Children, Development of Deception in

Academic investigations of children's ability deceive and lie dates back to the late 1800s and early 1900s, with scholars such as Charles Darwin and Jean Piaget noting instances of lying in children as young as 2.5 years old. Research in the last 20 years indicates that although a child as young as 3 years of age may be able to recognize deceitful behaviors, the ability to use lying and deception strategically emerges more clearly at ages 4 and 5. Development continues throughout childhood and adolescence, as does the ability to differentiate prosocial from antisocial lying. These developments are typically tied to children's moral development, theory of mind, and executive functioning. In addition, recent research indicates that lying is both culturally and developmentally universal.

Although there are varying definitions of deception and lying in the literature on children's development of these skills, deception is generally held to be the intentional communication of something known to be untrue in the attempt to deceive another person and induce a false belief. These deceptions can be verbal or nonverbal, and can include role-playing and magic tricks and omission of relevant information. Lying is typically defined more narrowly as the use of knowingly false statements or assertions. Thus, lies are by default deception, but not all deception is lying.

Children are taught that deception is a moral issue: Lying is bad and honesty is a virtue. Society is replete with narratives and parables to support the virtue of veracity, from the story of George Washington and the cherry tree to Peter and the Wolf. Honest people are seen as heroes and role models, whereas chronic liars are seen as untrustworthy. Research indicates that lying reduces credibility and damages personal and social relationships. Chronic liars are also seen as developmentally delayed and socially maladjusted.