Elementary school-aged children's perceptions of academic dishonesty: Definitions and moral evaluations of cheating behaviors in school.

A total of 76 children (Mage = 9 years 5 months, SD = 2.22 years) participated in a structured interview about their experiences with and knowledge of academic dishonesty. Overall, 27% of the sample reported having cheated in school. Most of these children were 10 to 13 years old, and the most prevalent form of cheating behavior reported was using forbidden materials during a test. Children's age group was a significant positive predictor of their reported cheating history; however, no significant difference was found between children's gender and engagement with cheating. Children's moral evaluations of cheating did not predict their reported cheating history, nor did children's parents' cheating history. Vignette type (cheating vs. non-cheating), age group, and the interaction between vignette type and age group were significant predictors of children's ability to accurately identify behaviors that constitute cheating. Children rated cheating behaviors as significantly less moral than non-cheating behaviors. Overall, the current results provide insight into what forms of cheating behavior children engage in at the elementary school-age level.

The use of nonverbal communication when assessing witness credibility: a view from the bench.

The aim of this article is to provide a better understanding of how, in practice, judges use nonverbal communication during bench trials. The article starts with an overview of legal rules on how judges are supposed to assess witness credibility and use nonverbal communication, and briefly addresses the impact of those rules on lower courts and the limited data about judges in bench trials. Subsequently, we present the methods and the results from an online survey carried out with Quebec judges. While a number of judges have beliefs consistent with the scientific literature, findings reported in this article show that many judges have beliefs inconsistent with the scientific literature, and many are silent on culture-related differences in nonverbal behavior. The article ends with a discussion on the implications of the results for scholars and practitioners, including why findings reported in this article are cause for concern for adversarial justice systems.

Encouraging honesty: Developmental differences in the influence of honesty promotion techniques.

Given the value placed on honesty and the negative consequences of lying, encouraging children's truth-telling is important. The present investigation assessed honesty promotion techniques for encouraging 3-8-year-old Canadian children's (Study 1: n = 301, 54% female; Study 2: n = 229, 50% female from predominantly White middle-class samples) disclosure of a transgression and whether they varied by age. Study 1 examined promising to tell the truth, inducing self-awareness, and the combination of both promising and self-awareness. Study 2 assessed modeling honesty, positive consequences of honesty, and the combination of modeling and consequences. Some individual techniques worked for specific age groups: Self-awareness only increased 3-4-year-olds' and promising only increased 7-8-year-olds' honesty. However, the combination of modeling and consequences increased honesty for all age groups. Findings suggest that different motivational factors may encourage children's honesty across childhood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

From criminal interrogations to investigative interviews: a bibliometric study.

This paper presents the results of a bibliometric study providing a comprehensive overview of the social science research conducted on criminal interrogations and investigative interviews since the 1900s. The objectives are to help researchers to further understand the research field, to better communicate research findings to practitioners, to help practitioners understand the breadth of scientific knowledge on criminal interrogations and investigative interviews, and to foster dialog between researchers and practitioners. To begin, after a brief description of Web of Science, we describe how we developed our database on criminal interrogations and investigative interviews. Then, we report the yearly evolution of articles, the journals where they were published, the research areas covered by this research field, as well as the authors, the institutions and the countries that published the most on a variety of topics related to criminal interrogations and investigative interviews. Finally, we present the most used keywords and the most cited articles, and examine the research on questionable tactics and techniques in the research field of criminal interrogations and investigative interviews. This paper ends with a critical look at the results, for the benefit of researchers and practitioners interested in criminal interrogations and investigative interviews.

Associations between parental relationship dissolution and child sleep: A systematic review.

Parental relationship dissolution is considered one of the most common adverse childhood experiences. Although sleep is crucial for healthy development of children and very sensitive to environmental changes, it is poorly studied in the context of parental relationship dissolution. The aim of the current study was to systematically review and critically assess the existing literature on the associations between parental relationship dissolution and child sleep (0-18 years old; registered on PROSPERO (CRD42021272720)). PsycInfo, MEDLINE, Scopus, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, Social Work abstracts, and Web of Science Core Collection were searched. Published empirical quantitative studies were included if they reported statistics regarding the association between parental relationship dissolution and any child sleep variable. Out of the 358 articles screened, 14 articles met inclusion criteria and reported on several sleep dimensions: sleep quality, dreams and nightmares, and sleep disorders (enuresis, night terrors, and bruxism). Out of the 14 articles, six were longitudinal studies and eight were cross-sectional studies. While most studies found that parental relationship dissolution was associated with some indices of poorer child sleep, studies were generally of low to moderate quality. Health professionals should assess child sleep in the context of a parental relationship dissolution.

