Truth behind the lie: Psychology of the elite liar

While the jury's still out on whether DIG BK Loshali of the Coast Guard or defence minister Manohar Parrikar is lying on the Pak boat, this has brought into sharp focus the phenomenon of lying by the eminent in public life. And no, we are not only talking about the many volte-faces by the Indian neta-babu brigade, who conveniently scream "misquoted", when it suits them; in recent times, some globally known names too have become part of this elite club.

Senator Hillary Clinton had said in a March 2008 speech that, while visiting Bosnia in 1996 as first lady, she had "landed under sniper fire". According to what she said in the speech, "A greeting ceremony had to be cancelled, and we ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base." Later, when video footage showed Clinton, her daughter Chelsea and their entourage simply striding across a tarmac with smiles and greeting a retinue of well-wishers, the unfazed senator simply blamed it all on lack of sleep. "I was sleep-deprived and I misspoke," she had said and even went on to express outrage over the reaction to her lying. "I made a mistake! It proves I'm human, which you know, for some people, is a revelation."

While reporting a tribute in January 2010 at a New York Rangers hockey game for a retired soldier, who had provided ground security, NBC anchor Brian Williams said he and his news crew were protected by a mechanised platoon from the US Army 3rd Infantry after their Chinook helicopter was crippled by enemy fire. Later, when crew members on the 159th Aviation Regiment's Chinook that was hit by two rockets and small arms fire pointed out that the journalist had arrived on a different helicopter an hour later, Williams had to eat crow and admit he was wrong. "Repeatedly watching a video of myself inspecting the impact damage, plus the 'fog of memory over 12 years', made me conflate and misremember events."

Author-columnist and TV show host Fareed Zakaria too had to admit his "terrible mistake", and even faced a month's suspension, when the Harvard PhD's column shared suspicious similarities to an earlier New Yorker piece.

But why is lying so popular? While pointing out how generic lying is the most commonly used face-saver by all, psychiatrist Dr Rajendra Barve says, "Studies indicate that 50% of us fib at least twice a day; in couples, an average 30% of all interactions include a falsehood. Polls also show 70% overall would feel comfortable recycling their biggest tall-tale for future use."

While this may be socially unacceptable and lead to inter-personal problems, it's the more chronic pathological lying that is worrisome, he insists.

"There are some who have an antisocial personality disorder and may choose to lie to manipulate their way around persistently with disregard for, and in violation of, the rights of others. This lying can be often so skillful that it can be very hard to discover, often ending up getting the person their desire of sympathy."

Barve also speaks of another kind of lying found among alcoholics, gamblers and substance abusers. "Addicts become practised liars in defending/preservating their addiction. First they lie to themselves about the addiction, then begin to lie to others. Lying, evasion, deception, manipulation, spinning and other techniques for avoiding or distorting the truth are necessary parts of the addictive process," he explains.

And where do the worthies mentioned above fall? Barve laughs, "In the third category, those of narcissists. They think of themselves as so larger than life that they don't mind extending some of that megalomania into their version of what happened. Given that they are generally figures of power, this can often go unquestioned, even if their subordinates realise what's going on. This emboldens them further and may tempt them to increase both the frequency and volume of lies told."

He underlines how it's consistently creative people, not corporate publicists or teenagers, who lie the most. "Writers and other creative professionals objectively accept more interpretations of the truth. Both lying and writing are forms of invention. Both require mental dexterity and the ability to read the motives and interests of those around them," he explains, and adds, "Rationalisation, often times, feels like the bulk of a writer's real job; it's the glue and file that holds awkward logic together or keeps narratives and characters from becoming implausible. In short, it's what allows us storytellers back into the truth of our own real lives."

One would have to agree. Very truthfully.