-accusations. Abilities irregular, +Running away. and as above. +Sex affairs. +--------------------------------------------------------------- + + + +CASE 21 + +Summary: This case illustrates the fact that pathological lying +and accusation may arise first during a period of special stress. +A young woman of 19, after illegitimately becoming pregnant, was +found home after home by a charitable organization. In each +place she made false accusations of immoral proposals against +some one in the family or neighborhood. This created much +trouble and lost her several good homes. Her lies persisted +after an abortion had been secretly produced, but it is to be +noted that she now, as a sequel to the operation, suffered from +irritative pelvic conditions. + + +A short statement of this case will suffice to bring out the +point that during a period of social and mental upset +pathological lying and accusation may be first indulged in. We +studied the case of a young woman of 19 who had been the source +of much trouble in a certain locality on account of her false +accusations. She was taken in hand by a charitable organization +and found a home, after she had become pregnant at a wedding +feast where alcoholic stimulants flowed freely. There was then +no one to look after her but an invalid father. She was placed +with an estimable family. In a short time she made the shocking +announcement to the wife, and to others, that the husband had +made immoral advances to her. He was a man of excellent +character and of course this could not be believed. She was then +placed on a farm, where she showed erotic tendencies and insisted +that one of the helpers about the place wanted to take liberties +with her. She was observed flirting and making advances to +thrashers and others. She had to be found a new home, and this +time it was in a city, where new accusations were made against a +delivery boy. After this the young woman made off and shifted +for herself for a time, and succeeded in getting some shady +character to produce an abortion on her. Later, she again came +to the official attention of the social agency by reason of +making new accusations. From the date of her impregnation to the +time we first studied her, a period of about 10 months, she had +made serious accusations against many. When her lies were told +in a new environment they, of course, always made new trouble. +Each time, however, the girl herself was the loser. Her real +partner at the wedding feast had early deposited several hundred +dollars for the expected infant. + +We found a strong, normally developed young woman of rather +attractive appearance for the grade in society from which she +came. No sensory defect. Diseased tonsils. Complained of +constant suffering from pelvic conditions, perhaps induced by the +abortion. However, being such a strong type she has been able to +get about well and do her daily work. When we saw her she was +employed in a factory. + +The question put to us was concerning her mentality. She came of +a Slavic peasant family, had been in this country only 6 years, +and her relatives spoke only Slavic. She had been to school but +a very short time, either in the old country or here. Because of +the language difficulty, the giving of many tests, such as those +in the upper years of the Binet system, could be regarded as most +unfair. However, the simpler language tests she did fairly well, +especially those where she could understand the commonsense +questions. In regard to her acquirement of English, she has done +better than her relatives, who continue to live in a neighborhood +where their own Slavic dialect is spoken. When it came to +dealing reasoningly with concrete situations, such as those +presented by our performance tests, this young woman did +comparatively well--quite above the grade of the feebleminded. +Our diagnosis, then, was that she could best be regarded as poor +in ability or possibly subnormal as compared with our general +population, but as correlated with her peasant type she was +probably normal. + +From the standpoint of aberration one could find no evidences of +anything but eroticism and a constant tendency to deviate from +the truth. About the affair of the abortion she showed herself +unexpectedly shrewd, maintaining that she had had to work very +hard carrying stones when a new silo was being built on the farm, +and at her next menstrual period she had flowed for a week or so, +and that was all there was to it, except that she had been +suffering from pains continually since. (The charitable +organization knew she had visited the office of a notorious +abortionist.) She smiled much in a silly way when in the company +of men; she proved herself easily led. Taking it altogether, +there was no reason for considering her insane, or as being in +any way a psychopathic personality. She showed no stigmata of +degeneracy. + +There was no opportunity to get a satisfactory family history. +Many of the relatives were still in the old country. A sister +and brothers have been known in the neighborhood where this girl +lived, and are said to appear quite normal in their simple ways +of living. They are of the peasant type and good laborers, but +given to occasional indulgence in feasting with alcoholic +embellishments. From the sister we learned that this girl had +passed through a sickly childhood and had been most irregularly +brought up on account of the illnesses of her mother. She was +not known as a liar when younger. Her short school record showed +nothing of value for diagnosis. What happened to this girl was +no great exception; among these people, we know from their own +accounts, free and easy sex relationships are common. We are +advised that it was long ago known that this girl was going with +bad companions. + +In this case we advised gynecological and other medical treatment +and segregation in a reformatory or industrial school. The young +woman could be regarded as nothing else than a dangerous person +in any community. Even when being brought to us she had +endeavored to flirt with a conductor on the train. A fair +diagnosis could only be that she was, for the present at least, +morally irresponsible. + +This case has been only recently studied and no further report +can be given. It is cited in illustration of the fact that was +not clearly brought out by our other cases, namely, that a period +of stress may be very definitely the exciting factor in +developing pathological lying and accusation. This stands out +particularly clearly in this case because the young woman had, +prior to the wedding feast, been a good worker and had given no +trouble in the community. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +CASES OF PATHOLOGICAL LYING IN BORDER-LINE MENTAL TYPES + + +We could load our pages with histories of cases where the +statement of delusions, unrecognized as such, has created much +trouble in courts and out, but this type of case is too well +known to need any illustration. Text books of psychiatry deal +with the falsifications of paranoia and other insanities. That +the really insane also sometimes lie pathologically, that is, +tell for no normal purpose what they adequately know to be +untrue, is a fact not so well understood. But even that we need +not be especially concerned with in our case histories. It has +been well brought out in the previous literature on pathological +lying, as witness in our Chapter II. In the present chapter we +do not include the out-and-out insane, nor the definitively +feeble-minded, nor the recognizably epileptic. + +Much more difficult of understanding and much less easily +recognized because of the mildness of many of the symptoms, or +their variations from time to time, are the types which we +enumerate. Several of these offer no complete picture of +insanity--even Case 25, although clearly aberrational, extremely +defective in self-control, and markedly criminalistic, did not +show to some psychiatrists who observed him a sufficiently clear +correspondence to any form of insanity as laid down in the +old-school text-books to be practically regarded as insane and in +need of long segregation. In considering this whole matter we +must never forget that there is no wall of demarcation between +those whose conduct clearly betokens insanity and those who are +not insane. There are plenty of instances where the easily +passable border between the two is permanently occupied or is at +times approached. + +We keep our border-line cases separate in order to emphasize that +pathological lying by an insane person does not make a +pathological liar in the true sense. We should hesitate, +however, to give in legal form a verdict of insanity in several +of these border-line cases we cite--they are very difficult to +classify, and the question of responsibility called for sometimes +in court work is unanswerable. Keeping even these mild cases +away from our others serves, however, to lessen confusion; we +need in this subject to conserve all the clearness possible by +holding to fundamental classifications and showing up vagueness +of definition where it does exist. + +Perhaps we are over-particular in keeping such a case as No. 22 +in this chapter. The commonsense observer would hardly regard +this girl as at all lacking, even in self-control. On the other +hand, for the purpose of illustrating the subject of pathological +accusation we have kept Case 17 in the previous chapter when it +clearly shows great resemblance to Case 26 and is in reality a +border-line type. Then, too, the swindler, Case 12, in some +respects belongs in this chapter. + +We are hardly called on in this work to discuss the lying of drug +habitues, although they so frequently in their mental conditions +represent border-line types. They are often on the verge of a +psychosis as the result of their intoxications. Their lying is +mostly done for a purpose, to be sure, and hence much would not +come under the head of pathological lying, but occasionally +veracity is so much interfered with that there seems to be a +tendency to aimless lying. This class of cases, however, is +sufficiently discussed in special literature pertaining to the +subject.[24] + + +[24] Vide, ``Morphinism and Narcomanias From Other Drugs,'' by T. +D. Crothers. Philadelphia, Saunders and Co., 1902. Also Chapter +V, Stimulants and Narcotics, in ``The Individual Delinquent,'' by +William Healy Boston, Little, Brown, and Co., 1915. + + + +CASE 22 + +Summary: A girl of 14, a most vigorous and vivacious +personality, had for a couple of years pursued a curiously active +career of misrepresentation, of obtaining goods under false +pretenses and running away from home even to distant places. Her +conversational ability was above normal; her lies were evolved +for the purpose of adapting herself to the peculiar circumstances +in which she frequently found herself. Her general conduct +combined with her abnormal psychomotor activity gave ground for +the diagnosis of constitutional excitement--hypomania. + + +Birdie M., 14 years old, we saw after some clever detective work +had proved her to be the girl who in another town had repeatedly +swindled shop-keepers. It seems she had been accustomed to take +the train for localities where she had no connections whatever, +and there enter shops and make away with whatever she could. An +astounding incident was when she returned some goods she had +stolen and persuaded the manager to ``refund'' her the money on +the same. This was regarded by the authorities as extremely +clever. + +We found Birdie very small for her age. Weight 76 lbs.; height 4 +ft. 8 in. Tonsils very large. Teeth excessively crowded. No +sensory defect. Not yet menstruated. A very nervous type; quick +physical and mental reactions; exceedingly active, restless +manner. + +Our psychological impressions state that Birdie did all her tests +brilliantly and quickly, but very often with less accuracy than +would have been the case had she taken the time to think quietly +rather than work rapidly. She was very keen to make the best +possible record. ``I am proud of being quick; nothing is hard +for me; it was not hard at school.'' It was found by steadying +her that she gave a more accurate performance. We diagnosed her +ability as good, but her school advantages had been poor. +Otherwise we noted she was a pert, talkative, responsive child, +of a distinctly nervous and somewhat unreliable type. Her ideas +came tumbling, one on top of another. Under close supervision +she was able to control her mental processes fairly well. For +instance, on the antonym test, where opposites to twenty stimulus +words are called for, Birdie gave them in the remarkably rapid +average time of .8 of a second, with only one failure and one +error. This is an exceptional record. From this and her +unexpected powers of self-control exhibited on some other tests +we were obliged to conclude that her aberrational tendencies were +not very deep-set. Her mental traits seemed to conform most +nearly to the type designated as constitutional excitement, or +hypomania. Further observation of the case confirmed us in this +first view of it. + +On the ``Aussage'' or Testimony Test she gave 13 items, all +correct, upon free recital. On questioning, 14 more details were +added, but 6 of these were incorrect. Of the 6 suggestions +offered she accepted none. + +Birdie immigrated from Austria with her family when she was 10 +years of age. She came of a healthy family; all of her +grandparents and many of her uncles and aunts are living. We get +no history of any insanity, epilepsy, or feeblemindedness on +either side. She is one of 7 children, several of whom have had +nervous troubles. Two of