Psychology

Pathological liars - or "mythomaniacs" - are people who engage in objectively puposeless story telling behavior. The stories they tell are not the products of delusions and serve no external purpose other than to inflate the value of the teller in the eyes of the listener. The actual existence of mythomania separate from other diagnoses as a symptom set is a controversial topic in the mental health field. The symptom set for Mythomania is strictly limited: 1) The subject is not delusional and the stories they tell are at least technically plausible. If the subject is actually delusional, a diagnosis of a condition with psychotic features is more appropriate. 2) The tendency to construct such stories is non-transient, and long lasting. The story telling behavior is an actual personality trail. 3) The tendency is clearly non-situational and the subjects motives are objectively internal. The stories are not lies told from fear, or to cover a long pattern of misconduct (spousal abusers and confidence tricksters for instance are not mythomaniacs although they often construct elaborate webs of lies for years to cover their abuse or trick their victims. Such lies are situational and objectively external. The abuser is attempting to evade punishment). 4) The stories tend to present the teller in an extremely positive light, but otherwise provide no material benefit to the teller. The story may suggest that the teller is intensely brave, wealthy or may know many famous people, but the teller derives no benefit from fostering this belief, other than people believing the story. The term is often misused to refer to those suffering from histrionic personality disorder or narcissistic personality disorder. The following comments basically reflect a pathological liar who has the characteristics of histrionic personality disorder. Some Characteristics : Exaggerates things that are ridiculous. One-upping. Whatever you do, this person can do it better. You will never top them in their own mind, because they have a concerted need to be better than everyone else. This also applies to being right. If you try to confront an individual like this, no matter how lovingly and well-intentioned you might be - this will probably not be effective. It's threatening their fantasy of themselves, so they would rather argue with you and bring out the sharp knives than admit that there's anything wrong with them. They "construct" a reality around themselves. They don't value the truth, especially if they don't see it as hurting anyone. If you call them on a lie and they are backed into a corner, they will act very defensively and say ugly things (most likely but depends on personality), but they may eventually start to act like, "Well, what's the difference? You're making a big deal out of nothing!" (again, to refocus the conversation to your wrongdoing instead of theirs). Because these people don't value honesty, a lot of times they will not value loyalty. So watch what you tell them. They will not only tell others, but they will embellish to make you look worse. Their loyalty is fleeting, and because they are insecure people, they will find solace in confiding to whomever is in their favor at the moment. They may be somewhat of a hypochondriac. This can come in especially useful when caught in a lie, for example, they can claim that they have been sick, or that there's some mysteriously "illness" that has them all stressed out. It's another excuse tool for their behavior. Obviously, they will contradict what they say. This will become very clear over time. They usually aren't smart enough to keep track of so many lies (who would be?). Another Wiki s contributor adds: They lie about even the smallest things. For example, saying "I brushed my teeth today," when they didn't. They add exaggerations to every sentence. They change their story all the time. They act very defensively when you question their statements. They believe what they say is true, when everyone else knows it isn't. An alternate 'checklist': Lies when it is very easy to tell the truth. Lies to get sympathy, to look better, to save their butt, etc. Fools people at first but once they get to know him, no one believes anything they ever say. May have a personality disorder. Extremely manipulative. Has been caught in lies repeatedly. Never fesses up to the lies. Is a legend in their own mind. More opinions and input from Wiki s contributors: I have found a few differences in pathological liar and a "slime ball" liar. Pathological liars cannot tell that they are lying; they actually believe the lie as soon as it comes out of their mouth. They lie about unimportant things that don't really matter to anyone. This can be caused by mental defect but isn't always. Slime-ball liars lie about things that make them look better or embellish to get attention. They also lie to keep their butts out of trouble and to get what they want. Here are things to ask yourself: How could this many things happen to one person? Would believe these stories if someone else told you? Think back to the beginning: you had red flags and alarms going off in you head. Learn to trust your instincts. It is very hard to tell when one is a pathological liar. Some people just are liars and lie to lie because they can and they don't care about getting caught and aware that you know they have lied. These people care not about lying, it's no big deal. It's like "ok, so what? I lied". The pathological liar on the other hand, IS aware that they are lying BUT will go to extremes to make you believe that they are truthful. They appear to believe their own lies BUT in truth, they know their lies are just that, lies. But because their efforts are constantly backing up their lies, it appears to us that they actually believe their lies, when we eventually do find out about them and then we tend to feel sorry for these people. Then they have an excuse, "I am sick, I don't know why I lie, I believed what I was saying etc." The only truth was the fact that they don't know why they lie. Other than that it's crap. It is true that most of them have an extremely low sense of self worth and are continuously trying to make themselves feel better about THEMSELVES and this is one reason they lie. It is about them but the lies are not always set up with the purpose to hurt some one else; it's that these people feel so low about themselves they need to create ANYTHING different from the ugly reality they feel about themselves so they lie about even the most tiniest little thing. The people closest to them get sucked into these lies which sometimes start as something very trivial and then turn into something that can turn everyone involved worlds upside down and inside out. Unmasking the pathological liar is an easier task when the pathological liar is no more than a casual acquaintence to the "un-masker." Close relationships provide camouflage for the pathological liar, and intimacy provides a heavily-fortressed breeding ground. Other indicators: 1) Rage attacks after they realize you're questioning their lies. 2) Distraction techniques, e.g. hanging up the phone when you catch them in lie, playing word games, or even just running out of the room. After using the distraction technique, or rage attack, or sometimes both, they will pretend that nothing ever happened. They re-write history, so it never did happen in their minds. Normal people do it too, but these people take it to the extreme. From "Go Ask Alice": Lies are unplanned and impulsive. Behavior is repeated over a long period of time. Lies don't seem to exist for any external reason. Behavior may not always be a conscious act. Lies are admitted, changed, and/or adapted if a false story is challenged. From Andrea Broadbent "The Truth about Truman": To begin, the definition of pathological actually means abnormal or grossly atypical. Therefore, a pathological liar prevaricates more frequently than the average person or tells more abnormal lies. In most cases, pathological liars tell lies that are "unplanned and impulsive" (Hausman). These lies are usually very emotional stories that tend to serve no purpose except to impress people (Ford 133). As of now, psychiatrists are unsure whether or not pathological liars are fully capable of realizing if and when they are lying, so detecting whether or not a person is a pathological liar is a very difficult task (Hausman). By looking at the list of conditions commonly connected with people considered to be pathological liars, psychiatrists are better able to determine whether or not a person might actually have the disorder. Some main qualities linked with pathological liars include dysfunctional family origin, family lying patterns, anomalies of sexual life, frequent substance abuse, and a great capacity for language. From Raymond Lloyd Richmond, Ph.D. "Psychological Honesty": Even a pathological liar carries deep in his heart a desire for goodness and honesty and yet, because of painful emotional wounds, believes that the world never has, and never will, recognize his pain. And so, to hide that pain from himself, he uses all the lies he can concoct to hurl at the world as he runs in fear from his own goodness. For me, the first indication has been that I hear them tell different things to different people and they can't all be right, because they directly contradict each other! And I am able to prove it. If you can prove over and over again that things someone is telling you are outright false, then you have a pathological liar on your hands. With the Internet, it is now easier than ever to "fact-check" even the most mundane things. I think pathological liars often lose track of all of the lies they tell different people and it will eventually catch up with them.

