2. Why Kids Lie
• Mr. Bronson and Ms. Merryman were given a test to determine
which child was telling the truth about being bullied in a Montreal
lab run by Dr. Victoria Talwar.
• Each child was given two minutes.
• This type of format was created to determine the conditions of
children in court cases and where the science of kids lying began.
• Over 100,00 children testify in American courts each year.
• Mr. Bronson only got four right while Ms. Merryman only got three right.
3. Why Kids Lie
• Dr. Victoria Talwar concluded after testing over hundreds of people,
that “People cannot tell when a child is lying” (Bronson 75).
• More people believe that girls are telling the truth more than boys, but in fact
boys do not lie often.
• They believe kids won’t lie and that introverts are less trustworthy when they
actually lie less because they do not have the proper social skills to lie.
• Talwar’s students have run several versions of the experiment with
parents and teachers and teachers will score above 60%.
• Parents tend not to do as well because they believe their child will
not lie and become upset when proven wrong.
4. Why Kids Lie – The Peeking Experiment
• A six year old boy named Nick was given several psychological tests.
• He played several games in which he cheated and lied twice, but did not show
remorse for he would win a prize when he would win a game.
• One classic experiment known as the temptation paradigm or “The Peeking
Game” was given to him in which he was told he had to guess the correct toy
according to the sound he heard.
• On the last toy, the lady who was giving the experiment said that she forgot
something and had to leave the room for a little bit. She asked Nick not to
peek at the toy.
• Nick was struggling not to peek but gave in and when the lady came back,
Nick yelled out that it was a soccerball.
5. The Peeking Experiment- Continued…
• Nick than realized he had to sound unsure of his answer or else they would know he
peeked.
• Arruda, the lady who was giving the experiment asked him if he had peeked to which a
replied and expressionless “No.”
• He stated how “the music sounded like a ball,” and how, “it sounded black and white.”
• The experiment was not just to see if children lie under temptation but to also
see the children’s ability to extend a lie.
6. Why Kids Lie – Skills
• Lying demand both cognitive
development and social skills
that honesty does not provide.
• In friendships, secrets are
formed, along with that comes
lying.
• Lying increases a child’s sense
of control.
• Many use it as coping
mechanism to get attention
7. Why Kids Lie
• Parents often fail to address the issue because the lying is almost
innocent.
• They believe their child is to young to know what lies are and to even
know that is wrong. They believe it will stop when they get older.
• Dr. Talwar claims that it is better for the child to learn to distinguish lies
and the truth at a young age.
• Most lies to parents are a cover-up because the kid know they did
something wrong and then try not to get in trouble for it.
• Parents are often proud that their kids are polite when giving a white lie.
• They are unable to recognize that a little white lie is still a lie.
8. Why Kids Lie
• Parents often put their kids in a position to lie to test their
honesty which is unnecessary.
• They way parents react can really affect lying.
9. Why Kids Lie
• After hearing the story of George
Washington and the Cherry Tree,
lying dropped dramatically in boys by
75% and 50% in girls.
• 38% of five-year-olds consider
swearing a lie.
• In their minds swearing is something you
get punished for just like lying.
• 96% of kids lie to their parents but
lying has never been number one on
parenting boards or an issue.
Lying can be a symptom of a
bigger problem behavior.
It takes years for children to
understand lying on a more
moral reasoning.
Studies show that kids who
get punished the most
become better liars. They
learn to get caught less
often.
10. Why Kids Lie
Dr. Talwar believes that you will
not be upset if they did
something that they weren’t
suppose to do but to the truth.
Kids lie because they want to
please their adults, with this
technique they will stop
believing that telling them good
news such as that of something
they didn’t do will please the
parent.
Another reason they lie is
because they learn it from us.
11. Questions at Issue
• What did you learn?
• I learned that children learn to lie at a much younger age than I thought. By the time they turn four they began to
lie. They lie because they want to please you and they do not want to get punished, and everyone makes mistakes.
• Why do I think you will be interested in this chapter?
• This chapter will explain the science behind children who lie. It will provide examples and experiment to
demonstrate to the reader the birth of lying from children and why they lie.
• What will I do differently as a result?
• As a future teacher, I will find a punishment or consequence for the lies. Even if it is a small one. If I ever become a
mother one day, I want to make sure that my children know the that lying is wrong even if it is an innocent or little
white lie.
• Try out one of the techniques.
• My mother had told me how my older brother constantly lied as a child, he even told her how there was times he
would lie and he wouldn’t even know why. I told her that I believe I had learned how there was certain point in
time when he was a child where he would lie but they were innocent lies or “cute lies.” I told her I believe that she
knew he was lying but wouldn’t stop it or say anything because he was “little.” When this happened she needed to
stop it even if it was a small lie, because she never stopped him, he learned to lie constantly and those lies turned
into bigger lies. And her reaction was for the first time my mother stayed quiet and didn’t argue back.