the children had convulsions in +infancy, but then only. One brother at 10 years old is an +excessive stammerer and extremely nervous. + +Birdie was born after a pregnancy during which the mother was +much worried and in poor health. The father, too, was sickly at +that time. The family conditions were defective on account of +poverty and illness during a large share of the period when the +children were born. Birdie at birth was very small and there was +difficulty in resuscitation. She, however, was never seriously +ill until she was 7 years of age, when she had something like +peritonitis. No spasms or convulsions at any time. She was a +very small child during her infancy, but walked at 8 months and +talked very well indeed when she was only one year old. +Developmental history otherwise negative, but all along there has +been poor family control on account of ill health and the slight +earning capacity of the father. + +During the several months we knew Birdie she was always a most +unreliable person. She repeatedly ran away from home and was +lost track of. On one occasion she got as far as Omaha. By the +use of elaborate, but plausible stories she always succeeded in +winning the friendship of reputable people. Once she was found, +after she had been away several weeks, residing in a good home in +another State where the people thought of adopting her on account +of her brightness. Many times she wandered about her home city +and in the most active and sly fashion purloined anything she +cared for. Several times when she was taken by the police she +invented clever stories, without the least faltering, that seemed +entirely fitted to the occasion. As the investigator said, she +talked incessantly with not the slightest hesitation and was +always airy and sure. No one to whom she had gone with her +misrepresentations questioned her veracity-- she always came out +with a clearly connected and plausible story. We noted that her +parents in comparison seemed quite stupid. + +Of course Birdie passed under various names. Once we recognized +her picture in the newspaper representing a weary, disheartened +girl who was tired walking all day long from one employment +bureau to another. She stated to the reporter it was her +ambition to become a model servant. When in Omaha her mental +peculiarities were recognized and she was studied by a competent +alienist who, however, was not willing to render a verdict of non +compos mentis to the police. This was when she had run away from +Chicago and had told a lot of stories all of which had turned out +to be untrue. The trouble which she created in various +communities by reason of her hyperactive delinquencies has not +been small. + +With much merriment and an excessive amount of facial expression +this little girl held forth to us. It is hardly necessary to say +that the account varied somewhat from day to day. She did not +like it at home and did not propose to go back there. There were +too many in the family. As soon as the floor was scrubbed one of +the children would get it all dirty again. She had started for +New York, but the old gatekeeper at the station was mean and she +could not slip by him. She got along all right in Omaha, but +finally she gave herself up to the police there. She thinks +perhaps she might go up to the people in Wisconsin who wanted to +adopt her. In any case, she can do a great deal better than +Viola B. who ran away from New York and got caught, and was so +much talked about in the newspapers. + +Thus her story would run along at great length, Birdie in the +meanwhile chuckling with the thought of her own escapades. + +We never recommended institution life because it seemed as if +better things might be done for this girl. We felt that if she +were built up from a physical standpoint her tendency towards +nervous excitement might grow less. Her tonsils were removed. +Every one felt that the girl's good mental abilities should be +conserved to the utmost. Attempts at management in a different +environment gave some hope of success, and after a time her +parents moved to a smaller town, when we lost oversight of the +girl. Following our acquaintance with the case it had been +managed in the light of her characteristics, and her falsifying +tendencies were constantly discounted by those in charge. We +felt that her tendency was to grow more stable. + +Three years later: We have just gained further information +concerning Birdie. The family is still in straitened +circumstances, the father having proved too weak a character to +support them. He posed as somewhat of a gentleman and made off +to another country. Birdie is said to have worked steadily for +months at a time, but over a year ago suddenly left home once +more, this time going with a stage company. Although the police +in several cities have been appealed to, no trace has been +obtained as yet of our young friend. Whether her lying was +continued at home we cannot satisfactorily learn, nor do we know +accurately about any continuance of her state of excitement, but +without doubt Birdie in her present wandering is fabricating +anew, and is what she was before, namely, a young adventuress. + +--------------------------------------------------------------- +Mental conditions: Constitutional excitement. Case 22. + Girl, age 14 years. + Developmental conditions: Defective pregnancy. + Early impaction of teeth. + Poor general physical conditions. + Home conditions: Poverty. Irritability of father and + mother. +Delinquencies: Mentality: +Running away. Ability good; +Stealing. Constitutional +Lying. excitement. +--------------------------------------------------------------- + + + +CASE 23 + +Summary: A girl of 16 having been out all of one night, related +a story to the police of having been led off, and incidentally +made the statement that she had been repeatedly immoral, once +with a relative. She dictated and signed a detailed account of +the affairs, giving times and places. This was used in +investigating and led to much fruitless effort even on the part +of experienced people--her story was quite untrue. When studied +she proved to be a mild case of chorea, exhibiting the typical +psychotic tendencies of that disease, such as we have observed in +court work a number of times. + + +Nellie M., when brought to us by her grandmother, following the +girl's experience with the police who had been told by her of +immoralities practiced, was found to be rather a nice looking and +gentle girl, pleasant and responsive with us. + +On the physical side we found her to be poorly developed and +nourished. Weight 93 lbs.; height 4 ft. 9 in. Vision about +20/40 in each eye, but wears glasses which correct this. Rather +poor color. Complains somewhat of headaches. Marked tremor of +outstretched hands. Moderate amount of choreic movements in arms +and legs, exaggerated when attention distracted. Knee jerks +exaggerated. Conjunctival and palatal reflexes almost absent. +Small regular features. Well shaped head. Said to drink at +least 4 cups of tea a day. Heart sounds negative. + +Mentally, she seemed to be fairly normal in ability, but was +undoubtedly in a peculiar psychical condition. She had reached +7th grade in spite of much moving about, even to different +cities. We found evidence of lack of good apperceptive powers +and the history of the case led us to see clearly that she had +been just recently in a very unstable, if not quite confusional +mental condition. + +The ``Aussage'' or Testimony Test was not given in this case. + +The history of heredity and development shows many points of +importance. The mother died when Nellie was a very little girl. +She was terribly abused by a husband who was excessively +alcoholic and in general a tremendous brute. They lived in a +roadhouse where drunken fights were not uncommon. Nellie has +been brought up since her mother's death by other relatives. +Outside of alcoholism on the father's side there is said to be no +family peculiarities. The mother came from a very reputable +family. Nellie suffered early from several severe illnesses. +When only six weeks old she is said to have been in a comatose +condition with scarlet fever and diphtheria. Later she had +measles, whooping cough and other mild ailments, and at one time +suffered extremely from constipation. Walked and talked early. +No convulsions. Menstruated first several months ago. Sometimes +complains of severe headaches. One observer reported that the +girl had been subject to slight melancholia within the last year. +Choreic movements have been present off and on for about a year, +but have not been marked until a little while previous to the +incident which brought her to us. The diagnosis had been made +that it was a case of mild St. Vitus dance. During all the year +Nellie had been regarded as in general unreliable, but nothing of +importance had happened prior to the above episode. + +Nellie's story as told to us seemed coherent enough. Apparently +she had entire memory of her past actions and, in general, of +what she had said. Her own statements convinced us as much as +anything else of her unreliability at times. It seems she had +run away and gone to a picture show and had fallen asleep there. +When she got out it was very late, but it was election night and +people were about on the street. She finally was accosted by a +woman who took her home. After her story of being led off by a +man the police were called into the case and she gave them her +remarkable statement. Nellie told us of picking up with a man, +too, who lured her to a theatre, but who left her there. There +was no way of corroborating this. She fully acknowledged to us +the lies which had created so much trouble. ``Well, I was +telling the first lies and then when I was going to tell him that +I knew that I was telling wrong he acted so cranky and said such +things to me. He said he knew somebody had done bad things to me +and so I thought I had to give the name of somebody and so I gave +those names. + +``The girls around in the schools I used to go to talked about +these things. I never went with them. I was always by myself. +None of the boys said bad things. The police were so cranky I +did not know what else to say. They said someone must have done +it to me when I was younger and I said it was my cousin because +he always used to want to. He said he would give me a pair of +skates if I would. He was 13. I never asked my grandmother or +anyone about these things. No one ever explained it to me. Just +the girls are the ones who told me about these things. They told +me themselves how they had been out at night with the boys. I +never did do it with anybody.'' + +Examination by a gynecologist about this time showed positively +that there had been no immoral relations, and after our findings +the case became a closed incident so far as prosecuting anybody +was concerned. Nellie was taken in hand by the family physician +and no further delinquencies or false accusations have been +complained of during the succeeding two years. + +Outside of the girl's general frank bearing, undoubtedly a point +rather indicating to the police possible truth in her statements, +was the detail in which the alleged events were given. The +signed statement coming from an apparently naive girl of 15 would +seem in its clearness and coherency to bear the earmarks of +truth. We always regarded this case as one of our interesting +examples showing the unreliability of girl witnesses, especially +those who have had unfortunate experiences, even though merely +mental, with sex affairs. + +--------------------------------------------------------------- + Mentality: Mild choreic psychosis. Case 23. + Girl, age 15 years. + Early clandestine sex teachings. +Delinquencies: Mentality: +Running away. Normal ability, +False accusations. temporary aberration. +--------------------------------------------------------------- + + + +CASE 24 + +Summary: A girl of 16 whose general conditions won ready +sympathy created much trouble. She repeatedly made serious +accusations against a man and her attempt at suicide made her +statement seem convincing. Further study showed the absolute +falsity of her charges. It was a case of hysteria which had +developed largely upon a basis of injury--there was a traumatic +psychoneurosis. Under good treatment she made a fine recovery; +there being no more indulgence in pathological accusations, +although her nervous symptoms recurred for a short time after a +couple of years. + + +At the time when we first saw Georgia B. she was somewhat over 16 +years old and had been only 5 years in this country. We saw her +because she had run away from home and attempted suicide. From +the latter she had been rescued, and then had accused a neighbor +of raping her. The case proved to be very troublesome until the +nature of the whole affair was understood. + +We found a thin and anemic girl, not at all prepossessing in +appearance, dull in expression, suffering from a chronic +suppurating otitis media. + +On the mental side we had much trouble in conducting an +examination because she was greatly given to tears. She did work +for us on a few tests and her efforts would have been graded as +those of a feebleminded person if her emotional state had been +left out of account. Even our physical examination was largely +hindered through her crying. However, her story was told in a +straightforward way and with that show of emotion which had +previously convinced others that grave injustice had been done +her. Distinct proof of hysteria was present; for instance, on +one occasion in the middle of a test Georgia apparently became +unconscious. Her head dropped to the table, but her