Patients with this disorder can have rapidly shifting emotions and a decreased ability to recognize the emotions of others. They often fail to see their own personal situation realistically, instead dramatizing and exaggerating their difficulties. People diagnosed with HPD may be dramatic. Associated features include egocentrism, self-indulgence, continuous longing for appreciation, and persistent manipulative behavior to achieve their own wants. They very often exhibit pervasive and persistent sexually provocative behavior, express strong emotions with an impressionistic style, and can be easily influenced by others. People with HPD have a high desire for attention, make loud and inappropriate appearances, exaggerate their behaviors and emotions, and crave stimulation. HPD lies in the dramatic cluster of personality disorders, also known as the Cluster B. People diagnosed with the disorder are said to be lively, dramatic, vivacious, enthusiastic, extroverted and flirtatious. Histrionic personality disorder ( HPD) is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as a personality disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive attention-seeking behaviors, usually beginning in early adulthood, including inappropriate seduction and an excessive desire for approval. Other personality disorders, substance abuse disorders, and personality change due to another medical conditionįunctional analytic psychotherapy, functional ideographic assessment template, and coding client and therapist behaviors Highly responsive noradrenergic systems, genetics, authoritarian parenting Symptoms typically do not fully develop until the age of 15 Persistent attention seeking, dramatic behavior, rapidly shifting and shallow emotions, sexually provocative behavior, undetailed style of speech, and a tendency to consider relationships more intimate than they actually are. Think of a child who misbehaves or an intimate partner who does something annoying.Medical condition Histrionic personality disorderĭramatic behavior is a key marker of histrionic personality disorder

We often give more attention to people when they are doing problematic behaviors than when they are engaged in prosocial or beneficial behavior. Praising (or giving attention) to honesty and ignoring the dishonesty would be referred to as differential reinforcement of other behaviors (DROs)-a technique used in behavioral therapies. If lies are being reinforced by attention, then therapists (and others in relationships) could reinforce truth-telling behavior and do their best to not give attention to the lies.

Telling people that you have driven 400 miles per hour to evade police and that you have jumped one mile from a helicopter into a pool of alligators and sharks to save a friend are things that would garner attention from others (see Gogineni & Newmark, 2014). For example, attention gained from telling lies could increase lying behaviors. Essentially, pathological liars could examine their beliefs related to telling lies and identify consequences that reinforce lying. Further, some research has indicated some success with using CBT to decrease lie-telling behavior and increase mood. Judith Beck has written about the use of CBT and its effectiveness to treat a wide variety of psychopathologies. One study we conducted with licensed psychologists found that most of the practitioners indicated cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as a treatment for pathological lying. In our book, we dedicate an entire chapter to treatment recommendations. However, there are some treatment considerations and recommendations for pathological lying.

Pathological liar traits