What are considered healthy values generally depends on the culture you are a part of and even within that culture these values may be vastly different. Take for example the difference between what is important in the mind of a person that is a Muslim and that in the case of a Christian person. and even then what are considered healthy values may differ greatly among the people of different denominations and ways of thinking. Healthy values are an attitude to the things that are important in what you do in your life that serve to make the lives of others better for them selves and for you. Health is a matter of three different fields: mental health, physical health and social health. When either of those three is damaged, the others will deteriorate with it. So if you live in a culture where your personal values are shunned or discriminated against, your health will suffer - and not just your social health. What is important in values, is that your values do not impair your ability to lead a healthy life; which really means your values should complement a healthy lifestyle, on all three grounds of health (mental, physical and social).

Human acts are imputable to man so as to involve his responsibility, for the very reason that he puts them forth deliberatively and with self-determination. They are, moreover, not subject to physical laws which necessitate the agent, but to a law which lays the will under obligation without interfering with his freedom of choice. Besides, they are moral. For a moral act is one that is freely elicited with the knowledge of its conformity with or difformity from, the law of practical reason proximately and the law of God ultimately. But whenever an act is elicited with full deliberation, its relationship to the law of reason is adverted to. Hence human acts are either morally good or morally bad, and their goodness or badness is imputed to man. And as, in consequence, they are worthy of praise or blame, so man, who elicits them, is regarded as virtuous or wicked, innocent or guilty, deserving of reward or punishment. Upon the freedom of the human act, therefore, rest imputability and morality, man's moral character, his ability to pursue his ultimate end not of necessity and compulsion, but of his own will and choice; in a word, his entire dignity and preeminence in this visible universe. Example: Human acts- action that is guided by reasons or actions that can be limited. example: exercise to be physically fit, etc... Acts of man- instinctive; physiological. example: crying, falling in love, eating, etc...

The Greek philosopher Aristotle can be regarded as being the world's first psychologist because he wrote a book called 'De Anima', about the soul, and the soul is part of the subject matter of the original meaning of the word 'psychology'. But conventionally Wilhelm Wundt, a German academic who was originally a physiologist, is regarded as the world's first psychologist because he created a psychological laboratory to which the subsequent development of psychology as a science can be traced back to the psychologists who received instruction there.