The moderating role of spirituality and gender in Canadian and Iranian emerging adolescents' theory of mind and prosocial behavior.

Introduction: While research has found a link between ToM and prosociality in terms of caring and helping others which may also vary across cultures, the moderating role of spirituality and culture of this association in emerging adolescence has received little attention. Methods: The current study empirically "examined" the role of spirituality and gender in relation to ToM and prosocial behavior in Canadian and Iranian emerging adolescents. A total of 300 (153 girls) emerging adolescents (M = 11.502, SD = 2.228) were recruited from Montreal, Canada and Karaj, Iran. A series of double moderation analysis and ANOVA was conducted. Results and discussion: Results indicated the difference between direct and indirect influences of ToM and its interactions with culture, gender, and spirituality on prosocial behavior. This implies an emerging complex framework which suggests the dynamic nonlinear interactions between these factors. Implications for youth's social-emotional understanding will be discussed.

A cross-cultural comparison of the relation between children's moral standards of honesty and their lie-telling behavior.

This study examined the relation between children's moral standards of honesty and their lie-telling behavior and the role that culture plays in this relation. In the study, 6- to 12-year-old Chinese and Northern American (Canadian and American) children underwent a behavioral paradigm where they had the opportunity to tell a lie about their performance to gain a benefit. The children then read vignettes where a character told lies to conceal a transgression committed to satisfy either a need or a desire and evaluated those lies. Northern American children were less likely to lie with age, but Chinese children did not demonstrate this trend. Lie-telling rates were higher for Chinese children than for Northern American children, but children were overall unlikely to tell a lie about their performance. Chinese children evaluated the lies in the vignettes more negatively than Northern American children. Children's moral standards of honesty were related to their lie-telling behavior, and the relation between children's moral standards and behavior did not differ by age in either culture. Overall, results suggest that culture influences how children make moral evaluations and decisions related to lie-telling and support the notion that children's moral standards and behavior are related. These findings suggest that socialization plays a central role in children's moral decision making related to honesty through helping children to develop moral standards related to honesty.

Peeking and lying in the temptation resistance paradigm in 2.5-year-olds: The role of inhibitory control.

The main aim of the present study was to establish whether inhibitory control (IC) abilities influence the peeking and lying behaviours of 2.5-year-olds, as measured by a modified temptation resistance paradigm (mTRP). Using a longitudinal design, 252 children's IC abilities were tested at ages 1.5, 2 and 2.5, as well as their ability to lie at age 2.5. Results showed that 35% of 2.5-year-olds peeked, 27% of peekers lied and 40% of non-peekers falsely confessed they had peeked. Non-peekers had higher IC than peekers at ages 2 and 2.5. Lower IC at age 2 increased the probability of peeking at age 2.5 by 6 times. The highest level of IC was presented in children who followed the adult's restrictions in the mTRP and were then able to tell the truth about their behaviour. These results suggested that the first, or so-called primary, lies of 2.5-year-olds are probably spontaneous, rather than deliberate. Implications for further research were discussed.

Liar, liar sometimes: Understanding social-environmental influences on the development of lying.

Lying is a behavior that, in theory, is discouraged and punished, except when it isn't. Perhaps as a result, many individuals lie at low levels somewhat regularly. While research has well documented the cognitive skills that support children's early lying, it does not explain how children learn when to lie versus tell a truth. The current article reviews the impact of social-environmental influences on the development of children's lie-telling knowledge, understanding and behavior, including the roles of parents, siblings, teachers and others. It is argued that holistic examinations of cognitive, social, environmental, cultural and child factors, interacting over time, is required to understand divergent trajectories of lying and truth-telling across development, particularly at the extremes.

Theory of Mind and Concealing vs. Forthcoming Communication in Adolescence.

