Characteristics of Patients with High Lie Scores in a Personality Test

BACKGROUND: It is reported that persons with high Lie score (L score) of a personality test are aggressively self-confident and are also related to depression or schizophrenia In this study, we examined the characteristics of patients with high L scores on the Maudsley Personality Inventory (MPI) and examined the significance of the L score. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We collected the data of 10789 subjects and examined the relationship between L score or the number of characteristic biased persons and the parameters of age, sex, education level, occupation, and degree of pain. Furthermore, we examined the changes in extraversion–introversion (E score), neuroticism (N score), and L scores at approximately 1 year after surgery in 1711 patients who underwent surgery at our university hospital or affiliated hospitals. RESULTS: L score was significantly higher among persons with a high degree of pain, and ratio of the characteristic biased persons in L score was significantly high among persons in their 40s to 60s, healthcare professionals and those with a high degree of pain. Moreover, L score scarcely changed between before and after surgery when compared with E score and N score. CONCLUSION: L score is not greatly influenced by an individual's state of mind or situation at different times, and may indicate the personality traits proper to the person. It is shown that L score may indicate the personality trait characteristics of persons who want to make themselves look good in the eyes of other.