Experimental Evidence Links Children’s Lying With Behaviour Problems

What is it about?

This study examined whether children who lie to benefit themselves also tend to show more behaviour problem symptoms. Previous research had found links between children’s lying and behaviours such as aggression and delinquency, but much of that research relied on parents or teachers reporting how often children lie. Because adults may not always know when children are lying, the researchers used an experimental task to assess children’s tendency to lie for a personal reward. The study included 275 children between 6 and 12 years old. Children played a number-guessing game in which they could earn rewards by reporting that a secretly chosen number matched the number rolled on a die. If children answered truthfully, they should report about one match across the six trials. Reporting more matches than expected therefore provided a measure of children’s tendency to lie for a personal reward. Teachers also rated each child’s behaviour problem symptoms. Children who reported more matches in the game tended to have more behaviour problem symptoms. This relationship also became stronger with age. Lying was not significantly related to behaviour problem symptoms among 6- to 7-year-olds, but the relationship was significant among both 8- to 9-year-olds and 10- to 11-year-olds. Children also became less likely to lie for a personal reward as they got older.

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Photo by Ryan Collins on Unsplash

Photo by Ryan Collins on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Lying is a normal part of development, particularly in younger children, and the ability to lie is associated with developing cognitive skills. However, children generally become less likely to tell antisocial lies as they get older. This study suggests that continuing to lie relatively frequently for personal benefit in later childhood may be associated with other behaviour problem symptoms. The study is also important because it assessed children’s lying using an experimental task rather than relying only on reports from parents or teachers. The findings therefore provide additional evidence that children’s actual tendency to lie for personal reward is associated with behaviour problem symptoms. However, the study cannot show that lying causes behaviour problems, or that behaviour problems cause lying. The authors note that future longitudinal research is needed to understand why the two are related and whether factors such as self-control help explain this connection.