Why do children lie? Is this normal or should I be worried?

Everyone knows the kid who cheats at Monopoly or backyard cricket. They may have even cheated on a test at school.

If you notice your own child doing this, you may worry that they are headed for a life of crime.

But from a development point of view deception usually not a cause for concern in children.

What is deception?

Cheating occurs when a child behaves dishonestly to gain an unfair advantage. They may pretend to roll a six, peek at others’ cards, miscount points in a sports game, or use video game modifications to skip levels.

Despite the best efforts of parents and teachers, cheating is very common. IN one experimentFive-year-old children were asked not to look into the box while the experimenter left the room. Almost everyone looked in and most then denied that they had done it.

Sign of development

ability to deceive may signal new skills, including understanding other people’s thoughts.

To deceive effectively, we need to think about what someone else is thinking. Then we need to trick them into believing in a different reality. These cognitive skills appear only in preschool age, and only in the elementary grades can children successfully maintain a false story over time.

Cheating at school

As children get older, they may become more cautious about cheating in general, but they also begin to cheat at school.

In a study conducted in the USA, more than three out of four high school students reported cheating at school at least once in the past year.

Common methods included sharing one’s work with others, receiving answers to tests in advance, plagiarizing from the Internet, and collaborating when not intended.

Students were more likely to consider cheating acceptable when helping a peer or when they could rationalize prosocial behavior (e.g. they ran out of time and had to cheat because they were caring for a family member).

Temptation matters

Like adults, children are more likely to cheat when the temptation is stronger. IN one studyChildren aged seven to ten were more likely to cheat at dice if they could win a bigger prize.

Children and teens also report that they are more likely to cheat to avoid negative consequences. Back in 1932, a US school principal M. A. Steiner wrote about how too much work encourages students to cheat. In a 2008 study the students themselves reported cheating in school because they were not interested in the material or were pressured to complete assignments.

Although temptation encourages deception, the risk of getting caught can encourage honesty. Children should weigh the benefits of cheating versus the risk of getting caught.

As children get older, they may also think about how cheating affects them. feeling. For example, “It is important to me to be a good person, so I will not cheat.”

Do boys cheat more often than girls?

Some children are more likely to cheat than others. For example, in a 2019 study in which baby rolls six pack could win them prizes, boys cheated more than girls. Boys and girls also had different attitudes toward cheating: girls were more likely to cheat to avoid losses, while boys were equally motivated by losses and gains.

Social skills also matter. A 2003 US study found second graders who were rejected by their peers. more likely deceive board games— even playing with new kids they’ve never met before. Perhaps such children are not so good at regulating their emotions and behavior.

Teenagers with reduction of self-restraint and are more tolerant of rule violations, more likely to accept academic dishonesty, like those who misbehave in class.

How can adults prevent cheating?

Although fraud is common, it can become increasingly problematic for children and teens as the stakes become higher. Research with Chinese students in eighth grade showed that those who cheated on their own test were less likely to learn the correct answer later.

Here are four things parents and teachers can do to prevent cheating.

1. Have an open conversation: Talk openly and compassionately about why cheating is a bad idea (for example, “it ruins your friends’ fun”). Research shows children And teenagers those who promised the experimenters not to cheat at the game were less likely to do so. But children who is afraid when getting into trouble, they are less likely to tell the truth.

2. Don’t put too much pressure on results: When it comes to schooluse language related to learning rather than performance (“just try your best, that’s all you can do”). Research shows high competitive academic environment make fraud more likely because the rewards of success and the risks of failure are increased.

3. Be positive about your child’s character: In one studyPreschoolers were assigned to one of two groups. In the “good reputation” group, children were told: “I know the kids in your class, and they told me that you are a good kid.” In the other group, the children were not told anything. All children were then asked not to peek at the tempting toy while the experimenter left the room. Participants in the good reputation group were less likely to cheat (60%) than those in the other group (90%).

4. Show the children how to do it: If adults are honest and open, children are more likely to do the same. IN one studyThe children were told that in the next room there was a large vase of sweets. When this turned out to be a lie, the children themselves were more likely to cheat in the game and lie about it.

This article has been republished from Talk under Creative Commons license. Read original article.