Talk:Exaggeration

Expert review
I feel the section of pathologies and contexts would benefit from review by an expert in psychology. Some questions that I'd like to see addressed are: Joja lozzo  19:53, 7 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Is an article about the general term, exaggeration, the right place to be discussing psychological pathologies?
 * If so,
 * Is this a good name for the section?
 * Have we covered both the normal and abnormal psychological aspects of exaggeration well enough?
 * Does the order of the list correspond to a natural prioritization from the field of psychology?


 * To answer a few of your questions:


 * 1) a huge number of Wiki psychology articles need major work, maybe about 30% have zero citations and maybe about 20% are short in citations. There is also a big shortage of psychology experts available to improve them
 * 2) like hundreds of other Wiki psychology articles this one could do with being reviewed by an expert but there could be a long wait.
 * 3) I originally was going to do an "exaggeration (psychology)" article until i realised that the existing "exaggeration" redirect to "hyperbole" was inadequate so i decided on a general "exaggeration" article.
 * 4) the pathologies and contexts list is roughly listed in a logical sequence but there are obviously other ways of doing it.
 * 5) it is amazing that it has taken so long for an article on exaggeration to be done.
 * --Penbat (talk) 20:11, 7 March 2010 (UTC)


 * I applaud your initiative. Thank you! Joja  lozzo  22:07, 7 March 2010 (UTC)


 * Instead of waiting indefinitely for an expert I took a crack at it. Joja  lozzo  02:21, 8 March 2010 (UTC)


 * The priority given to manipulation and pathology in this article is not balanced or credible. This is a descriptive term for mostly benign behavior. I reorganized a few paragraphs and deleted material that was out of context and overextended. The article needs further simplification and better context. → Wiki-psyc (talk) 00:25, 21 May 2015 (UTC)

Edits by User:Jojalozzo here and in minimisation (psychology)
See Talk:Minimisation_(psychology) section "Edits_by_User:Jojalozzo_here_and_in_exaggeration" --Penbat (talk) 21:15, 25 March 2010 (UTC)

Image of statues in totalitarian states
I removed an image of Korean statues that had a caption about their use in totalitarian states without any sources and without clearly linking it to exaggeration. It appeared to be pushing a POV rather than illustrating a point in the text. Joja lozzo  21:11, 1 December 2012 (UTC)

Weird quotation
I just edited the following passage for consistent punctuation:

In depression, exaggerated all-or-nothing thinking can form a self-reinforcing cycle: these thoughts might be called emotional amplifiers because, as they go around and around, they become more intense. Here are some typical all-or-nothing thoughts:
 * my efforts are either a success or they are an abject failure
 * I am/other people are either all good or all bad
 * if you're not with us, you're against us

Then I noticed that what appeared to be a mismatched trailing single quote was perhaps a long quotation beginning after the colon with the words 'these thoughts'.

If this really is a long quotation, it should either be made far more obvious, or reworked in original language. &mdash; MaxEnt 04:18, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

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"Everyday and psycho-pathological contexts" Section
Half of the article is dedicated to an aimlessly wandering, often grammatically incorrect, narrative that attempts to explain the role of "exaggeration" in psychopathy. Many of the paragraphs string together valid, but "out of context" ideas into a baffling narrative. This article is about exaggerated representations (noun). While the term appears on 25 different pages of the DSM, its used mostly as an adjective. It is used as a noun six times and that is not well represented in this article or provided with any meaningful perspective. My suggestion is to mention the conditions where it appears as a noun which are: Substance related and addictive disorders, Acute stress disorder, Post traumatic stress disorder, Avoidant personality disorder, Factitious disorder/malingering, and Narcissistic personality disorder. Nothing else is needed. Wiki-psyc (talk) 02:08, 29 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Reaction formation (German: Reaktionsbildung) is believed to be a defense mechanism in which emotions and impulses which are anxiety-producing or perceived to be unacceptable are mastered by exaggeration of the directly opposing tendency.
 * Decatastrophizing or decatastrophization is a cognitive restructuring technique to treat cognitive distortions, such as magnification and catastrophizing, commonly seen in psychological disorders like anxiety and psychosis.