Concealing information requires that adolescents manage the information that they share, which requires cognitive skills, for example, theory of mind (ToM). This study explored motivations for concealment that early adolescents (N = 90, M = 12.81 years, SD = 5.10 months, range 12-14 years, and 58% female) endorsed concealing or disclosing to friends and parents, in relation to their theory of mind. We found that adolescents broadly endorsed disclosure to both parents and friends, even when it might mean they would face consequences, be impolite (by not protecting another's feelings), or face negative identity-related emotions. We found that ToM ability was associated with a tendency to endorse being forthcoming and sharing information with both friends and parents. These findings provide new insight into how the relation between ToM and concealment may change with age, specifically how in early adolescence it may foster open communication rather than concealment as is the case in early and middle childhood.

Lie-telling for personal gain in children with and without externalizing behavior problems.

Few studies have examined the lie-telling behavior of children who have externalizing problems using experimental procedures. In the current study, children's lie-telling for personal gain (N = 110 boys aged 6-11 years) was examined using an experimental paradigm in relation to their theory-of-mind abilities and inhibitory control as well as their moral evaluations of truths and lies. Children with externalizing behavior problems (n = 53) were significantly more likely to lie and to be less skilled at lying than a typical comparison group (n = 57). Children who had lower theory-of-mind scores were significantly more likely to tell a lie for personal gain compared with those who had higher theory-of-mind scores. Children with externalizing problems who told personal gain lies were also more likely to rate tattle truths more positively than other children. For a subsample of children (n = 55), parent-reported diaries of the frequency of children's lies over 2 weeks revealed a higher frequency of lies by children with externalizing problems compared with the typical comparison group. Children whose parents reported a high frequency of lies for their children were also more likely to lie in the experimental personal gain lie paradigm. Results suggest that children with externalizing behavior may have a different pattern of lie-telling than has been previously reported for normative lie development.

Empathetic Concern in Emerging Adolescents: The Role of Theory of Mind and Gender Roles.

The current study examined the roles of gender, and gender-role orientation in young adolescents' empathetic concern. In addition, this study aimed to explore the contribution of Theory of Mind in participants' empathetic concern. Finally, this study examined whether gender and gender-role orientation were implicated in emerging adolescents' Theory of Mind understanding. One-hundred-fifty 11- to 12-year-olds (79 self-identified females) completed questionnaires measuring their empathetic concern, Theory of Mind, and their perceived gender-role orientation. Results showed that gender-role orientation, specifically, femininity and masculinity predicted empathetic concern above and beyond gender. In addition, the effects of cognitive and affective Theory of Mind are explored and discussed in relation to empathetic concern. Finally, neither gender nor gender-role orientation was found to contribute to participants' Theory of Mind understanding. These findings suggest that emerging adolescents' perceived gender roles, as well as their ability to consider another's beliefs, play a role in their expression of empathetic concern.

Utilizing the Activation-Decision-Construction-Action Theory to predict children's hypothetical decisions to deceive.

The Decision component of the Activation-Decision-Construction-Action-Theory (ADCAT) utilizes a cost-benefit formula to explain the cognitive, motivational and social processes involved in deception. Three prior studies suggest that ADCAT can be used to predict adults' future deceptive behavior; however, no study has assessed the potential relevance of ADCAT with children. The present study is the first to date to examine whether this cost-benefit formula can predict children's hypothetical decisions to tell three types of lies, and whether there are specific developmental factors that need to be considered. The results indicate that the cost-benefit formula was only effective for predicting children's hypothetical lies for self-gain at no cost to another (Self-No Cost lies) and lies for others when there was a personal cost (Other-Cost to Self). More specifically, expected value of telling the truth was related to lower willingness to tell hypothetical Self-No Cost and Other-Cost to Self lies. On the other hand, the expected value of lying was not related to children's hypothetical decisions to tell Self-No Cost, Self-Cost to Other or Other-Cost to Self lies. Children's inhibitory control and theory of mind were significant covariates for some of the ADCAT predictor variables and children's hypothetical truth and lying behaviors. Altogether, these findings indicate that the effectiveness of the ADCAT cost-benefit formula for predicting children's lying behavior is affected by developmental factors and the type of lie being analyzed.