Pathological lying is one of the hallmark characteristics of a narcissist. They lie out of their need to manipulate and control. They must lie in order to create their false "reality" about themselves that they project out to the world. They lie to bolster their grandiosity and inflate their accomplishments. Lying is the most common complaint of people who have a narcissist in their life. Following are some comments from contributors: Opinion Lying compulsively is not a disease or even an abnormality, which are the definitions of pathological in the dictionary. Lying is a habit of behaviour. If this habit has been advantageous in the past it will be repeated. After being repeated many times it will become the standard and default response. This is why it is attractive and charming people become narcissistic. Other people are usually less successful with lies as children and so never form the habit. Habits can be changed, lying is not addictive such as smoking and so to say that this behaviour can't change is the wrong conclusion. That said it will usually take some real understanding to bring a person with NPD to a place of trust in their family to be able to drop the lies and see that other behaviour is more rewarding. Accountability is the key, but failure to meet obligations should been dealt with justly. Threatening to abandon and isolate a person because they have simply never been taught how to meet these standards is unjust. A child who has never been taught with patience to tell the truth will remain a liar until someone who the narcissist looks up to and respects takes on this duty. Kim Cooper author of "Back from the Looking Glass" Living with the personality disorder that causes abuse Opinion Yes. They promise you the world then once they see your hopes up they tear the rug out from under. And if that isnt bad enough then they proceed to deny what they did and/or said and make you feel like the crazy one. The narcissist invents and then projects to others a FALSE Self. So, his entire existence is founded on an all-pervasive lie. The narcissist does his damnedest to avoid intimacy. He constantly lies about every aspect of his life: his self, his history, his vocations and avocations, and his emotions. This false data guarantee his informative lead, or "advantage" in a relationship. It yields an active state of disintimisation. It casts a pall of cover up, separateness, asymmetry and mystery over the narcissist's relationships. The narcissist lies even in therapy. He obscures the truth by using "psycho-babble", or a professional lingo. It makes him feel that he "belongs", that he is a "Renaissance man". By demonstrating his control of several professional jargons he almost proves (to himself) that he is superhuman. In therapy, this has the effect of "objectifying" and emotionally detachment. Opinion Certainly. I have been in a relationship with a narcissist for 3 years. My poor soul will lie when proof is in front of his face. Opinion I think the N's perception of a lie is different from ours. A lie is not "bad" to a narcissist because it gets him what he wants. Opinion I have just ended a 5 year relationship with a narcissist and I can say this one was pathological. It is the most incredible phenomenon! For the first few years, I thought I was crazy or there was something wrong with my memory. He would re-write the very same event that we both experienced. It is my belief that he actually believed his lies, because that was the only way he could cope with life. He seemed genuinely convinced that his lies were the truth. It is mind boggling! I have changed all phone numbers and e-mail in an attempt to stay away from this man. I am in the process of moving. My advice to anyone involved with a narcissist, is to get out as fast as you can! It has been my experience that you cannot believe what this person tells you, even if they are crying and swearing to God. It is a very sad thing to watch ... but protect yourself! Opinion All the N's I have met are liars and masters at the art of deception. Just remember they always round numbers up or down to make themselves look good, or to make others look bad. They are the people at work, who say, "so-n-so is always late." Note the word "always". They don't keep accurate records and condem people without facts and evidence. Most people will make double sure before hurting someone's reputation or livelihood. Not narcissist. Usually, in Narcisstic language, "always" means "once." They actually think they can brainwash people. If they say the same thing over and over, they think you will eventually adopt it as truth. They rewrite history this way. Opinion My ex was so bad that he would look me in the eyes and tell me he loves me, and the next day I was gone. He did anything and everything to get what he wanted. Lying to me, about me, and he would come up with the most outrageous lies about me and people would believe these lies, why I don't know. He would be so incredibly arrogant while lying as well, as if he was the only one smart enough in his world to know he was lying and if he was caught in one he'd never admit it. I've noticed they live in a fantasy world of their own making and every lie that they tell only adds to it, and to them it's ok. Opinion I am in the unfortunate situation of being in love with as well as married to a narcissist. We have been married for less than a year and it has been a fairly incredible constant roller coaster of emtions, anger and confusion. I have battled with leaving but know that I do love this person and continue to pray that they will get the true help