Everyday and psycho-pathological contexts
Contexts of exaggeration include:

Manipulation
The boasting and bragging by arrogant or manipulative people has been sent up on stage since the first appearance of the alazon – 'a stock character in Greek comedy'. Inflated praise in the form of flattery and puffery has a similarly lengthy history.

Amplifying achievements, obstacles and problems to seek attention is an everyday occurrence, as 'in exaggerating what one feels by magnifying the emotional expression: this is the ploy used by the six-year-old who dramatically twists her face into a pathetic frown, lips quivering, as she runs to complain to her mother about being teased'.

Exaggerating is also a type of deception, as well as a means of malingering – magnifying small injuries or discomforts as an excuse to avoid responsibilities.

Cognitive distortions
Cognitive behavioral therapy views magnification (as opposed to minimization) as unconscious, unrealistic mental processing or cognitive distortion, which can take the forms of probability overestimation, or of catastrophizing (also known as terriblizing or awfulizing). This is a form of "making a big deal out of nothing", and may be reactive or predictive. "Whereas probability overestimation refers to exaggerating the 'likelihood' of an event, catastrophizing refers to exaggerating the 'importance' of the event'. Closely related 'is overgeneralizing, where one takes a single negative event and see it as a never-ending pattern of defeat'.

Another form of cognitive exaggeration is inflation of the difficulty of achieving a goal after attaining it, possibly to improve self-esteem.

In depression, exaggerated all-or-nothing thinking can form a self-reinforcing cycle: these thoughts might be called emotional amplifiers because, as they go around and around, they become more intense. Here are some typical all-or-nothing thoughts:
 * my efforts are either a success or they are an abject failure
 * I am/other people are either all good or all bad
 * if you're not with us, you're against us

Reaction formation
Reaction formation (Reaktionsbildung) is believed to be a defense mechanism in which emotions and impulses which are anxiety-producing or perceived to be unacceptable are mastered by exaggeration of the directly opposing tendency.

Decatastrophizing
In cognitive therapy, decatastrophizing or decatastrophization is a cognitive restructuring technique to treat cognitive distortions, such as magnification and catastrophizing, commonly seen in psychological disorders like anxiety and psychosis.

Pathology
Psychoanalysis considered that neurotic exaggerations were the products of displacement – overvaluations for example being used to maintain a repression elsewhere. Thus a conflict over ambivalence may be resolved by means of exaggerating one's love for a person so as to keep an unconscious hatred in further check.

The grandiose sense of self-importance observed in narcissists also uses exaggeration to thwart any recognition of a moderate fallibility, seeing any departure from complete success as total and hopeless failure.

"Self-dramatization, theatricality, and exaggerated expression of emotion" can be observed in those with histrionic personality disorder and other Cluster B personality disorders; while "catastrophizing" is associated with depressive, neurotic or paranoid behavior – focusing on the worst possible outcome, however unlikely, or thinking that a situation is unbearable or impossible when it is really just uncomfortable.

Münchausen syndrome by proxy
Münchausen syndrome by proxy is a controversial term for a behavior pattern in which a caregiver deliberately exaggerates, fabricates, or induces physical, psychological, behavioral, or mental health problems in those who are in their care.


 * Masterson, J; Dunworth, R; Williams, N Extreme illness exaggeration in pediatric patients: A variant of Munchausen's by Proxy?. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. Vol 58(2), Apr 1988, 188–195.
 * McNicholas, F Slonims, V & Cass H Exaggeration of Symptoms or Psychiatric Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy? Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2003 Volume 5 Issue 2, Pages 69 – 75
 * Clayer, JR; Bookless, C; Ross, MW Neurosis and conscious symptom exaggeration: Its differentiation by the illness behaviour questionnaire Journal of Psychosomatic Research Volume 28, Issue 3, 1984, Pages 237–241
 * Mittenberg, W; Patton, C; Canyock, EM; Condit, DC Base rates of malingering and symptom exaggeration. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology. Vol 24(8), Dec 2002, 1094–1102.
 * Mueller, J Simplicity and spook: Terrorism and the dynamics of threat exaggeration International Studies Perspectives, 2005

Everyday and psycho-pathological contexts
Contexts of exaggeration include:

Manipulation
The boasting and bragging by arrogant or manipulative people has been sent up on stage since the first appearance of the alazon – 'a stock character in Greek comedy'. Inflated praise in the form of flattery and puffery has a similarly lengthy history.

