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Updated: Aug 8, 2026
07:36
An Experimental Analysis of Children's Ability to Provide a False Report about a Crime
Published on: May 3, 2016
Detecting lies in children and adults
Robin S Edelstein1, Tanya L Luten, Paul Ekman
1Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, USA. ggoodman@ucdavis.edu
Law and Human Behavior
|May 27, 2006
Summary
Detecting deception is harder in adults than children. Observers accurately identified children's lies but showed a bias toward believing adults' statements, impacting lie detection accuracy.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Forensic Science
- Child Development
Background:
- Assessing truthfulness is crucial in legal and developmental contexts.
- Previous research indicates variability in lie detection accuracy across different age groups.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare observers' accuracy in detecting lies and truths in children versus adults.
- To investigate potential biases in judging the veracity of statements made by children and adults.
- To explore individual differences in lie detection abilities.
Main Methods:
- Adult participants viewed videotaped interviews of children and adults.
- Participants indicated whether the individuals in the videos were lying or telling the truth.
- Statements concerned an alleged inappropriate touch by a research assistant.
Main Results:
- Children's lies were detected more accurately than adults' lies.
- Adults' truthful statements were identified more accurately than children's truthful statements.
- Observers exhibited a bias to perceive adults' statements as truthful, but not children's.
Conclusions:
- Lie detection accuracy differs between children and adults, with unique challenges for each.
- Observer biases can influence judgments of truthfulness, particularly for adults.
- Individual differences in lie detection skills are stable across age groups, suggesting potential for training.
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