NPR : Children and Understanding Lies

[RESEARCH] When do children develop the ability to judge when someone might be telling an untruth? Here is an NPR story reporting on some research that found second graders were sensitive to the possibility of lying -- in certain circumstances they were "selectively cynical" and saw how self-interest influences behavior. Sixth graders were not only aware that another person might lie about an event, but they also understood unconcious bias -- that is, the peope might tell untruths because self-interest causes them to see or remember situations in a particular way. NPR : Children and Understanding Lies

The principle researcher is Candice Mills, whose web page summarizes this research, which is published in:

Mills, Candice M; Keil, Frank C. The Development of Cynicism. Psychological Science. Vol 16(5) May 2005, 385-390.

Filed in: empirical-studies, children, lying, Mills