Study finds stricter parents are turning their kids into more effective liars

According to research by Victoria Talwar, a renowned expert on children’s social-cognitive development at McGill University, stricter parenting seems to lead to children that are more ready and willing to lie.

Setting children up for punishment if they fail seems to make them desperate for the illusion of success, even when success is nowhere to be found.  That, they are brought to lie to escape punishment.

The study was done on toddlers in two West African schools.  The kids at one school experienced harsh discipline whereas the kids at the other school had a much more relaxed environment.

During the study, kids were asked to identify what was making the sound behind them.  In the series of questions, the last noise was paired up with something that would never actually make the sound (like a squawking noise being made by a baseball).   If the kids could somehow figure out what that last object was, they would certainly be peeking.

The adults left the room and the kids were to figure it out on their own.  Upon return, they found that kids in the more relaxed environment had a mix of liars and truth tellers similar to that found in western schools.  The kids at the authoritarian school were found to be extremely rapid and effective liars.

Sure; common sense.  But keep this in mind; if you threaten kids with punishment for getting it wrong, they will go out of their way to make you think they got it right.

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