Social and non-social fear in preschoolers and prospective associations with lying about cheating

Little is known about the development of children’s lying. The present study examined whether observed social and non-social fear in preschoolers predicts children’s consistent cheating (N = 460; M = 4.3 years of age) and consistent lying about cheating. When left alone, 155 (34%) children cheated i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of behavioral development 2015-09, Vol.39 (5), p.477-484
Main Authors: Zwirs, Barbara W. C., Székely, Eszter, Herba, Catherine M., Verhulst, Frank C., Jaddoe, Vincent W. V., Hofman, Albert, van IJzendoorn, Marinus H., Tiemeier, Henning
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age Differences
Anxiety
Brief Symptom Inventory
Cheating
Coding
Deception
Depression (Psychology)
Educational Attainment
Ethics
Fear
Fear & phobias
Foreign Countries
Games
Gender Differences
Lying
Mothers
Netherlands
Observation
Parent Background
Predictor Variables
Preschool Children
Psychopathology
Questionnaires
Social Influences
Statistical Analysis
Tests
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Summary:Little is known about the development of children’s lying. The present study examined whether observed social and non-social fear in preschoolers predicts children’s consistent cheating (N = 460; M = 4.3 years of age) and consistent lying about cheating. When left alone, 155 (34%) children cheated in both games conducted. Of these consistently cheating children, 54 (35%) children lied about their cheating after both games, whereas the remaining 101 children confessed to cheating after at least one game. Children’s temperamental fear did not predict consistent cheating. However, non-social (but not social) fear did predict consistent lying. Children with lower levels of non-social fear were more likely to lie. These findings suggest that non-social fear plays a role in the development of children’s antisocial lying.
ISSN:0165-0254
1464-0651
DOI:10.1177/0165025414553136