lips were +red, her face did not change color, she resisted having her head +moved, and in a moment or two lifted it herself to a more +comfortable position. The diagnosis from such symptoms as these +and from her history was not difficult to make. + +The ``Aussage'' test, for obvious reasons, was not given. + +Georgia told her story with surprising coherency; in outline, it +was as follows: She ran away from home, and then was put under +protection of the police authorities by a man who caught her. +She said she was caught when standing by a drug store where she +had been to get medicine, just ten cents worth of peroxide. When +asked by us if it were not really carbolic acid she called for, +she said yes, it was and that she intended to take it. She +wanted to get rid of her life. What could she do in the way of +living? Her father and mother were both sick and they could not +live long and then how could she get along taking care of three +little children? When asked if her parents would not be terribly +affected by her suicide she said that it would not be the first +time they had buried a child. At this time she would go no +further into her history. + +On the next day she talked straight to the point, but with a +remarkably dull expression on her face. She said that about five +weeks ago, she cannot tell the exact date, she went to a +neighbor's house. A man there wanted her to come and look at +some pictures. He finally got her to go to a bedroom and then +held her so she could not scream, and raped her. She is sure of +it. He later choked and beat her and kicked her out of the +house. At first she was afraid to tell her people. A couple of +weeks afterward she went back and asked why he did that, and he +swore at her and accused her of being bad, and she and he talked +back and forth for some time. ``He says, `I'll kill you. I did +not touch you at all.' I says, `You did. You're a liar and you +can kill me now if you want to. You have already killed me. +See, I grow large like this.' '' He then set upon her and beat +her again. She has not seen him since. After telling this +Georgia began to cry very hard and said that she really is killed +now and is done for. The whole story was told in a +straightforward way with a full show of emotion. + +A complicating feature of this case, resultant upon lack of +understanding of the characteristic vagaries of this type, was +the action of a vigorous knight errant. He was the one who +rescued her. Hearing her ask in the drug store for the carbolic +acid, which she did not get, he thought she was desperate and +questioned her, but she tearfully refused to answer. He quietly +followed her until she got to the river, and then, when she had +her foot on the rail of the bridge and was about to jump off, he +seized her. She fought and kicked him so that she badly hurt one +of his legs. She told him she had reason to commit suicide. He +got her to some house and there she fainted. When she came to +she described her situation to him, naming a man who boarded with +a neighbor as having raped her. She told him this was the reason +she had tried to commit suicide. + +This young man visited Georgia's family, found them strangely +indifferent and not inclined to believe the girl, so he set out +to see that justice was done. With his well-intended efforts he +succeeded in getting several agencies to work on the case, the +parents meanwhile partly resenting his interference. They said +they knew what kind of a girl she was. + +We never felt thoroughly satisfied with the family history on +account of the comparative ignorance of the parents, our only +source of information, although they were honest enough people. +All points in heredity seemed negative, nor could we learn that +there had been anything significant in developmental conditions. +The girl had only recently menstruated. Her people felt that of +late her word was quite unreliable. She went as far as the 4th +grade. On account of the short time in school in this country +this was considered doing fairly well. + +Ten months prior she had fallen off a street car; it was not +known she was damaged seriously. A jury had given a verdict of +several hundred dollars against the company, but on account of an +appeal having been taken the case was still unsettled. Since the +accident a number of fainting attacks had occurred and Georgia +had lost one position on account of them, a place where she had +worked for 2 years. She was said to have been quite healthy +before the accident. Some 5 weeks before we saw her, the girl +had become hysterical and announced that she had not menstruated +the week before and the cause was that she had been raped. Her +behavior was so peculiar in regard to this that her parents did +not believe her statements and did nothing about it. The girl +evidently was accustomed to telling falsehoods, although we could +get no specific account of them. The parents were very anxious +to avoid a scandal, for though they were poor they made much of +their respectability . + +Georgia was examined after a later reiteration of her charges; +the physician said that she had not been raped. After we saw her +the parents thought it was best to go to another physician with +the young man who had become so interested. Once more the report +was that there had been no rape, but it now appeared that there +had been some manipulation of the parts. After this the case +quieted down, but Georgia had run away again just before this +second examination. When by our recommendation she was now +placed in a convalescent home she repeated the same stories and +announced that she was pregnant. Of course more trouble was +created by this and a third examination had to be made to +convince these good people who had been recently asked to +interest themselves in her. + +After her stay in the convalescent home Georgia returned to her +parents, and, appearing to be recovered, went to work again. Her +record for two years was unexpectedly satisfactory. When the +above episode had blown over she regained control of herself, +adapted herself to family conditions, and worked steadily. On +one occasion her nervous symptoms have returned with much +depression and again an attempt at suicide. She was now +carefully studied in a hospital for signs of insanity, but again +it was determined that she was not of unsound mind. She made a +speedy recovery, adjusted herself once more to her surroundings, +and after a few months became married. During the last year or +so there has been no further trouble. A settlement of the law +suit for injuries was made before her more recent period of +depression. At the time of even her last attack we can learn of +no more false accusations having been made. The family attitude +about her has, all along, not been what it should have been to +have gained the proper results, but the problem of poverty was +always with them. + +--------------------------------------------------------------- +Mentality: Traumatic psychoneurosis. Case 24. + Girl, age 16 years. + Accident, with law suit following. + General physical conditions: Anemia, poor + nutrition, otitis media. +Delinquencies: Mentality: +Running away. Poor ability; +Attempted suicide. temporary +False accusations. aberration. +--------------------------------------------------------------- + + + +CASE 25 + +Summary: Case of a young man of 19, with already a long record +of criminalism, who created much trouble for a court where a +judge was keenly anxious to do justice. The fellow implicated +himself in a sensational murder, but investigation proved this to +be untrue. In other ways his word was found most unreliable. +The question concerning his sanity could only be answered by +stating that he was an aberrational type peculiarly inclined to +criminalism, and therefore needed segregation, and that he was +also given to pathological lying and self- accusation. From the +legal and social standpoints it is important to note that the +case represents a type, unquestionably abnormal, although the +mental pathology could not be subsumed under the head of any one +of the designated mental diseases. + + +The case of John B. was studied at the request of a judge who had +continued the trial because of the manifest mental peculiarities +of the defendant. We were told that his behavior varied much, +that one day he would cry and apologize, and on another would +show stupid bravado. As the judge stated, John had long been in +disciplinary institutions and this had failed to do any good. +The immediately peculiar features of the case were that while he +was being held for vagrancy and robbery, John made a strong +attempt to implicate himself in a murder case. In other words he +was a self-accuser. + +We found a strong young man of 19 years; weight 157 lbs., height +5 ft. 5 in. Very broad shouldered and deep chested, but slouchy +attitude. Good color. Eyes bright. Varicocele. Somewhat +defective vision in one eye. Well-shaped head--circumference +56.5, length 18.5 and breadth 16 cm. Thick, heavy voice. +Appears dull and depressed, but energizes under encouragement. +Other physical examination negative. Complains merely of +headaches in left frontal region, but says he has had these only +since last year when he was struck there by a beer bottle. +Recently an excessive user of tobacco. + +In the mental examination we found much of interest. When first +seen he gave every appearance of being a mental defective, but by +judicious stimulation he could be waked up to do comparatively +good work in several directions. On the Binet tests, 1911 +series, he passed all but one of the 12 year set; in that he +followed the suggestion offered. On the 15 year old tests he did +three out of five. The failures were on the memory span of +figures and in the repetition of a sentence of 26 syllables. + +By our other tests we also found him defective in verbal memory +processes, even when he read the passage to be remembered. In +working with our so-called construction tests, where his success +depended not only upon planning with concrete material, but even +more on the ability to profit by his failures, he did decidedly +poorly. In handling the puzzle box, where above everything is +required perception of the relationship of one step to another, +he succeeded very rapidly. With the cross-line tests, which +require mental representation of an easily remembered figure and +analysis of its parts, he did very poorly, succeeding only after +the third attempt in each of the two simple tests. This is a +type of work that is especially easy for the normal person. + +In our ``Aussage'' or Testimony Test we got a decidedly poor +result. At first enumeration he gave only 8 items, and on cross +questioning gave only 6 more. He denied seeing other objects +plain in the picture, but contradicted himself somewhat on this. +It is interesting that he took only one out of four suggestions, +notwithstanding his suggestibility on the Binet test. + +On school work he does altogether much better. He writes a good +hand, reads fairly well, and promptly does a sum in long +division. He claims to have reached the 6th grade. One +difficulty in testing him was his prevailing lethargy. We +constantly had to fight this by encouragement. Once he insisted +he must give up the work because he had not had a smoke for an +hour or so. Altogether, including his irregularities, we could +not call him lower than poor in ability, possibly subnormal. He +did not come within the limits of the feebleminded group. Just +where to place him would depend upon what he perhaps could do +under other more favorable conditions. So much for the tests of +ability. + +In studying him for aberrational tendencies there were positive +indications. Most significant it was when, in the Binet tests, +he came to the word ``justice'' and turned to the examiner, +saying feelingly, ``I don't know what that is,'' and then burst +into tears. Yet this was from a fellow who had offered to get +himself into even worse trouble with the courts. He made much of +his worrying about not having any home and not being the child of +his so-called parents. His attitude was of sorrow and +hopelessness about his whole situation in life. As seen again +about two weeks later, still more evidences of aberration were +found. He contradicted himself then in regard to his previous +stories, in regard to his home life, denied he had made +self-accusations, and very clearly did not remember at all +accurately what he had previously told me. In fact, he evidently +was not quite clear just who I was, although he had before been +brought across town under the charge of a couple of officers to +see me--an important break in his incarceration. He also told a +different story from one he had told before to a certain official +who now was present. He seemed rather mixed on a number of +points, and this is all the more significant because he had been +heartily afraid of being adjudged insane. Our diagnosis at this +time was purely tentative as far as exact diagnosis was +concerned. We stated that in our opinion he was an aberrational +type and the practical point was that he should neither be +allowed to go out in the community, nor be sent to a +penitentiary, but rather to an institution for observation and +perhaps for long detention. The jury found it necessary, as +usual in such cases, to declare him insane. + +The history of John runs as follows: From an evidently +conscientious parent we learn of nothing significant in the +family history. At birth he was said to be bright and healthy. +He had diphtheria severely at 4 years. At 6 he started to +school. He always got along well in his classes, but was very +troublesome. At 11 