# Why would ‘Professor Plagiarism’ make such outlandish claims? DR MAX PEMBERTON has been a psychiatrist for 20 years. Here he examines Jason Arday’s stories and says there’s one condition that could explain everything

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/why-would-professor-plagiarism-make-such-outlandish-claims-dr-max-pemberton-has-been-a-psychiatrist-for-20-years-here-he-examines-jason-ardays-stories-and-says-theres-one-condition-that-coul/
- Published: 2026-08-14T00:01:02+00:00
- Updated: 2026-08-24T04:17:26+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16050941/Professor-Plagiarism-psychiatrist-claims-Jason-Arday-condition-DR-MAX.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: Americas, World

## Key points

- Psychiatrist analyses Cambridge professor Jason Arday's disputed claims and resignation.
- Explains "pseudologia fantastica", elaborate self-serving lies not driven by material gain.
- Arday denies lying; investigations into his qualifications remain ongoing.

## Summary

Dr Max Pemberton, a psychiatrist of 20 years' experience, examines why Cambridge professor Jason Arday might have made a series of outlandish claims about his academic career, endurance feats and childhood, after Arday resigned last week following a university investigation into his qualifications. Arday denies being a liar and has offered explanations for the claims, while a separate plagiarism inquiry by Liverpool John Moores University into his 2015 doctorate was not upheld; nothing has been proven against him and investigations remain open. Pemberton stresses he has never met Arday, but argues the case fits a recognisable psychiatric pattern worth exploring.

Pemberton draws on the 19th-century term "pseudologia fantastica", coined in the 1890s, to describe elaborate, sustained lies built around a fantasised self-image rather than pursued for material gain, even though Arday's story reportedly brought him a professorial chair, honorary doctorates and a claimed £1.4million book deal. He explains that such individuals are typically charming but fragile, often half-believe their own fabrications, and construct narratives of overcoming suffering rather than simple boasts, since these are less likely to provoke envy or suspicion. He also links the behaviour to the reconstructive nature of memory, suggesting that repeated retelling can make an invented story feel like a genuine memory over time.

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