Meta-analysis of the effects of two interviewing practices on children's disclosures of sensitive information: Rapport practices and question type.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: The forensic interview is an important part of the investigative process with child witnesses, and ensuring evidence-based practices is crucial to its success. This meta-analysis examined the overall effect of rapport practices and question type on children's disclosures during forensic interviews to determine (a) how large of an influence existing practices have on children's tendency to disclose information, and (b) how consistent the effect sizes of interviewing practices are across studies, given that inconsistent results have been found. METHOD: A systematic review of child interviewing practices was conducted, and 35 studies met the inclusion criteria. Articles were categorized thematically according to interviewing practice. Two practices were predominantly represented in the literature and were selected for review and meta-analysis: rapport techniques, including interviewer support, (n = 9), and question type (n = 25 samples, 23 studies). Random-effects meta-analytic models were computed separately for rapport practices and question type, and moderator analyses were conducted to test for differences according to age and interviewing protocol. RESULTS: Rapport techniques had a medium overall effect on children's disclosures (d = 0.55, p < .001), and was moderated by the interviewing protocol used, but not children's age. Open-ended questions compared to closed-ended questions had a medium overall effect on children's descriptions of sensitive events (d = 0.52, p < .001), and was not moderated by age or interviewing protocol. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide overarching support for the use of rapport and support, and the use of open-ended questions in forensic interviews with child witnesses.

When is gossiping wrong? The influence of valence and relationships on children's moral evaluations of gossip.

Gossip is a common social activity that children admit to engaging in. Although children disapprove of negative gossip (Kuttler, Parker, & La Greca, 2002, Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 48, 105), less is known about how it is perceived morally compared to positive gossip and how this changes developmentally as children enter adolescence. Interestingly, misbehaviours are evaluated differently depending on who commits the act and whom it targets (Slomkowski & Killen, 1992, International Journal of Behavioral Development, 15, 247), but this has not been examined in the context of gossip. This study examined children's moral evaluations of negative and positive valence gossip and how this changed depending on the listener's relationship to the sharer and target. Children (N = 134, ages 8-16) completed vignettes, evaluating the sharer's action from the listener's perspective, a 2 (valence: negative/positive) × 4 (relationship type: friend/unfamiliar classmate of the sharer and target) design. Additionally, the gossip topic was about the target's behaviour with consequences for him/herself or another (target behaviour type: individual/relational vignettes). The main findings revealed that negative gossip in the sharer-classmate, target-friend condition was rated most negatively. Furthermore, in the individual vignettes condition, positive gossip in the sharer-friend, target-friend condition was rated more negatively than the sharer-classmate, target-friend condition. Girls rated negative gossip more negatively than boys, and adolescents rated gossip more positively than children. Overall, this research allows us to better understand when gossip is viewed as acceptable or unacceptable during an important developmental period. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Children gossip about others negatively but disapprove of negative gossip. Children and adolescents evaluate negative and positive behaviour differently. Children evaluate transgressions differently depending on who commits them and whom the target is. What does this study add? Adolescents believe that positive gossip is more socially acceptable compared to children. Gossip shared by a classmate that targets a friend is rated negatively. Girls view negative gossip as less acceptable compared to boys.

Learning through observing: Effects of modeling truth- and lie-telling on children's honesty.

The current study examined the influence of observing another's lie- or truth-telling - and its consequences - on children's own honesty about a transgression. Children (N = 224, 5-8 years of age) observed an experimenter (E) tell the truth or lie about a minor transgression in one of five conditions: (a) Truth-Positive Outcome - E told the truth with a positive outcome; (b) Truth-Negative Outcome - E told the truth with a negative outcome; (c) Lie-Positive Outcome - E lied with a positive outcome; (d) Lie-Negative Outcome - E lied with a negative outcome; (e) Control - E did not tell a lie or tell the truth. Later, to examine children's truth- or lie-telling behavior, children participated in a temptation resistance paradigm where they were told not to peek at a trivia question answer. They either peeked or not, and subsequently lied or told the truth about that behavior. Additionally, children were asked to give moral evaluations of different truth- and lie-telling vignettes. Overall, 85% of children lied. Children were less likely to lie about their own transgression in the TRP when they had previously witnessed the experimenter tell the truth with a positive outcome or tell a lie with a negative outcome.

