Detection of Deception in Children

Children's Deception

Considerable research has been done on children's unintentional false reports due to repeated or suggestive questioning, children's memory of events, and children's ability to distinguish fact from fantasy. Less attention, however, has been given to children's intentional and deliberate false reports—that is, reports that the individual knows are untrue yet are made with the deliberate purpose of deceiving others. Children may conceal or fabricate a report about an alleged event at the behest of an adult or because they are fearful of the effects their truthful testimony might have, such as upsetting or disappointing loved ones.

Generally, children lie for the same reasons as adults: to avoid punishment or negative consequences, for personal gain, to protect one's self-esteem, to conform to social conventions of politeness, or to spare another's feelings. Children's lie-telling behavior emerges in the preschool years, with lies to escape punishment among the first types of lies children tell. Nevertheless, young children's ability to deceive is not very good. Their first lies tend to be false denials or short verbal responses (e.g., “No, I didn't do it”). In the school-age years, children become better able to elaborate and maintain their lies over extended periods. Some evidence exists to suggest that children's lie-telling abilities are related to their increased cognitive understanding of others' mental states and their inhibitory control. Furthermore, as children become older, they may naturally lie for a range of motivations. Deciding to lie requires an analysis of the costs and benefits of telling the truth versus lying. Schoolage children will lie for another (e.g., a parent) when they perceive there are negative consequences for the other and low costs to their self-interest. In circumstances where the consequences of telling the truth might be very negative, children may be more inclined [Page 213]to lie as a tactical strategy in order to avoid those consequences. Moreover, some research suggests that when children are in hostile environments, where they perceive that there are similar negative outcomes whether they are caught in a lie or telling the truth, children are more likely to lie and to be convincing liars, even at a young age.

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