that they, themselves, have agreed to get. Others who see from a distance what is taking place are warning me to get out while I can and to heed safety measures when dealing with someone of this caliber. I am so confused because as any of you reading this will know... THEY ARE VERY convincing when they want to be. They tell you they love you and will do anything to keep you but then the very next day they are right back with their sick lies and unstable behavior. How can you ever trust or believe in this person? Opinion How can anyone who has a false front not lie? Will they lie to themselves and believe it? Yes, they are pathological liars. Thank you for this website. I was nearly destroyed by all the lies and the confusion. Lies add power to the narcissist...keeping you in the dark...to confused to run. Opinion Yes, blackmailing, back-stabbing, manipulating, deceiving and lying seem to be the core personlaity traits that I've noticed in my experience w/ a NPD individual. All become intertwined- for example they will cover up a lie w/ a maniupulation or manipulate to cover up a lie. To say they have the ethics of a roach would be a tremendous insult to all roaches. Opinion I have just come to terms with my daughter. She is now a complete Pathological Liar or has Antisocial Personality Disorder or is Narcissist. I can realize this and have to come to terms with it. I know all three titles are probably stages of the same. I think it is genetic and complusive and addictive. Opinion They are spin doctors. They live only in the present. Everything is about their image, and maintaining their image EACH MINUTE. They will make stuff up on the spot. The next day, they say the complete opposite. If everyone in the room is saying, "we like president Bush" the narcissist will take inventory and go with the majority of people. (the majority are the "winners" and they must side with the numbers/winners). The very next day, they could be in a room where most people like Hillary Clinton. Again, the narcissist will go with the status quo. It's hard to figure out where they really stand, and they don't seem to know. Their ethics are like this too. One day they have high morals, the next day they are rationalizing and going against one of their proclaimed rules. They picks what sounds best to suit their needs for the moment. Words, sentences, are just ornaments or jewelry, and they always pick out a different word-robe for the day. They also lie over the smallest detail that wasn't matter. They act like they got caught with their hand in the cookie jar, make up lies, when all you did was ask them a question. They always act like they are on trial and are always in self defense mode (this makes them sound paranoid). If you ask, "I need a pen. Have you seen the pen?" A narcissist would reply "I didn't take it." It makes communicating with them somewhat of a strain. They seem to miss the point and always on the look out for personal attacks, then already lie to cover their arse when they don't even need to. Opinion My narcissist smirks when he lies. He knows he's been detected but he thinks he's real cute. This cuteness is to sugarcoat the lie. Mine is really quite serious so when I see that grin I know I've just heard a whopper. Opinion I was married to a narcissist for 23 years and will tell you that she lied constantly. In the beginning i thought she just like to embellish and excused it, but it never changed. As she got older, it got worse because she needed to lie to protect her image. We had met in college but she refused to admit that to anyone because she thought they could infer how old she was (like they even cared). She even lied to our children about how old she was and how we met. They saw right threw it, but if they challenged her, she went into a rage unlike any i have ever seen. I have been separated from her for 4 years, but because we have shared custody of the children, the damaging lies continue. By their nature, the narcissist's are unable to clearly look into themselves and therefore will never be able to heal. For the woman who is in love with one, my advice would be to get out while you can. I loved my wife for 23 years but it made no difference. I am very thankful that i am away from her daily torture and am glad that my children are only subjected to her manipulations half of the time. Opinion Yes narcissists are pathological liars. They will lie about everything, and do anything to keep their lies alive. I know a narcissist. She was and still is to this day my best friend. She has run away from everything that she believes is unpleasant in her current life and emerges somewhere else with a new life full of lies and half truths. She has many children most of which she has put up for adoption all over the west coast, with some kind of sob story about why she is doing what she is doing. She has two children who live with her parents on the east coast that she just up and left behind one day when she decided that she didn't want to be a 24 year old mother of two, but a 19 year old college student. She has a lot of self-hate, and in order to romantize herself and her background she makes up stories. She goes online and lies to meet men, despite the fact that she told me that she was married a few months ago. I don't know if she is telling me the truth or telling me things that she thinks I will envy or find fascinating. Eventhough she is intelligent and creative, she is so caught up in her fantasy world that I am afraid that one day she will snap and will no longer be able to tell the difference between the real world and the fantasy one that