A distinctive feature of human cognition is the tendency for cooperation, which has been linked with the phenomenon of shared intentionality (which includes joint goals and joint attention). The development of human cooperation gave birth, in Homo sapiens, to linguistic communicative cooperation. A key aspect of social cooperation and linguistic communication concerns the commitment, on the part of communicators, to inform others truthfully and accurately (Tattersall Reference Tattersall2012).

Information is true in the sense that one should speak independently of their own selfish interests, allowing information to be of benefit to all interlocutors. In addition, human social cooperation is linked with other typical features of human cognition, such as theory of mind (ToM: the ability to attribute mental states such as beliefs, desires, intents, and knowledge to others), and the development of beliefs and social norms related to normative self-monitoring, which allows individuals to operate in accordance with generic group norms in order to protect their public reputation and be considered cooperative group members (Tomasello Reference Tomasello2008).

Given that humans can only live within social and cultural groups, whose numeric entities have universal characteristics (Dunbar Reference Dunbar1993; Reference Dunbar1997), social evaluation of an individual from other members of the group is vital. For this reason, from early childhood children are concerned with what others think of them (Haun & Tomasello Reference Haun and Tomasello2011). In fact, humans tend to show signs of guilt and shame when their passions or their behaviors, deemed illicit under the rules of the group, are made public (Tomasello Reference Tomasello2016).

In their thorough review, Mahr & Csibra (M&C) argue that episodic memory (memory of events and autonoesis) is connected to the ability to ground veridical beliefs about the past. Episodic memory is then connected to the experience of truthful witness, which is one of the most meaningful aspects of language communication. Language, in fact, has been considered to be a suitable system to exchange complex, semantic information, more than a communication system (Fabbro et al. Reference Fabbro, Aglioti, Bergamasco, Clarici and Panksepp2015; Jerison Reference Jerison1973; Reference Jerison and Ramachandran2002). Thus, it is likely that in hunter-gatherer communities, in which Homo sapiens evolved, the testimony of past experiences constituted a privileged way of transmitting information – for instance, concerning tools and poisons (Lee & Daly Reference Lee and Daly1999).

The argumentations proposed by M&C seem confirmed by previous studies that have investigated cognition and behavior in children and adult patients exhibiting antisocial behavior such as those observed in conduct disorder (CD) or antisocial personality disorder (APD). It has indeed been reported that these individuals show repeated violations of rules, deceitful behavior, aggressive and destructive behavior, and, in particular, a tendency for antisocial lying (i.e., deception for personal gain) and minimizing antisocial behavior (Holmqvist Reference Holmqvist2008; Iñiguez et al. Reference Iñiguez, Govezensky, Dunbar, Kaski and Barrio2014; Jiang et al. Reference Jiang, Liu, Liao, Ma, Rong, Tang and Wang2013; Pasion et al. Reference Pasion, Fernandes, Pereira and Barbosa2017; Searight et al. Reference Searight, Rottnek and Abby2001; Talwar & Crossman Reference Talwar and Crossman2011). Despite being able to identify others' thoughts, desires, and beliefs, subjects with antisocial behavior, such as those documented in CD and APD, may demonstrate a poor ability to understand emotions of others and to recognize inner cognitive beliefs and moral rules (so-called theory of nasty minds; Happe & Frith Reference Happe and Frith1996; Lonigro et al. Reference Lonigro, Laghi, Baiocco and Baumgartner2014). Previous studies on the organization of memory and consciousness in patients with CD, APD, or with syndromes with which they share some similarities – such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), major depression, and borderline personality disorder – have confirmed the presence of deficits in episodic memory and consciousness (Fertuck et al. Reference Fertuck, Lenzenweger, Clarkin, Hoermann and Stanley2006a; Reference Fertuck, Marsano-Jozefowicz, Stanley, Tryon, Oquendo, Mann and Keilp2006b; Holmqvist Reference Holmqvist2008; Krauel et al. Reference Krauel, Duezel, Hinrichs, Santel, Rellum and Baving2007; Quinlan & Brown Reference Quinlan and Brown2003; Söderlund et al. Reference Söderlund, Kumar, Flint, Moscovitch, Daskalakis, Herrmann and Levine2014).

There is a long tradition of studies about how unethical behavior changes beliefs (e.g., the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance). Recently, a series of experiments has been conducted to evaluate the effects of unethical actions on episodic memory. It was shown that episodic memory of unethical actions becomes less accessible, vivid, and clear over the time relative to memories of ethical actions or other types of behaviors (“unethical amnesia”; Kouchaki & Gino Reference Kouchaki and Gino2016). Although the mechanisms through which episodic memories of people's unethical acts become obfuscated over time still remain to be fully clarified, it has been proposed that this obfuscation occurs through motivated retrieval-suppression mechanisms that operate to make unwelcome memories of unethical acts less accessible and vivid; this would also contribute to maintenance of one's acceptable self-image (Anderson & Hanslmayr Reference Anderson and Hanslmayr2014; Freud Reference Freud1937; Goleman Reference Goleman1985; Kouchaki & Gino Reference Kouchaki and Gino2016).

The degree of truth and congruence of testimonies may depend on the presence or absence of lies. Moreover, many studies have been conducted on the reconstructive nature of episodic memory (Hassabis & Maguire Reference Hassabis and Maguire2009; Schacter Reference Schacter1996) and on the possible limitations of verbal testimony (Michaelian 2016a; Schacter Reference Schacter2001). Also, what is worth noting is the inherent characteristic of the human mind to create stories and theories up to the narration of one's life (autobiographical memory; Deutsch Reference Deutsch1997; Gazzaniga Reference Gazzaniga2011; Gottschall Reference Gottschall2012). This typical tendency of the linguistic mind, organized in the left cerebral hemisphere (Wolford et al. Reference Wolford, Miller and Gazzaniga2000), has given great opportunities to human beings (including the development of religion and literature), but it is a tendency that must be controlled by means of a critical attitude, which humans have slowly learned to develop within the realm of philosophical and scientific thought (Kahneman Reference Kahneman2011; Smolin Reference Smolin2006; Reference Smolin2013).