Amplifying achievements, obstacles and problems to seek attention is an everyday occurrence, as 'in exaggerating what one feels by magnifying the emotional expression: this is the ploy used by the six-year-old who dramatically twists her face into a pathetic frown, lips quivering, as she runs to complain to her mother about being teased'.

Exaggerating is also a type of deception, as well as a means of malingering – magnifying small injuries or discomforts as an excuse to avoid responsibilities.

Cognitive distortions
Cognitive behavioral therapy views magnification (as opposed to minimization) as unconscious, unrealistic mental processing or cognitive distortion, which can take the forms of probability overestimation, or of catastrophizing (also known as terriblizing or awfulizing). This is a form of "making a big deal out of nothing", and may be reactive or predictive. "Whereas probability overestimation refers to exaggerating the 'likelihood' of an event, catastrophizing refers to exaggerating the 'importance' of the event'. Closely related 'is overgeneralizing, where one takes a single negative event and see it as a never-ending pattern of defeat'.

Another form of cognitive exaggeration is inflation of the difficulty of achieving a goal after attaining it, possibly to improve self-esteem.

In depression, exaggerated all-or-nothing thinking can form a self-reinforcing cycle: these thoughts might be called emotional amplifiers because, as they go around and around, they become more intense. Here are some typical all-or-nothing thoughts:
 * my efforts are either a success or they are an abject failure
 * I am/other people are either all good or all bad
 * if you're not with us, you're against us

Reaction formation
Reaction formation (Reaktionsbildung) is believed to be a defense mechanism in which emotions and impulses which are anxiety-producing or perceived to be unacceptable are mastered by exaggeration of the directly opposing tendency.

Decatastrophizing
In cognitive therapy, decatastrophizing or decatastrophization is a cognitive restructuring technique to treat cognitive distortions, such as magnification and catastrophizing, commonly seen in psychological disorders like anxiety and psychosis.

Pathology
Psychoanalysis considered that neurotic exaggerations were the products of displacement – overvaluations for example being used to maintain a repression elsewhere. Thus a conflict over ambivalence may be resolved by means of exaggerating one's love for a person so as to keep an unconscious hatred in further check.

The grandiose sense of self-importance observed in narcissists also uses exaggeration to thwart any recognition of a moderate fallibility, seeing any departure from complete success as total and hopeless failure.

"Self-dramatization, theatricality, and exaggerated expression of emotion" can be observed in those with histrionic personality disorder and other Cluster B personality disorders; while "catastrophizing" is associated with depressive, neurotic or paranoid behavior – focusing on the worst possible outcome, however unlikely, or thinking that a situation is unbearable or impossible when it is really just uncomfortable.

Münchausen syndrome by proxy
Münchausen syndrome by proxy is a controversial term for a behavior pattern in which a caregiver deliberately exaggerates, fabricates, or induces physical, psychological, behavioral, or mental health problems in those who are in their care.


 * Masterson, J; Dunworth, R; Williams, N Extreme illness exaggeration in pediatric patients: A variant of Munchausen's by Proxy?. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. Vol 58(2), Apr 1988, 188–195.
 * McNicholas, F Slonims, V & Cass H Exaggeration of Symptoms or Psychiatric Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy? Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2003 Volume 5 Issue 2, Pages 69 – 75
 * Clayer, JR; Bookless, C; Ross, MW Neurosis and conscious symptom exaggeration: Its differentiation by the illness behaviour questionnaire Journal of Psychosomatic Research Volume 28, Issue 3, 1984, Pages 237–241
 * Mittenberg, W; Patton, C; Canyock, EM; Condit, DC Base rates of malingering and symptom exaggeration. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology. Vol 24(8), Dec 2002, 1094–1102.
 * Mueller, J Simplicity and spook: Terrorism and the dynamics of threat exaggeration International Studies Perspectives, 2005