she has created Opinion I lied to my soon to be ex-wife, nothing near as bad as some of the things, some of you went through. But I did lie. I lied because i thought my wife was so much better than me, and i just wanted her to think I was good enought. I just couldn't beleive that someone would like me for me. And now I've lost her,and this I except. I understand (I think) how she feels, and I agree, that I made a massive unforgivable mistake. I guess what I want to say is don't blame yourself if you are a victim of someone liying to you. You may feel like it but you are NOT a physcho magnet. And you do deserve better. I lost the greatest thing in my life, my other half. Because I hate myself. I'm getting better, I hope. At least I have relized my mistakes, and I know I have a long road ahead of me before I can hope to called healthy. And it will be a long time before I will be able to trust myself to be in another realtionship. I can't do this to another person, I've hurt a truly beautiful soul, and I wish I could fix the damage i did to my wife, I wish I could just erase the memory of me from her mind.... But I can't this is her cross to carry, and I placed it on her shoulder. Opinion Do I Lie? In short yes. Nothing new after reading this webpage. Manipulating people..Yes...Crying out for attention...Yes...Making everything more melodramatic than it is..yes... Are people confused by my stories? Yes Do I like what I do? No Am i trying to do anything to stop it? Constantly Do people like me have low self esteem ? Yes Do I always premeditate the lie ? No Is it something that I can control ? No as it happens , with a life of its own.. it just springs from some inner reach until you cant stop. If someone is reading this they are sceptical of it...but that is how it seems to me What am i doint to stop it ? Seeing a therapist. IS it helping ? I dont know.... ( this bit is honest...) What is the biggest whopper that I have told.? I have been diagnosed by cancer and am undergoing treatment and its cured and how brave I was.... Is there a common pattern? Yes like everyone else on this website...always done to make myself look good ......better...than everyone..get the attention to me....manipulate things to suit me.... I could keep going more and more.... All I see is how bad I am ...I already know that...I need help. Is this thing that makes me do this curable....should I stop trying....and at least be happy for sometime...with the lies....I need to know that there is someone who used to do this and has been able to get out of donig this.. I wish I had something physical wrong with me as tha could be fixed.....but this ...all i see is people like me hurting others and everyone saying get out of a reltionship with a Liar...But is there a place that will help me become a decent person...or maybe I should just give up now. Opinion They are extremely talented in lying, however I should not say talented. This is not something to be proud of, what has happened is they have learned from early on that they can keep getting away with it and has made them feel "talented" in yet another aspect of their life (i.e. besides being beautiful, smart, etc.). Their lies are so convincing that you will never figure it out until you are at this stage of your research on narcissism - reading forums. Always remember one thing: IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT, you just happened to be a victim of a very uncommon and unforunately - in my opinion - a well researched disorder that needs to be far more publicized to the general public. Opinion Unfortunately for the N him/herself and others, yes, they are liars. To others and also to themselves. Even as a teenager I felt that my father was somehow 'living a lie', had such an inpenetrable facade to the outside world, a facade to protect himself from further emotional pain. I am 50 yrs old, in 2006, and when my mother died when I was 16 years old asked my father how she died. He replied that he didn't know. He has never ever mentioned her again. Not once - as if she'd never existed! A few years ago I asked him why he told me that he didn't know how/why my mother had died. He replied that he thought that "it was not important to you". He became so outraged and affronted when I tried to challenge him about this and while wildly flailing his arms with a deep red face and booming voice shouted "I never lie!" He feins ignorance about certain events, denies saying (critical/belittling) things to me or invents responses on the spot which are plainly false and expects me to believe him. However, he would never admit such things. Opinion My experience is that they lie without thought, morning noon and night. They lie for no reason and lie really really fast when under the gun, busted and about to be unveiled. Still.... they don't put much thought into the lies. When you start asking questions about the hasty cover lies.... they begin backpeddling and saying they never said that. You may even question whether you heard it or not. They formulate better lies then....and may recruit co workers or friends to swear for them. They may also spice them up with accusations that you are disrespectful and unappreciative. They've been feeding all their friends and family versions of you and themselves so don't be too shocked when people you go to for help, tell you that you and some made up idiot habit of yours is the "real problem." Continue to expect it when, in the face of facts.... they begin telling you how sorry N feels and you should consider giving the relationship another chance, at least for the children's sake.

Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories in particular cases. Basically, it is making decisions on the basis of what seems best instead of following some single doctrine or style. It is a fusion of multiple styles and doctrines (teachings, educations) to come upon a balanced answer.

What comes closer to being true is that communication is the foundation of culture. I think cultures shifts the communication because culture constitutes traditions, location, beliefs, history, and many other factors that impact the way people communicate. When i was studying international communications, I was amazed how much your culture effect your communication styles. Also, I'm married to Russian lady, and when we just started chatting on dream'marriage, I was shocked how much collectivist cultures dependent on relations and connections cuz in the US it all about individual rights and perspectives.

The abbreviation for a master's in psychology is MPsy. John Doe, MPsy would be read as, "John Doe, Master of Psychology"

Since one group of patients would be given the placebo (a tablet or capsule with absolutely no medicinal qualities), its sole purpose is to install a false hope in the group that they are receiving helpful medication. Another group of patients are given a real medicine. If the genuine prescription begins to work for the second group and they begin making strides toward recovery, it becomes obvious that the placebo is not worthy of further use.

== == == == Abuse doesn't have to be "discovered" - just observed. It is a behavior pattern, not a mental health diagnosis. It is clear that each abuser requires individual psychotherapy, tailored to his specific needs - on top of the usual group therapy and marital (or couple) therapy. At the very least, every offender should be required to undergo the following tests to provide a complete picture of his personality and the roots of his unbridled aggression. In the court-mandated evaluation phase, you should insist to first find out whether your abuser suffers from mental health disorders. These may well be the - sometimes treatable - roots of his abusive conduct. A qualified mental health diagnostician can determine whether someone suffers from a personality disorder only following lengthy tests and personal interviews. The predictive power of these tests - often based on literature and scales of traits constructed by scholars - has been hotly disputed. Still, they are far preferable to subjective impressions of the diagnostician which are often amenable to manipulation. By far the most authoritative and widely used instrument is the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III) - a potent test for personality disorders and attendant anxiety and depression. The third edition was formulated in 1996 by Theodore Millon and Roger Davis and includes 175 items. As many abusers show narcissistic traits, it is advisable to universally administer to them the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) as well. Many abusers have a borderline (primitive) organization of personality. It is, therefore, diagnostically helpful to subject them to the Borderline Personality Organization Scale (BPO). Designed in 1985, it sorts the responses of respondents into 30 relevant scales. It indicates the existence of identity diffusion, primitive defenses, and deficient reality testing. To these one may add the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-IV, the Coolidge Axis II Inventory, the Personality Assessment Inventory (1992), the excellent, literature-based, Dimensional assessment of Personality Pathology, and the comprehensive Schedule of Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality and Wisconsin Personality Disorders Inventory. Having established whether your abuser suffers from a personality impairment, it is mandatory to understand the way he functions in relationships, copes with intimacy, and responds with abuse to triggers. The Relationship Styles Questionnaire (RSQ) (1994) contains 30 self-reported items and identifies distinct attachment styles (secure, fearful, preoccupied, and dismissing). The Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) (1979) is a standardized scale of the frequency and intensity of conflict resolution tactics - especially abusive stratagems - used by members of a dyad (couple). The Multidimensional Anger Inventory (MAI) (1986) assesses the frequency of angry responses, their duration, magnitude, mode of expression, hostile outlook, and anger-provoking triggers. Yet, even a complete battery of tests, administered by experienced professionals sometimes fails to identify abusers and their personality disorders. Offenders are uncanny in their ability to deceive their evaluators. Seeing this question one thing springs to my mind. There is only one test for an abuser, and it's very simple. Does he have a victim? What I found really helpful was taking personality disorder tests online and answering the questions twice -- once for how I would answer, and, during a second go-through, answering as I knew my abuser acts. pls.tell me how to take on online tests.I am from India and am in real need of help.Thank you "What psychological tests discover an abuser?" Unfortuantely, we live in a time whereas not only should HIV test be taken before marriage or sexual contact but psychological examines as well. People will lie and hide crucial aspects of their history and exactly the reason so many women end up with abusive men that first appeared to be prince charming until they get you behind closed doors. I'll never forget these "You never know how someone truly is until they get you." Best Wishes...

