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Emergence of lying in very young children

Angela D Evans1, Kang Lee

  • 1Department of Psychology.

Developmental Psychology
|January 9, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Very young children, even at 2 years old, spontaneously lie when tempted. Lying ability increases with age, but young children struggle to maintain their lies.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Lying is a common human behavior, with children developing deception skills around 42 months.
  • Limited research exists on spontaneous lying in very young children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the emergence of spontaneous lying in 2- to 3-year-old children.
  • To examine the relationship between age, executive functioning, and lying behavior.

Main Methods:

  • Sixty-five children aged 2-3 years were instructed not to peek at a toy.
  • Children who peeked were questioned about their actions, including follow-up questions to assess lie maintenance.
  • Executive functioning skills were assessed and correlated with lying tendencies.

Main Results:

  • 80% of children peeked at the forbidden toy.
  • Younger children (2-year-olds) were more likely to confess, while older children (3-year-olds) were more likely to lie.
  • Most children failed to consistently maintain their lies when questioned further.
  • Executive functioning skills significantly predicted the likelihood of lying.

Conclusions:

  • Children begin to exhibit lying behavior at a very young age.
  • Lying ability and consistency improve with age and are linked to executive functions.

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