Beware Kolkata! Your nose is growing

KOLKATA: Ever wondered why someone close to you lies without even batting an eyelid? A study on habitual liars draws comparisons between students of Louisiana State University and educated Kolkatans.
Some 10 per cent of those in Louisiana have been found to be habitual liars, while in the city the figure is likely to be much higher.
A habitual liar can fib about anything.He may repeatedly make a promise and forget it conveniently.
While respondents at Louisiana State University were clear in their perception to queries, in Kolkata, answers to similar queries were diametrically opposite.
"Here people find it difficult to accept that they don't know.
“They don't respond truthfully because of an image perception," said Ranjit Basu, director of the Indian Institute of Bio-Behavioral Sciences, which is conducting the study.
He blames it on the local population's "racial inferiority complex".
"Social perceptions here are different from the US and Western Europe. A person's social position depends on his image and associations. To build that image, they often need to lie about themselves. Socio-cultural factors are responsible for such behaviour."
Psychologists divide liars into three categories. "A pathological liar has a psychopathological problem, which makes him tell lies. It's an illness.
“Then there are the habitual liars. The third category is of people who need to tell lies because of some specific circumstances, where truth can cause adverse reactions," Basu said.
"The first and third varieties are unavoidable. It's the second category which is of concern."
The institute's study is on habitual liars. "Habitual liars start fibbing from their childhood. Children often lie about their parents and family backgrounds. This habit stays even when they become adults and reach a respectable position."
Instances are galore of innocuous lies which indicate a behaviour pattern, although they do no real harm. For habitual liars, this is a way of getting an ego massage.
In the first leg of the research carried out in Louisiana, some students — from a wide age group — were given questionnaires and ratings made on the basis of responses.
The next part of the study is being conducted in the city, where a section of the educated class is being asked to fill the questionnaire.
"The findings in the USA are a pointer to the situation there. So far, what we've got here, is alarming but unless the entire study is complete the figures can't be revealed," he said.
Like the puppet hero Pinocchio, whose nose grew everytime he lied, Kolkatans may end up with the proverbial long nose.