It is a model that assumes, that every mental illness has its biological (physiological) basis-- it's an effect of chemical inbalance in the brain, physical abnormality in the brain or genetical abnormality. According to the model treatment of mental disorders should include medicines, electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) and psychosurgery. A disadvantage of the model is that does not take into account psychological problems underlying an illness. Additionally, drugs do not cure the illness, they only give a temporary relief from the symptoms. Medical model treatment is certainly helpful, but it should not be the only way of treating mental disorders-- it needs to be combined with some sort of psychotherapy (e.g. cognitive-behavioural etc.)

Alternatively: 'What is the idiographic approach to psychology?' In 1937 Gordon Allport (1897-1967), the famous American psychologist, conceived two approaches to psychology: an idiographic approach and a nomothetic approach. He did not create the terms 'idiographic' (from two ancient Greek roots which mean 'own writing') and 'nomothetic' (from an ancient Greek root which mean 'lawmaking'). Instead Wilhelm Windelband (1848-1915), a German philosopher, created them, in 1894. He created them about the aims of, respectively, the humanities (which include, among other disciplines, history) and science (which includes, among other sciences, physics). The idiographic approach to psychology perceives people as being describable in terms of unique sets of characteristics. Psychologists who practice counseling psychology endorse this approach. Conversely the nomothetic approach to psychology perceives people as being describable in terms of universal laws. Psychologists who subscribe to behaviorism endorse this approach.

Physical sciences are defined as the investigation of non-living things, so psychology does not fit in that category. Instead, psychology is one of the social sciences, along with sociology, political science, anthropology, human geography, communication, economics, and linguistics.

Many birds have different attention spans. However, the bigger birds are very brave but have a habbit of looking away or cocking its head and staring at you.

 definition of Psychological Benefits  The psychological benefits of regular exercise can be as significant as the physical. Some, such as better self-esteem, come as an indirect result of exercise and are fairly subjective. Others are a direct consequence of chemical activity triggered by physical exertion - for example, people suffering from depression or anxiety are often ‘prescribed’ exercise. Brain chemicals released during exercise, such as serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and endorphins, are known to have strong effects on mood, helping reduce feelings of anxiety, stress and depression, while also helping to strengthen your immune system. Twenty different types of endorphin have been discovered in the nervous system, and the beta-endorphins secreted during exercise have the most powerful effect. Sometimes described as 'runners high', the release of beta-endorphins reduces pain (the reason why running becomes easier after about 20 minutes) and stimulates feelings of euphoria - which is why so many people feel invigorated and enthusiastic after exercise. Other psychological side effects of exercise include: Improved self-esteem and greater sense of self-reliance and self-confidence Improved mental alertness, perception and information processing Increased perceptions of acceptance by others Decreased overall feelings of stress and tension Reduced frustration with daily problems, and a more constructive response to disappointments and failures These psychological benefits can be just as important as the more obvious physical ones; most of us exercise in the first place because we are unhappy about something, whether it is that spare tyre, worries about general health, or just being sick of feeling tired and unfit. If you are feeling like a couch potato, or you are finding stress and worry is becoming a problem, get out there and exercise! The hardest part by far is that initial step, when it can feel like exercise is the last thing in the world that will cheer you up: try to remember that exercise is one of the very best ways do do just that.