years he began to run away from home. His +father spent much time and money in going to various parts of the +country for him, and at 13 years of age he was placed in an +industrial school. He is the only child. He came home after 2 +years, remained there for 3 or 4 months and then ran away once +more to California. (His home was in the middle West.) He was +returned by the police, sent to the industrial school for another +year, and then again returned home. He stayed only 2 weeks +before running away to New York. Coming back he got into some +trouble and was sent for the third time to the industrial school. +There he stayed until 6 months before we saw him. He was +released once more on parole, stayed at home a week, and again +ran away. It is reported that during his early time at the +industrial school he was rather melancholy by spells, and at one +time tried to poison himself. His relatives say he has a bad +temper. He had typhoid fever at 14, but made a good recovery. + +John has been known for years as a great liar, having told +miserable stories about his parents, all of which were quite +untrue. He has frequently mortified his father and mother by +denying his parentage. The last time John was on parole he wrote +more than one letter to police authorities in his home State, +informing them he had been implicated in a serious crime. An +officer at the reformatory institution had a letter from him +purporting to be written from a penitentiary, stating he was +sentenced there on a charge of robbery. When he was held in our +city on a minor charge, he informed the police officials that he +was connected with a certain notorious murder of which the papers +had been full just previously. He was sent out with a couple of +detectives who soon found he knew nothing about the actual facts, +and that his alleged accomplices were innocent men. + +In jail it is reported that he seems childish. He has to be +locked up alone at times and then begs and teases to get out, but +in ten minutes or so will repeat the bad behavior. He has stolen +little things from others in custody and has attempted to dispose +of his own clothes for a few cents. It is definitely reported +that he has shown evidences of poor memory. From the institution +where he previously had been so long, word comes that he was +regarded there as not quite normal. John had been held in +another city on a charge of rape, but without much evidence, for +he was allowed to go. We could not find out whether he made +self-accusations in that case. + +In his story to us he complains bitterly about his treatment at +the old institution, maintains he was head laundry man there, +tells about his excessive smoking of late, denies his parentage, +says the only friend he has is a certain church worker, maintains +he did not have any home to go to from the industrial school, +intimates he will commit suicide if there is any question of his +being declared insane, says that he had earlier stolen things +from home, tells of having spells when things get black in front +of his eyes and can't see for a little while, says he wants to be +sent to the penitentiary and wants to start right now serving his +term. + +All told, there was nothing so striking about this whole case as +the extravagant tendencies towards prevarication. For years he +has been lying to no purpose, although he has never been +previously regarded as insane. Now he appears as an extreme +self-accuser and as a fellow whose word can't be trusted from +hour to hour. The lying, regarded as an aberrational tendency, +is out of proportion to our findings of abnormality in any other +sphere of mental activity, except perhaps the evidences of +defective memory processes. One trouble in gauging his memory +is, of course, the boy's prevarications, but one might argue that +if his memory processes were as good as his other abilities he +would make equal use of them. + +Following our study and recommendation in the case John was found +not guilty, but insane. Then being resident of another State, +and, indeed, being on parole from a reformatory institution +there, he was held over to the jurisdiction of that State, and +placed in a hospital for the criminal insane. We have a full +report from the latter place which is exceedingly illuminating. +It appears that despite his first terror of being sent to an +asylum he adapted himself to his new surroundings very readily. +It is stated that he assisted with the ward work and spent his +leisure time in reading and playing cards. He asked for work +outside on the grounds and was regarded as a very courteous and +genial patient. No evidence of delusional or hallucinatory +trends could be obtained. He always seemed to be well oriented +and conscious of everything going on about him. Emotionally he +appeared somewhat subnormal inasmuch as he did not worry about +his own condition, but said he was perfectly contented. (The +latter, of course, to a psychiatrist would be significant.) He +was a great talker and his stories were well listened to. John +said that when he was indicted for robbery his lawyer advised him +to feign insanity and as a result he had been sent to that +hospital. (It is to be remembered that with us he made great +effort to show off his mental powers at their best and evidently +did somewhat better work than when later in the hospital.) He +gave them a history of being somewhat of a cocainist and +morphinist, of being a slick ``pickpocket,'' and of associating +with prominent criminals, particularly ``auto'' bandits. He was +boastful of his experiences, but sometimes admitted that he +prevaricated. It is most interesting to note that he told a +story of having concealed in Chicago some plunder--jewels, money, +and so on--and was really taken to Chicago by one of theBoard of +Visitors of the hospital to find the booty. It is hardly +necessary to say it was not located. The last of the hospital +report states, ``Inasmuch as we were unable to prove that he had +any form of insanity he was discharged.'' + +It is of no small importance for discussion of the relation +between insanity and criminalism to know that there are such +cases as this where the individual is unquestionably aberrational +and yet does not conform in mental symptoms to any one of the +definitive ``forms of insanity.'' They may be lacking in normal +social control and in ability to reason, impulsively inclined to +anti-social deeds and therefore social menaces, but, +notwithstanding this, may not be classified under the head of any +of the ordinary text-book types of mental diseases. + +It is clear that for the protection of society a different notion +of what constitutes mental aberration or insanity should prevail, +so that these unusually dangerous types might be permanently +segregated. It would really seem that just the findings which +the hospital statement enumerates would convince one of this +individual's marked abnormality from a social point of view and +that his being at large was a grave undesirability. + +The latest information concerning this young man is that he was +being held in a Western city for burglary. + +We should hesitate to make out a card of causative factors in +this case. It is clear that the major cause in his delinquency +was his aberrational mentality. What there was by way of +causation back of this, our history, although obtained from an +apparently conscientious parent, is too meagre for explanation. + + + +CASE 26 + +Summary: Boy of 16 had for 6 years caused a great amount of +trouble by his general unreliability and excessive lying. He had +been tried away from his own people in private homes and in +institutions without success. His lying was excessive and often +showed no purpose and no foresight. His peculiar delinquencies +demonstrated weakness of will. Although in good general physical +condition he simulated illnesses. Mental and physical +characteristics rendered certain the diagnosis of constitutional +inferiority. + + +We saw William S. first when he was over 16 years of age, after +he had been arrested for stealing. He had already been in three +institutions for delinquents. From his father and others we +gained a long story of the case. + +William was in fairly good physical condition. No sensory +defect. Weight 125 lbs.; height 5 ft. 3 in. Although well +enough developed in other ways he was a marked case of delayed +puberty; as yet no pubescence. Strength only fair; for his age, +muscles decidedly flabby. A high, broad forehead. Large nose. +Peculiar curl of the upper lip. Small, weak chin. These +features give him a peculiar appearance--readily interpretable as +showing weakness of character. Cranium notably large. With +small amount of hair measurements were: circumference 57.8; +length 19.6; breadth 15.5 cm. (Head same size as father's.) +Expression downcast. Voice high pitched. ``Under dog'' +attitude. Slouchy. No analgesia or other signs of hysteria. + +The performance on tests was peculiarly irregular. In this +monograph we have omitted discussion of the results of separate +tests, but the citation of the summary as dictated when the case +was first studied will prove instructive: The work done on our +tests was very irregular, peculiarly so. Perceptions good and +most phases of the memory processes fair, but in reasoning +ability and especially in tests which require the application of +some foresight the results are poor indeed. The failure is +remarkable in proportion to what he could do in school work and +to his abilities in some other ways. He reads fluently, writes a +very good hand, and in arithmetic is able to do long division, +but showed no grasp of good method. When at his best he sticks +at a job well enough, but does it with no intelligence and does +not save himself in the least by thoughtful procedures. We were +interested to note that in a game which he said he had played a +great deal, namely checkers, he made the most foolish and +shortsighted moves. It is only fair to say that this boy varied +in his performance from time to time; his emotional condition +largely controlled his performance. + +On the ``Aussage'' or Testimony Test he gave a functional account +upon free recital, with 15 details. On questioning he gave 13 +more items. Out of the entire number only 3 minor errors. Of 5 +suggestions proffered none was accepted. + +There was a great deal more to be said about this boy's mental +peculiarities than what was evidenced by the giving of tests. +Our observations of him made at intervals over a period of +several months corroborated entirely the statements of several +others, including members of his own family. The boy was +remarkably unstable in his ideas and purposes. What he +apparently sincerely wanted to do and be at one time was entirely +different at another. His changeableness was shown in many ways. +When he had been found apparently suitable employment or a new +home he often would stay only a few days. The father's first +statement that the boy was a craven was borne out by all that we +saw. He was too cowardly to be ``tough,'' but he was a +persistent runaway and vagrant. He sometimes used an assumed +name. In general demeanor he was good natured, but always +restless. Not the least of his peculiarities was his ready +weeping. It was amazing to see so large a fellow draw down his +chin and sob like a young child. He was easily frightened at +night. Under observation he had peculiar episodes of behavior. +Once in a school-room, without any known provocation, he suddenly +began to cry and scream, picked up a chair and soon had the +entire room cleared out. A moment afterwards he was found +sobbing and bewailing his lot because he ``never had a fair +chance.'' On another occasion his legs strangely gave out and he +had to be carried to bed by his fellows. The next morning a +physician found him with his legs drawn up and apparently very +sensitive over his back and other parts of his body, but with a +little encouragement all his symptoms soon disappeared. He gave +a history of having had convulsions, but this was found to be +untrue. He was a ``bluffer'' among boys; when met valiantly +showed always great cowardice. + +We felt much inclined at first to denominate him a case of +abulia, but his stubbornness in recalcitrancy led us to change +our opinion. From the above physical signs and mental phenomena +he was clearly a constitutional inferior. + +Some facts we obtained on the family history were most +significant. The mother of William suffered from attacks which +were undoubtedly epileptic. Her mother, in turn, had convulsions +at least during one pregnancy. We did not learn whether or not +she had them at other times. No other points of significance in +that family are known. The father himself was brought up, as he +says, strictly, but he was inclined to be wild, and he has +indulged for many years altogether too much in tobacco and +alcohol. He is distinctly a weak type and the poorest specimen +of his family. William is the only child. There was nothing +peculiar in developmental history until he was 2 1/2 years old +when he suffered from ``brain fever and spinal meningitis.'' +This was said to have left him with a stiff right arm and to +account for his being left handed. (We could discover no +difference in the reflexes.) Then at another period he was sick +in bed for 6 months with some unknown, but not very serious +illness. The mother has been dead for years and so we were +unable to get accurate details about this. At a very early age +William sought the pleasures of tobacco, even when a child of 6 +or 7 he used his pennies for that purpose. He was brought up in +an environment defective on account of his father being a poor +earner