A 58-year-old man with a history of heavy alcohol use is asked what he did over the weekend. He answers instantly and confidently that he attended his daughter's graduation — but she graduated three years ago and was not visiting this weekend. He shows no hesitation and becomes mildly irritated when this is gently questioned. Before revealing the answer: what is happening here, and what feature of his response would make you doubt this was simply a lie?
This is confabulation. The absence of distress or hesitation, and his confident, unguarded delivery, are the hallmark features that separate it from lying — there is no sign of the wariness or careful construction that usually accompanies a deliberate deception, because as far as he is concerned, the account is simply true.
References
- Casey, P. & Kelly, B. (2019). Fish's Clinical Psychopathology, 4th ed. Ch. 5, 'Disorders of Memory'.