If your friend likes you, he'd start acting differently but usually, if he makes a move to be your friend and he likes you, you can tell.

This is a difficult and challenging question and a proper answer would require years of experience. Cultural barriers depend on the culture of the provider and the patient, so there is no singular answer to the question. The best answer I have heard is to supersede the Golden Rule ("Treat others as you would want to be treated") with the "Platinum Rule" - Treat others as they wish to be treated. Like I said, discovering the specifics of this answer takes years of experience and depends on a lot of factors, the most basic being the cultures involved. Communication barriers often further complicate the situation.

Replication is involves repeating the essence of an earlier research study with different subjects and in different circumstances. So it is the "double check" of a study. For a goal of psychologists being able to generalize results no matter subjects or situation so the results are the same.

she has ocd. just a few of the types classified as perfectionism, body dysmorphic disorder, dermatillomania, bulimia. the suicidal thoughts, social anxiety, skin picking and scratching, mirror watching, and graphic images are symptoms along with the compulsive behaviors she exhibits throughout the movie. she is clearly in psychosis, which in ocd sufferers can be brought about by stress.

To formulate objectives is to decide what you want.

Neuropsychological test-- A test or assessment given to diagnose a brain disorder or disease.

There are many, many ways to drive yourself clinically insane. One way is to infect yourself with Treponema pallidum, the causative agent for Syphilis. Another way is to take mind-altering drugs over a long period of time, such as psilocybin, Baeocystin, lysergic acid diethylamide, or even methamphetamines. Yet another way is to intentionally be exposed to a known vector of rabies. Try going to a park and looking for animals that display odd behavior- that fox that's trying to do back flips off a bench could be a worthy candidate. Once infected, the rabies virus will make its way to your brain stem, and in a matter of weeks, you, TOO can be mentally insane! A final way is to dive for gold deep in the Amazon rain forest. One, you'll go insane because there isn't much there, and 2.), you'll go insane because of the high mercury levels in the water from the mercury used to separate silt from gold. BUT WAIT!! Is there a way that I can force myself over the edge without injuring myself with external means? YES! You Too can become insane in three easy steps! 1.) Study astrophysics, strange particle physics or the most dangerous, the math of infinity. 2.) Try to explain the workings of the universe or the levels of infinity by yourself. 3.) Sit back and (relax?) while your brain convinces itself that it is correct when it actually isn't. This easy Three Step Process can take a while to complete, as your brain needs time to ferment and fester on certain discreet ideas or theorems. BUT IT WORKS! Just read the following. Georg Cantor, notable German mathematician, attempted to discover an infinite set theory or something of the sort. He proved himself correct, then incorrect usually on a monthly basis. His certainty of his calculations then his inevitable proof of the opposite gradually led himself to insanity. Ludwig Boltzmann, Austrian physicist and mathematician, was driven insane by the following: S=K.log W. Yes, one of the greatest minds history succumbed to utter madness by an equation to determine amount of entropy in S. As a conclusion, the best way to drive oneself insane is to infect oneself with a mind-altering pathogen (Rabies, Syphilis, Prion etc.), take psychotoxic chemicals repeatedly (try to get some tainted with foreign chemicals- they might make you rip your face off because it feels to darn big), or try to explain the universe in a simple, yet elegant equation. I most definitely recommend the latter, seeing as the previous options will leave you depraved, quite silly, and ultimately dead and gone. And who knows? Maybe in the process of trying to go insane, you'll explain the universe. It's definitely worth a shot.

Personality traits are the ones that are enduring. They are how a person reacts to his or her environment and in social situations. But, because a person reacts to different situations in different ways, it's also important to recognise that behaviour is situational.

Psychoanalysts who are not MDs or DOs cannot prescribe. Psychiatrists can prescribe medicine (due to their four years of medical school training, followed by four years of psychiatry residency training, in both psychopharmacology and psychotherapy). Psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, psychologists and social workers do not have the medical training required to prescribe medications, order the necessary lab tests to monitor them, and order ancillary tests (CTs and MRIs when indicated, EEGs, etc.) as well as perform physical exams in the hospital setting, when necessary. That being said, there are two states, New Mexico and Louisiana, which allow for psychologists to prescribe psychotropic medications (after training in psychopharmacology) as long as they are under the supervision of a licensed physician.