and weak in discipline. But still his parent took for +years a great deal of interest in him and it was not until the +boy had proven himself most difficult that his father proclaimed +himself unable to manage his son. + +At about 10 years of age William began running away from home and +manufacturing untrue stories. One of his favorite statements was +that his father had been killed in an accident. It is notable +that all these years he has been attempting to gain sympathy for +this or that assumed condition, whether it be his own alleged +physical ailments, or fictitious family difficulties. As a +matter of fact, during this time he has been in some good homes, +failing each time to comport himself so that he could be retained +there. It was typical that he reiterated, ``I have no friends; +there is no one to stick up for me.'' Besides being in three +institutions before he was 16 years old, William had been in +homes which he had found when he had run away, or in which he had +been placed by his father or by social agencies, the services of +which had been evoked. His stealing was often done with an +extraordinary lack of foresight. For instance, in one good +position that had been found for him he took a box of cigars, +when, of course, as the newcomer he would have been suspected, +and even after his employers made it clear to him that they knew +of the theft he took another box the next day. His lying under +all occasions was nothing short of astonishing. To even his best +friends he offered all sorts of fabulous tales which one iota of +forethought would have made him realize would redound to his +disadvantage. Almost his only show of common sense in this was +when he gave an assumed name while getting a new position, and +even this performance could hardly be considered deeply rational. +It is hardly necessary to give lengthy specimens of his +falsifications; they always pervaded his stories about himself, +but strangely enough he acknowledged many of his delinquencies. +A good example of the latter was when he collected a little money +for a new employer and on the way back, looking in a shop window, +saw an electrical toy and immediately bought it. He then went +home, not even returning to the office to get the wages which +were due him. An example of his lying is his responses to +questions about his schooling. He maintained that he only +reached the third grade. (In reality he could do sixth grade +work at least.) He said, ``I know long division by about 13 and +about 5 figures. I don't know it by any other numbers.'' William +maintained these same characteristics over the 6 years during +which we have good data about him. We know he continued the same +kind of a career for a year or so afterwards. + +Three years later we have direct information from his family +concerning William. His habits of prevarication have been kept +up steadily, so it is stated. He has been in and out of +institutions and at present is serving a sentence for larceny. +He all along has been unwilling to face realities and has lied +against his own interests continually. For instance, we are told +that if he lost a place, instead of obtaining the help his family +would have been willing to give him in gaining another, he would +steadily pretend to be holding the former position. He is still +considered utterly unreliable and a thoroughly weak character +with a tendency to meet a situation as readily by a lie as +another person would tend to react by speaking the truth. People +who have known him of late speak of him as being at 21 ``just the +same fellow,'' which probably indicates that he is thoroughly a +victim of habit formation as well as of innate tendencies. + +--------------------------------------------------------------- +Mentality. (Typical constitutional inferior.) Case 26. + Boy, age 16 years. + Heredity: Mother epileptic. Maternal grandmother + had convulsions. Father alcoholic and + tobacco in excess--weak type. + Developmental conditions: Early disease of the + central nervous system. +Delinquencies: Mentality: +Running away. Abilities irregular, +Stealing. psychic episodes. +Lying. +--------------------------------------------------------------- + + + +CASE 27 + +Summary: Case of a boy, age 16 years, who told the most +extraordinary stories of his vagrant life and the character of +his family to officers of several organizations who tried to help +him. He understood well that evidences of his unreliability +would count against him. His stories, although often repeated, +were not credited, and later, after a home had been found for +him, he began a new series of lies that seemed almost delusional +and somewhat paranoidal. After months during which much had been +done for him it was suddenly discovered that he was an epileptic. + + +John F. appealed to an agency for assistance. He told a story of +having wandered with his brother since he was a young boy. ``My +father was insane from what my uncle did to my mother. He +drowned her. The house caught on fire and he blamed her for it. +She said she didn't. She was too sick to get up and he took her +out of the house and his big son pumped water on her. She was +pretty near dead anyhow. We was too little to do anything. I +seen it. I remember that all right. I can see that yet Brother +and sister died about 3 years ago. Brother took sick from +sleeping out. We slept around in barns for 2 years. Father was +in an insane hospital in Kansas. I think my uncle was hanged at +N. Junction. We did not stay there. I remember yet when they +went to put my mother in the grave. I jumped in with her. We +put right out and after awhile folks wrote that father was +dead.'' + +So much attention would not have been paid to this gruesome tale +had it not been repeated to various people during the course of +several months. The boy wrote letters reiterating these +incidents. His stories always went on to include the most +surprising amount of abuse. It seemed that everywhere he had +been illtreated. Farmers had whipped him, or clothed him badly, +or defrauded him of his wages. + +Physically, we found John to be in good general condition. A +strong active country boy. No serious defect of any kind was +discovered. + +On mental tests he did better than we expected. To be sure he +was very backward in arithmetic, but then his story was that he +had hardly ever been to school at all. He certainly did well in +many of our tests with concrete material, but the results as a +whole were curiously irregular, even if we allowed for his +deficient schooling. At that time we were disinclined to pass +ultimate judgment on his mentality without knowing more about his +antecedents. + +On the ``Aussage'' Test he gave only 11 bare items on free +recital. On questioning 19 more details were added. Of the +entire number only 3 were incorrect, and these were not serious +mistakes. Of 6 suggestions offered he accepted 3. + +The history of this boy and his family has never been +forthcoming. The authorities in his alleged home State have not +been able to trace his family, which they could have done had his +stories been true. Their report made it clear that the boy's +reiterated family history was a fabrication--the raison d'etre of +which is still in doubt. In spite of his lying the boy was found +a desirable home in the country at the work for which he was +suited. After staying for a few weeks he returned to the city +and got lodgings for himself. We next heard of him because he +was induced by a ``hold-up'' man to secrete a revolver on his +person while the police were in the neighborhood. Upon looking +up his landlady, it was found that while with her he had suffered +from epileptic attacks. These had not been observed during the +several months we had previously known him, and he had strongly +denied them to us. In our court work we constantly inquire for +evidences of epilepsy; in this case we received nothing but +negation. After he served his sentence this young man was lost +sight of. Even in the institution to which he had been sent he +continued his fanciful and often hideous stories, still largely +centered about the idea that he had suffered unjustly wherever he +had been. + +No complete summary of causative factors is possible in this +case. The major cause for his lying as well as other +delinquencies, particularly his vagrancy, is, of course, the +mental traits peculiar to epilepsy. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +CONCLUSIONS + +CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INDIVIDUAL. DIAGNOSIS + +PHYSICAL FINDINGS + + +Our 19 mentally normal cases (18 females, 1 male) showed: + +Good general condition. . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 +Fair general condition. . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 +Poor general condition. . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 +Poor development. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 +Poor development, undersized for age. . . . . . .2 +Defective vision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 +Headaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 +Mild nervous symptoms . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 +Tonsils and adenoids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 +Fainting attacks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 +Gynecological ailments. . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 +Abdominal tumor, etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 +Hutchinsonian teeth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 +``Stigmata of degeneracy''. . . . . . . . . . . .3 +Premature sex development . . . . . . . . . . . .2 + + + +Comparing the above with the findings by previous writers we see +little chance to draw safe deductions. So many of the foreign +cases have been insane; they can be more nearly compared with our +7 border-line types where all sorts of physical conditions may be +found. It is notable that a large percentage of our mentally +normal cases are in good general condition. Defective vision in +6 cases may be only a coincidence, but perhaps resulting nervous +irritation was sometimes a factor in producing misconduct. +Headaches, which Stemmermann makes so much of, appear as an +incident in only a small number of our cases; her emphasis on +periodicity also we cannot corroborate, there are hints of it in +only one or two instances, but then her cases for the most part +are not comparable to ours. That 6 out of 18 females should have +had severe gynecological ailments is not to be wondered at, +considering the trend of their lives, but, in turn, there can be +little doubt that, as in Cases 16, 18, and 21, the local +irritation tended to bring about moral disabilities. + + +MENTAL FINDINGS + + +Considering first the question of mental capabilities we can +classify our 19 normal cases as follows: + + +Supernormal in ability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 +Precocious; later, still considered bright. . . . . . . . 1 +Good ability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 +Fair ability, perhaps not quite up to the former classes. 6 +Poor ability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 +Poor ability, hysterical type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 +Poor in general, but with artistic and literary ability . 1 +Dull from physical causes, but later normal . . . . . . . 1 + + +Over and beyond the above enumeration there were some intensely +interesting facts which came out during the intimate study of +these cases. We are at once forced to agree with previous +writers that an unusual number of the pathological liar group +show great aptitude for language. This is shown by their general +conversational ability and by the fact that many of them have +found out themselves that they had capacity, for instance, for +writing compositions. Taking our group of pathological liars in +the strict sense, as given in Chapter III, we find that no less +than 7 of these 12 have been given to writing compositions and +stories. Three of them had definitely commenced long stories or +novels. It is most unusual among other offenders to find +evidence of any such tendencies. A considerable number of our +group were characterized as great talkers, and several as +romantic, dramatic, fantastic, etc., even by ordinary observers. +All this goes to show clearly that the native traits making for +verbal fluency are strongly correlated with pathological lying. +When it comes to consideration of such an instance as Case 11 we +have the point more strongly brought out. Here the individual is +fairly swung down his life's course as the irregularity of his +capacities direct. His language ability carries him along as +nothing else will. In corroboration of this interesting point +the conclusions of other authors should be noted. + +The aberrational types which show pathological lying are, several +of them, depicted in our Chapter VI. But little in summary of +them needs to be said. The general mental and moral weakness of +the constitutional inferior very naturally leads him to become a +pathological liar; he follows, by virtue of his make-up, the path +of immediate least resistance--lying. The episodic lying or +aimless false accusations of the choreic psychosis needs no +comment--the confusional mental state sometimes accompanying that +disease readily predisposes toward fantastic treatment of +realities. The relationship of constitutional excitement to +pathological lying is less well recognized, but fully explicable +when we recollect the rate at which ideas present themselves in +the mental content of such individuals, who have little time, as +it were, to discriminate