Little Liars: Development of Verbal Deception in Children

Abstract

Lying is common among adults and a more complex issue in children. In this article, I review two decades of empirical evidence about lying in children from the perspective of speech act theory. Children begin to tell lies in the preschool years for anti- and prosocial purposes, and their tendency to lie changes as a function of age and the type of lies being told. In addition, children's ability to tell convincing lies improves with age. In the article, I highlight the central roles that children's understanding of mental states and social conventions play in the development of lying. I also identify areas for research to be done to develop a more comprehensive picture of the typical and atypical developmental courses of verbal deception in children.

Figure 1

A schematic model of the speech act perspective of lying. Both the intentionality and conventionality components play an important role in lying in a specific social context within a specific culture. Understandably, in a different social context of the same culture or the same social context in a different culture, both components may affect lying differently.

Figure 2

Age-related changes in lying to conceal one’s own transgression. Data derived from the following studies using similar temptation resistance paradigms: Evans and Lee (2011, under review), Lewis et al. (1989), Li et al. (2011), Polak and Harris (1999), and Talwar and Lee (2002a, 2008a, 2011).

Figure 3

Age-related changes in children’s attempts at ensuring consistencies between their initial lie and subsequent statements. Data derived from the following studies that asked similar follow-up questions: Evans and Lee (under review), Evans et al. (2011), Polak and Harris (1999), and Talwar and Lee (2002a, 2011).