the true from the false. The mental +conditions leading to purposeless prevarication which supervene +in the real hysterical mental states, or during the course of +traumatic psychoneurosis are well known. The individual is to be +surely regarded, at least temporarily, as suffering from a +psychosis in many of these instances, and falsification, while it +may be difficult to distinguish between delusion and lying, is a +well recognized phenomenon. The very deliberate lying of +psychopathic individuals, such as Case 25, who, though so +strongly aberrational, do not fit under the head of any of the +classic insanities, is a matter for earnest consideration by all +who have to deal with delinquents. There is altogether too +little general knowledge of this type of fact. The correlation +of the various epileptic mental states with pathological lying is +well recognized. In many of the cases cited by foreign writers +it has turned out that the individual was subject to epileptic +seizures. It is another illustration of the great variety of +epileptic phenomena. Something of a point has been made in the +literature heretofore that abnormalities of sexual life are +unduly correlated with the inclination to pathological lying, and +the conclusion is sometimes drawn, as by Stemmermann (loc. cit. +p. 90), that the two prove a degenerative tendency. Our material +would not tend to show this nearly as much as it would prove that +the psychical peculiarities follow on a profound upset caused by +unfortunate sex experiences. + +A characteristic of pathological liars is undoubtedly a deep-set +egocentrism, as Risch states. If one goes over our cases it may +be seen that there is exhibited frequently in the individual an +undue amount of self-assertion. There is very little sympathy +for the concern of others, and, indeed, remarkably little +apperception of the opinions of others. How frequently the +imagery of the heroic role of the self recurs, and how frequently +it occupies a central stronghold is seen by the fact that nearly +all of our cases indubitably demonstrate the phenomenon. + +Most of our cases have been studied by the application of a wide +range of tests. Indeed many of the individuals have been studied +over and over. It is beyond our point at present to go over the +separate findings because there is no evidence of a strong +correlation of any type of peculiarity, except the ones mentioned +here, with the pathological lying. Memory processes, for +instance, as ordinarily tested seem to be normally acute. + +We have naturally been much interested in the result of the +``Aussage'' or Testimony Test work with this present group, on +account of the possibility of demonstrating correlations between +laboratory work and the individual's reactions in social +intercourse, particularly when there has been falsification upon +the witness stand. In general we may say that while we have seen +normal individuals who are not falsifiers do just as badly as a +number of these individuals, yet for the group the findings are +exceedingly bad. Perhaps the better way of stating it would be +to say that not one case shows the sturdily honest type of +response which is frequently met with during the course of +testing other delinquents, even as young as the youngest of the +cases cited here. Our findings stand in great contrast, we note, +to the results on other test work. When looking at the table +given above we see that a large share of our 19 normal cases are +up to the average in general ability, and yet as a group they +fall far below the average on this Testimony Test. Take Cases 8 +and 9, for instance-- both of them bright girls with, indeed, +considerable ability in many directions, and yet both of them +give a large number of extremely incorrect items in reporting +what they saw in the ``Aussage'' picture, and also both accept a +very large proportion of the suggestions offered. It seems as if +frequently in these cases there is no real attempt to +discriminate what was actually seen in the picture from what +might have been in a butcher shop. In most cases the fictitious +items were given upon questioning, but without the offering of +suggestions. When the individual was allowed to give merely free +recital the result was better. This, however, follows the +general rule. + +A general survey of work on other tests has not shown anything +immediately significant in correlations, and this makes the +result upon the ``Aussage'' much more notable. Perhaps it may be +urged that if these individuals had been told to key themselves +up to do this test well, being forewarned that otherwise it would +reveal their weaknesses, they could have done better. Some hint +of this may be seen in our story of the results of tests in Case +3. But of course the same might be argued about the other test +work where no such tendency to poor results was discernible. + +The following table, with a word of explanation, will serve to +bring out results on this test clearly to even the reader +unfamiliar with the specific details of this subject. A general +description of the test is found in our introduction. + +---------------------------------------------------------------- + ITEMS REPORTED ITEMS INCORRECT SUGGESTIONS +CASE Denominator=number offered + Free On Number Percent + Recital Questioning Numerator = number accepted + +16 16<2> 12<1> 3 10% 2/7 +15 10 14<3> 3 12% 2/5 +4 12 28<6> 6 15% 3/4 +19 15<2> 8<2> 4 17% 4/6 +3 17<2> 20<5> 7 19% 0/6 +7 11<2> 17<4> 6 21% 2/5 +6 17<1> 12<6> 7 24% 1/7 +13 8 21<7> 7 24% 4/4 +8 16 28<12> 12 27% 5/7 +9 12 32<12> 12 27% 6/7 +14 7 21<8> 8 28% 4/7 +2 10 12<7> 7 32% 1/5 +20 6 9<8> 8 53% 2/5 +---------------------------------------------------------------- + + +Only 13 of our 19 mentally normal cases were found to have had +the ``Aussage'' Test done so uniformly that results could be +fairly compared, as in the above table. The reader will find it +easy to refer back to the case for noting other correlations with +behavior. In the first double column the items which were given +in free recital come first, and in the second part the number of +positive responses to questions by the examiner. The +coefficients attached to these represent the number of egregious +errors or entirely fictitious items given. It should be clearly +understood that slight deviations from facts, for instance in +color, are not counted as errors for our present purposes. In a +later study on this whole topic of the psychology of testimony +there will be much more complete itemizing. The errors in which +we are particularly interested can perhaps best be called pure +inventions. In the next double column is given, first, the total +number of incorrect items and, then, the percentage of these to +the total number of items reported. In the last column +suggestibility is dealt with. We have been accustomed to offer 7 +suggestions, asking the individual whether such and such things +which might well be in a butcher shop really appeared in the +picture. For several reasons not all of the 7 suggestions were +asked in every case, therefore the result is best viewed as a +statement in fractions-- the numerator being the number of +suggestions accepted and the denominator the number of +suggestions offered. + +As a last statement on this question which we put to ourselves, +namely, whether pathological liars show the same traits in the +laboratory as they do on the witness stand or in general social +life, we can answer in the affirmative. We may repeat that +others have made as bad records as some of this group, but taking +the group as a whole, it is unlike any random 13 cases which +might be picked out from our other classes of mentally normal +offenders. On the other hand, many a feebleminded testifier has +done vastly better than the median of this group. The errors +themselves are of the purely inventional type, such as your +ordinary report from a mentally normal person does not contain. +(There is perhaps one interesting exception to this; Case 3. The +report given by this subject included egregious denials of some +of the main objects in the picture, and so was fictitious to this +extent. She did not say that she did not know whether these +to-be-expected objects really were in the picture--she insisted +that they were not.) So far as suggestibility is concerned, +there are great differences among even normal people in all +classes. For comparison with the above group, 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 +facts--showing 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 conditions through poverty . . . . . . . . . . .2 +Very ignorant parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 +Immoralities in home life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 +Marked defect in parental control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 +Very erratic home conditions-parent abnormal. . . . . . . . . .1 + + +Early Mental Experiences. As will have been observed by the +reader in going over the case histories, the early mental +experiences of many of our group of mentally normal pathological +liars have been shockingly bad. Full appreciation of this can +only be gained through perusal of the text, but here we may call +attention to the fact that no less than 8 of the 19 have had very +early untoward sex experiences, that 5 were markedly under the +influence of bad companions, including even the influence in one +or two cases of vicious grown people. The sex experiences we +have just enumerated were received through others--we are not +here speaking of masturbation, which is discussed above. + +Psychic Contagion. Direct contagion of the tendency to lie seems +more than likely to take place, at least during the more plastic +periods of life. It may be that this only develops when there is +some sort of predisposition to instability; our related findings +on defective heredity would seem to indicate the fact. It should +be noted that in 5 instances out of our 19 mentally normal (Cases +2, 4, 6, 8, 20) some other member of the household, we learned +from reliable sources, was known as a chronic prevaricator. + +Mental Conflicts. The fact that several of our cases started +lying from the time when there occurred some experience +accompanied by a deep emotional context, and that this experience +and the emotion was repressed, seems to point clearly to the part +which repressed mental life may play in the genesis. That as +children they kept to themselves secrets of grave import and +dwelled long on them, shows in a large number of our cases. +Anything deeply upsetting, such as the discovery of the facts of +sex life or questions about family relationships, are the +incidents which cause the trouble. For students of modern +psychology nothing more need be said on this point--the concrete +issues are perceivable in the case histories. + +Adolescence. Quite apart from the age of onset, we may consider +the physical and psychical instabilities of adolescence as +effective causes of pathological lying. Of course it is equally +true that many other tendencies to peculiarity are accentuated at +this period. It has been suggested that cases which have their +origin largely in the unstable reactions of adolescence have much +the better prognosis, but it seems that not enough evidence has +been accumulated as yet to justify us in this conclusion, which, +we acknowledge, may prove to be true. + +Irritative Conditions. In the same way the various types of +irritative conditions, physical and mental, may be considered as +exciting moments. Individuals with a tendency to pathological +lying will no doubt show aggravation of the phenomenon at periods +of particular stress. We have heard it suggested in several +cases by relatives that the menstrual period, for instance, +brings about an access of tendency to prevarication. We would +grant the point without conceding this exciting factor to be a +fundamental cause. (Case 21, we may say again, illustrates a +special fact.) The periodicity which Stemmermann makes much of +may merely mean succumbing during a period of physiologic stress. +Social stress also may be met by pathological lying, in the same +way that the individual who finds himself in a tight place may +attempt to get out of it by running away. We have already spoken +of the likeness of social and physical stress as showing when the +weak individual is brought to bay. That pathological lying does +not run an even course, but shows remarkable fluctuations with +powerful exacerbations, is undoubtedly to be explained by changes +of inner and outer stress. + +Habit Formation. The influence of habit in causing chronicity +must always be definitely reckoned with. It is hardly necessary +to say more than a word on this subject. Even the individual, as +in Cases 8, 9, and 10, comes to strongly realize it. +Particularly is this point to be estimated in considering the +possibilities of a rapid cure. + +Special Mental Abilities. Once more, for the sake of +completeness in giving a category of causes, we should call +attention to the fact acknowledged by all thorough students of +this subject, namely, that, other things being equal, it is +particularly the individual who has linguistic abilities, who is +especially good at verbal composition, that seems to have most +incentive to dally with the truth. But beyond this we would +insist that a combination of verbal ability with proportionate +mental defects in other fields gives a make-up which finds the +paths of least resistance directly along the lines of +prevarication. + + +SOCIAL CORRELATIONS + + +The role played in society by the pathological liar is very +striking. The characteristic behavior in its unreasonableness is +quite beyond the ken of the ordinary observer. The fact that +here is a type of conduct regularly indulged in without seeming +pleasurable results, and frequently militating obviously against +the direct interests of the individual, makes a situation +inexplicable by the usual canons of inference. To a certain +extent the tendencies of each separate case must be viewed in +their environmental context to be well understood. For example, +the lying and swindling which center about the assumption of a +noble name and a corresponding station or affecting the life of a +cloister brother, such as we find in the cases cited by Longard, +show great differences from any material obtainable in our +country. In interpretation of this, one has to consider the +glamour thrown about the socially exalted or the life of the +recluse--a glamour which obtains readily among the simple-minded +people of rural Europe. Then, too, this very simple-mindedness, +with the great differences which exist between peasant and noble, +leads in itself to much opportunity for cheating. + +With us, especially in the newer work of courts, which are +rapidly becoming in their various social endeavors more and more +intimately connected with many phases of life, the pathological +liar becomes of main interest in the role of accuser of others, +self-accuser, witness, and general social disturber. + +Here again, we may call attention to the fact, which is of great +social importance, namely, that the person who is seemingly +normal in all other respects may be a pathological liar. It +might be naturally expected that the feebleminded, who frequently +have poor discernment of the relation of cause and effect, +including the phenomena of conduct, would often lie without +normal cause. As a matter of fact there is surprisingly little +of this among them, and one can find numerous mental defectives +who are faithful tellers of the truth, while even, as we have +found by other studies, some are good testifiers. Exaggerated +instances of the type represented by Case 12, where the +individual by the virtue of language ability endeavors to +maintain a place in the world which his abilities do not +otherwise justify, and where the very contradiction between +abilities and disabilities leads to the development of an +excessive habit of lying, are known in considerable number by us. +Many of these mentally defective verbalists do not even grade +high enough to come in our border-line cases, and yet frequently, +by virtue of their gift of language, the world in general +considers them fairly normal. They are really on a constant +social strain by virtue of this, and while they are not purely +pathological liars they often indulge in pathological lying, a +distinction we have endeavored to make clear in our introduction. + +It stands out very clearly, both in previous studies of this +subject and in viewing our own material, that pathological lying +is very rarely the single offense of the pathological liar. The +characteristics of this lying show that it arises from a tendency +which might easily express itself in other forms of +misrepresentation. Swindling, sometimes stealing, sometimes +running away from home (assuming another character and perhaps +another name) may be the results of the same general causes in +the individual. The extent to which these other delinquencies +are carried on by a pathological liar depends again largely upon +environmental conditions--for instance, truancy is very difficult +in German cities; a long career of thieving, under the better +police surveillance of some European countries, is less possible +than with us; while swindling, for the reason given above, seems +easier there. + +Running away from home and itineracy show in a wonderfully strong +correlation with pathological lying, both in previous studies and +in our own material. Several authors, particularly Stemmermann +in her survey of the subject, comment on this. This phenomenon, +not only on account of the numerical findings, but also from a +logical standpoint, is easily seen to be the expression, in +another form of conduct, of the essential tendencies of the +pathological liar. It is part of the general character +instability, the unwillingness to meet the realities of life, the +inclination to escape consequences. As a matter of fact, +frequently the pathological liar gets himself in a tight place by +lying, and then the easiest escape is by running away from the +scene. The delinquencies of our present group as given below can +with profit be compared with our previous statistics[26] on a +large group of offenders. We gathered the facts concerning a +series of 1000 carefully studied youthful repeated offenders. Of +694 male offenders, 261 were guilty of running away to the extent +that it made a more or less serious offense. Of 306 female +offenders, 76 committed the same type of offense. For comparison +with the present group it is to be remembered that 18 out of the +19 mentally normal pathological liars were females. + + + + NORMAL BORDER-LINE +Running away . . . . . . . . . 12 6 +Stealing. . . . . . . . . . . 7 6 +Swindling . . . . . . . . . . 7 2 +Vagrancy. . . . . . . . . . . 0 4 +Attempt at suicide . . . . . . . 0 2 +Sex offenses . . . . . . . . . 8 1 +False accusations. . . . . . . . 10 4 +Self-accusations . . . . . . . . 3 2 +Abortion. . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 + + + + +[26] P. 140 ff. William Healy. ``The Individual Delinquent.'' +Pp. 830. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co. 1915. + + + +We have given figures on false accusations here, including other +cases than were enumerated in our special chapter on the subject. +In that chapter the center of interest was on the false +accusations, but it is true that in certain other cases of +pathological lying false accusations were indulged in as a +somewhat minor offense. The 9 cases enumerated as swindlers +showed this offense in varying degrees, as might naturally be +expected by the differences in ages, which, if nothing else, +makes for variations in the evolution of social and character +tendencies. Perusal of the cases shows the small beginnings as +well as the flagrant offenses on this order. As we previously +have stated, we have avoided dealing with the older careers of +notorious swindlers. The nature of the sex offenses can be +learned from the case histories by those who wish to make special +inquiry. Masturbation we have regarded more as a causative +factor, and have spoken of it in a previous section. Truancy we +have not enumerated. It goes without saying that it had been +indulged in by practically all of the males and by a considerable +number of the females in our cases. + +The observer of delinquents cannot help being constantly +impressed by the fact that the offense of lying seems to the +usual offender small in proportion to the commission of other +criminalistic deeds. Particularly does this come out when one +observes the chronic liar growing up in a household where grave +sex and other delinquencies are habitual occurrences. Should his +lying be compared with these major anti-social transactions? +Indeed, it might be a field for speculation as to whether, given +certain qualities of mind, imaginative powers, etc., pathological +lying may not play the part of a vicarious delinquency--being to +the delinquent apparently less pernicious than more objective +offenses. In our case histories may be seen some indications of +this. + + +PROGNOSIS. TREATMENT + + +In discussing prognosis and treatment we can eliminate at once +consideration of pathological lying by the insane. The outcome +there depends upon what can be done for the underlying psychosis. +We have avoided intimate discussion of these cases, but many +suggestions of the unalterableness of the full-fledged tendencies +among the insane are found in the European literature cited by +us. Even discussion of the outcome of the border-line cases, +such as we have given examples of, needs but short shrift. +Everyone knows the extreme difficulties of dealing with +constitutional inferiors; marked cases are socially fit only for +proper colonization. The epileptic, in default of cure of his +disease, is ever going to be prone to many peculiar mental states +which may involve pathological lying. The slight mental +confusion of chorea, which may lead to false accusation, as we +have seen in Case 23, is one of the most curable of all abnormal +mental states. With proper attention to diagnosis and treatment, +favorable outcome of cases of hysteria, such as that in Case 24, +is frequently seen. Another type which cannot be handled except +by permanent segregation is the thoroughly aberrational and +socially dangerous class represented by Case 25, however one +designates the type. Much more, undoubtedly, can be done for +such a border-line individual as Case 12, if there is sufficient +cooperation among educational and reformatory institutions and +the courts. It has seemed to us that the chief cause of failure +in this interesting case has been the fact that this young man +could go on ever entering new social situations and finding new +worlds for exploitation because no one had the means at hand for +securing facts concerning his past or for ascertaining what any +good diagnostician could easily perceive to be his limitations +and tendencies. + +Very much more to the point is consideration of the actual and +possible outcome in cases of pathological lying by normal +individuals. Here, as in other matters where bodily, mental, and +social issues are blended, no prognosis or outlook can be +rationally offered without consideration of possible changes in +the circumstances peculiar to the given case. First and foremost +stands out the fact that cure of the tendency sometimes happens +even after long giving way to it. In this statement we are not +contradictory to some previous writers. + +As Stemmermann says, out of the general literature there is not +much from which one can deduce any principles of prognosis. But, +again, we would insist that one of the great weaknesses has been +that earlier studies have not carefully distinguished between the +mentally normal and the abnormal cases of pseudologia +phantastica. When, for instance, Forel speaks of pathological +liars as being constitutionally abnormal individuals who are not +curable, he fails to differentiate where profitable +differentiation can be made. If our own work is of any practical +value it is in offering safer grounds for prognosis and +treatment. Stemmermann summarizes well her follow-up work done +upon cases seen years previously by other observers. Some of +these are still in institutions. After a period of well- doing +several of these have become backsliders and reverted again to +lying and swindling. Very few appear to have been cured, but yet +some of the facts of betterment are most convincing. This author +states that, at the most, one dares to ponder over the point as +to whether there are not cases which recover, particularly when +the pathological lying is a phenomenon of adolescence. + +Our own material is, in part, too recently studied to form +anything like a generalization concerning prognosis. Many years +have to elapse before one can be sure there is not going to be a +recurrence. But one is not altogether certain that prognostic +generalizations are of practical worth for this group of mentally +normal pathological liars. So many incidental factors of +physical, mental, and social life, with all of the complicated +background of the same, come in to make the total result, that +experiment and trial with the individual case, while hesitating +to give an exact prognosis, is perhaps the only sane procedure. +What we do know definitely is the immensely favorable outcome in +Cases 1, 4, 7, 19, and the promising betterment in several other +instances--all in direct contradiction to what we had expected +from survey of previous literature. In several of these cases +the years have gone by with nothing but steady improvement. The +difficulty in getting adequate treatment, either in home life or +by the necessary individual attention elsewhere, makes it +impossible to say that many of the others also could not have +been favorably influenced. Frequently a total alteration of +environmental conditions is necessary, and this, of course, is +often very difficult to obtain. Also it is extremely rare that +one can get the whole matter, and its sure social consequences, +fairly and squarely met by anybody with influence over the +individual. Until this can be done, little in the way of good +results may ever be expected. The splendid attack made by +relatives or others upon the situation in Cases 1, 4, 7, possibly +14, and 19 tells the story of the prime necessity for adequate +handling of pathological lying. + +Specific treatment of physical conditions should always be +undertaken when necessary. It should go without saying that any +individual who is open to the temptations of inner stress should +be strengthened at all points possible and relieved from all +sources of irritation. But, lest anyone should become too much +persuaded of the efficacy of surgical or other treatment, it +should be remembered that the psychical reactions, even where +there is physical irritation, involve the definite wearing of +neural paths, with habit formations, which bodily treatment can +only slightly alter. An enticing problem to the gynecologist is +always the relationship of pelvic, particularly sexual +irritations, to conduct. We cannot confirm the idea of a prime +causal connection in this particular, although we have evidence +that betterment of the physical ailment may lead to less +inclination towards the unfortunate behavior. In Case 1 the +lying came long before pelvic disease was acquired, but very +likely the irritation of the latter led to an accentuation of the +psychical phenomena. In Case 6 the typical conduct was persisted +in after remedy of the pelvic disorder; so also in Case 3 after +relief of abdominal conditions, and in Case 21 after cessation of +pregnancy. Other points bearing upon this may be read in our +case histories. On the general problem of the possibility of +physical treatment it will be noted that a considerable share of +all our cases were in good general condition. + +In discussing treatment great emphasis should be placed upon the +primary necessity for directly meeting the pathological liar upon +the level of the moral failures and making it plain that these +are known and understood. It is very certain that frequently +this type of prevaricator has very little conception of the +social antagonism which his habit arouses. There is faulty +apperception of how others feel towards the lying, and to what +depths the practice of this habit leads. Appreciation of these +facts may be the first step towards betterment. In several of +the improved cases we have mentioned that it was largely the +acquirement of social foresight which made the first step in a +moral advance which finally won the day. In this whole matter +the first ethical instruction may well be based upon the idea of +self-preservation--after all the backbone of much of our morals. +When it comes to specific details of treatment these must be +educational, alterative, and constructive. In Cases 1 and 3 +under treatment we know that when the lying was discovered or +suspected the individual was at once checked up and made to go +over the ground and state the real facts. The pathological liar +ordinarily reacts to the accusation of lying by prevaricating +again in self-defense, but when with the therapeutist there has +been the understanding that the tendency to lying is a habit +which it is necessary to break, the barricade of self- defense +may not be thrown up. An alterative measure of great value, +then, is directly to meet the specific lie on the spot, as it +were, when it is told. + +Next, accuracy of report may well be practiced as a special +discipline. In these normal cases we have seen that there could +be little doubt about the individual having self-control enough +to stick to the truth, if the will was properly directed. +Indeed, many of our cases were exceptionally bright individuals +with many good powers of observation and memory. Had one the +opportunity, there can be little doubt but that training in the +power to do well on such a test as that afforded by the +``Aussage'' picture would have yielded good results. Indeed, +there is some suggestion of this in our table of findings on this +test, where we note that pathological liars, when left merely to +themselves and their first often comparatively meagre report on +the picture, give few incorrect details. The difference in their +report as compared with other observers of the picture was found +when they answered questions. Since this is the case, there can +be little question that training in the power to respond +accurately might be gained. + +It may be of value in considering therapeutics of pathological +lying to enumerate the general run of treatment which was carried +out in those instances where we know that betterment took place. +Nearly always only a part of what we advised could be carried +out, but, even so, a brief statement of the conditions under +which betterment was accomplished seems worth much. + +Case 1 was treated first in an institution for delinquents where +every effort was made to cure her disease and where she was +taught to employ herself in constructive work. It was found she +had ability to design, and this was used to the utmost. Then her +lying tendencies were checked by social disapprobation as much as +possible. A special effort was made toward this. The girl was +undoubtedly made more serious-minded by the after-effects of her +experience and perhaps by her disease. She was later +successfully handled at home by her sensible mother. Leaving the +years of adolescent instability behind her was also undoubtedly a +factor in betterment. + +Case 4 was taken in hand by a sterling character who restrained +very carefully the tendency to lying, and by firm methods showed +her the social advantages of self-control in this respect. At +the same time she was given a vastly better environment, +particularly in the matter of her friends. However, there is +little doubt that nothing would have been accomplished in this +case without first a deep understanding of the girl's troubles +and of her mental conflicts. + +Case 7 was treated for her sex difficulties under the constant +care of a vigorous mother, who first, naturally, had to gain an +understanding of the case. With her bettered physical and mental +conditions, the girl was able steadily to hold a position for +which earlier she had no capacity. + +Betterment in Case 14 came about mainly as the result of an +understanding of the child's mental conflicts and somewhat +through partially bettered environmental conditions. We learned +lately that the severe visual defect had been neglected. + +In Case 15 the false accusations were made upon the basis of +mental conflict. Investigation of the case, followed by the +personal services of a probation officer and by the legal +proceedings, served to clear up conditions, including those of +the family in general, so that the girl was given a greater +chance for success. + +Case 19 seems to have been largely cured through the girl herself +being able to work out her mental conflicts. Adolescence was a +factor and she was tided over this period in a good environment +and with friends who understood her type of case and who were +willing to put up with her aberrancies for this time. Although +we would not minimize the efforts of stalwart friends, we may say +that there were more evidences of cure by self-help in this case +than in any other we have seen. + +Lest we should seem to be placing too much emphasis upon +adolescence, with the idea that the mere passing of that period +will lead to change in behavior, we cite Cases 3, 5, and 6, where +the addition of years has brought no betterment. In neither of +these was the essential nature of the difficulty explored during +earlier troublous periods. + +An interesting consideration for treatment is embodied in the +rational idea of utilizing the special powers, so that there may +be ample gratification in self-expression, and in use of the +imagination. Through this new satisfaction there may be a mental +swerving from the previous paths strewn with pitfalls. The +inclination to verbal composition, already spoken of as existing +in so many cases, may be utilized, and imagination be given full +sway in harmless directions. It seems likely that just this +deliberate practice may serve to more clearly demarcate truth +from falsehood in the individual's mind. Unfortunately we have +had too little actual proof of the value of this method, some +cases being worked on now are too recent for report, but there is +plenty of indication of the possibilities. Had we been able to +control environment better, much more of this type of work would +have been carried out. + +A favorable outcome through this constructive treatment based +upon utilizing the characteristic linguistic powers of the +pathological liar, is witnessed to by Stemmermann in her story of +Delbruck's G. N. In the history of this case a delightful note +of comedy is struck. G. N. was found to be a man of considerable +literary ability. He had been observed over the period of 13 +years. After he was first studied he twice managed to go 3 years +without succumbing to his falsifying tendencies, and then found +his chance for leading a blameless life by becoming a newspaper +man. In fact, he reached an honored place as an editor. +Stemmermann suggests, naively, that perhaps this calling is +especially calculated to give the talents correlated with +pseudologia phantastica space for free play, so that the +individual's special abilities may not come in conflict with the +law, or with social customs, and, on the other hand, may be +utilized in fruitful pursuits. + +All together, one would certainly advise every effort being made +towards specifically stabilizing the pathological liar in the +matter of truth-telling--by checking the springs of misconduct, +and by diverting energies and talents into their most suitable +channels. The problem must ever be one for individual therapy. +Failures of treatment there may be, but from our study we are +much inclined to believe that well-calculated, constructive +efforts will achieve goodly success among those who are mentally +normal. + + + + +INDEXES + + +INDEX OF AUTHORS + +Belletrud +Bresler, Johannes + +Crothers, T. D. + +Delbruck, A. +Duprat, G.-L. + +Ferriani, Ifino +Forel + +Gross, Hans + +Hall, G. Stanley +Healy, William +Healy, William, and Fernald, Grace M. +Henneberg +Hinrichsen + +Jorger + +Keller +Koelle, Th. +Koppen + +Longard + +Mercier +Meunier + +Risch, Bernard +Rouma + +Spaulding, Edith R., and Healy, Willlam +Stemmermann, Anna + +Vogt + +Wendt +Wulffen, E. + + + + +INDEX OF TOPICS + + +Aberrational cases not definitively insane +Accessory to murder, false self-accusation of +Accusations, pathological, Bresler's classification of +Adolescence +Adolf von X., case of +Age of onset of pathological lying +Amanda R. +Annie F. +Apperception, lack of, in certain cases +Attitude, strong, of pathological liars, see POISE +``Aussage,'' psychology of +``Aussage'' Test, see TESTIMONY TEST + +Bessie M. +Betterment, conditions of in special cases +Betterment, possibilities of +Beula D +Birdie M. + +Chorea, psychosis of +Choreic psychosis +Constitutional excitement +Constitutional inferior, The +Constitutional inferiority + +Day dreaming in special cases +Delinquency, lying considered relatively a minor +Delinquency, relation of, to lying +"Der grune Heinrich'' +Developmental conditions +Diagnosis of pathological lying +Drug habitues, lying of + +Edna F. +Egocentrism in certain cases +Emma X. +Emotions, abnormality of, in certain cases +Environmental causes +Epilepsy, case of +Epileptic mental states +Episodic pathological lying + +False accusations of illtreatment; of incest; of murder; of +poisoning attempt; of sex assault; of sex immorality; of sex +perversions; of thieving +False self-accusations of accessory to murder; of sex immorality +Feeblemindedness, relation of, to pathological lying + +Georgia B. +Gertrude + +Habit, formation of lying +Habits in our eases +Hazel M. +Headaches +Headaches of pathological liars, Stemmermann on +Heredity +Hypomania, case of +Hysteria, case of + +Illtreatment, false accusations of +Incest, false accusation of +Inez B., case of +Insane, fabrications of +Insanity and criminalism, relation of +Itinerancy, correlated with pathological lying + +Janet B. +John B. +John F. +John S. + +Language ability, cases of special +Language aptitude related to lying +Libby S. +Lies mixed with delusions +Literary composition in certain cases, see Language ability +Lying, relation of, to delinquency + +Marie M. +Memory, special features of, in certain cases +Mental abnormality not typically insane, case of +Mental conflicts +Mental conflicts and repressions,case material bearing on +Mental discipline in treatment +Mental experiences, early +Mental findings +Murder, false accusation of +Mythomania + +Nellie M. + +Pathological accusations, Bresler's classification of +Pathological accusation, definition of +Pathological liars, analysis of qualities of, by Risch +Pathological lying a symptom of various disorders, Wendt on +Pathological lying, characteristics of, Delbruck on, Koppen on, +Stemmermann on, Vogt on, Wendt on, +Pathological lying, definition of +Pathological swindling +Pelvic irritations, related to pathological lying +Periodicity +Physical conditions, treatment of +Physical findings +Physiologic stress, periods of +Poetic creation, relation of pathological lying to +Poise, remarkable in cases of pathological lying +Poisoning attempt, false accusation of +Pregnancy, case of, false accusations beginning during +Prognosis, favorable in some cases +Prognosis of pathological lying +Prognosis, Stemmermann on +Prognosis varies with age +Pseudologia phantastica +Psychic contagion +Psychopathic individuals +Purpose of pathological liars, Koppen on + +Report, psychology of, +Robert R., case of +Running away from home + +Self-mutilation, details of, in one case +Sex assault, false accusations of +Sex habits in special cases, bad +Sex immorality, false accusations of +Sex immorality, false self-accusation of +Sex life related to pathological lying, physical side of +Sex of pathological liars +Sex perversions, false accusations of +Simulation of ailments in special cases +Simulation vs. hysteria in one case +Social correlations +Specialized abilities +Statistics on lying among delinquents +Subnormal verbalist, case of +Swindling arising from pathological lying +Swindling in Europe, cases of, +Swindling, relation of, to pathological lying + +Testimony, Psychology of +Testimony Test +Testimony Test, results on in individual cases +Testimony Test, summary of results of +Thieving, etc., false accusation of +Treatment, direct, of the lying itself +Treatment given in special cases +Truancy + +Verbal fluency related to pathological lying +Verbalists, mentally defective + +Williams, S. +Wish, the morbid and fantastic, Wendt on + + + + + +End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of Pathology of Lying, Etc. + |