Theory of Mind, Self-Knowledge, and Perceptions of Loneliness in Emerging Adolescents.

Theory of Mind (ToM) or the ability to understand mental states in self and others to explain behavior continues to develop in adolescence and connects to social experiences. Research shows during adolescence, ToM may influence one's ability to evaluate and judge one's self-worth and their social interactions. However, few studies examine the associations among self-knowledge, ToM, and social experiences. This study explored individual differences and associations among 146 Canadian adolescents' ToM, self-knowledge, and loneliness (86 females; Mage = 13.2 years). Self-report questionnaires and semi-structured interviews measured ToM, self-knowledge, and perceptions of friendship quality, social preferences, and loneliness. Results showed higher levels of ToM were related to lower ratings of self-perceived physical appearance, global self-worth, and loneliness. Compared to boys, girls with higher levels of ToM reported a more comprehensive understanding of self-distinctiveness and agency, although they felt less lonely. Implications for developmental social cognitive theory and mental health education are discussed.

Care to Share? Children's Cognitive Skills and Concealing Responses to a Parent.

Children begin to use methods of concealment to achieve interpersonal goals at an early age, and the ability to conceal information requires cognitive skills to be effective. Despite research on children's lie telling, there is little known about the "spectrum" of concealment methods that children use, which can range from full disclosures to active concealment through the use of deception. This study focused on children's use of concealment methods in a prosocial situation, in relation to their cognitive ability. Children aged 4-11 years (N = 106) completed several cognitive activities that measured theory of mind (ToM), working memory, and inhibitory control with an experimenter and created a surprise gift for a parent. After the activities were complete, children were told to keep the surprise gift a secret until it was ready, then they were sent back to their parents, who questioned them about their activities. Children were coded based on their concealment behavior (full disclosers, partial concealers, passive concealers, and active concealers) in response to their parents' questions. A discriminant function analysis indicated that age and children's cognitive scores (first-order ToM, second-order ToM, and working memory) differentiated between children who disclosed the secret about the surprise gift and children who used partial-to-active concealment methods to keep the secret. Results suggest that younger children, and children with lower ToM and working memory were more likely to disclose the secret. Findings suggest that children employ various methods of concealment to keep a prosocial secret from a parent and that higher cognitive ability is associated with the tendency to use concealment methods in social interactions.

Children's spirituality: Exploring spirituality in the lives of cancer survivors and a healthy comparison group.

This study found that children with a history of cancer had higher scores on certain measures of spirituality compared to their healthy peers. Health history was found to significantly moderate the relations among spirituality and outcome variables, such as depression and anxiety. Furthermore, parent-child dyadscancer had more highly correlated scores than parent-child dyadshealthy on both the Depression subscale and the Existential Well-Being subscale, whereas parent-child dyadshealthy had more highly correlated scores than parent-child dyadscancer on the Duality factor. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

Examining Cross-Cultural Differences in Youth's Moral Perceptions of Cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying has captured attention around the globe with research taking place in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. However, few of these studies have compared children and adolescents from countries with diverse cultural backgrounds, with research on Middle Eastern countries remaining scarce. To examine the influence of culture, gender, and participant roles in cyberbullying (bystander vs. perpetrator) on children and adolescents' moral evaluations of hypothetical cyberbullying events, participants read and evaluated four vignettes. Three sets of data were collected in Canada (n = 100), China (n = 100), and Iran (n = 101). Participants (N = 300; 49 percent male) were between 8 and 16 years of age (M = 11.73; standard deviation = 0.76). Two vignettes considered the perspective of a perpetrator, whereas the two others considered the perspective of a bystander. A repeated-measures analysis of variance showed that youth from Iran evaluated cyberbullying events less negatively than Canadian and Chinese youth. Regardless of culture, females evaluated cyberbullying events more negatively than males. Persian youth evaluated cyberbullying less negatively than Canadian and Chinese youth. With age, participants attributed less shame to cyberbullying behaviors. However, Chinese and Persian youth attributed more hubristic pride than Canadian youth with age. Also, Canadian and Chinese children rated perpetrator behaviors more negatively than their Persian counterparts. However, bystander behaviors were similarly negatively rated across cultures. This study breaks new ground by examining moral evaluations of cyberbullying according to participant role, culture, and gender. Findings from this study may be helpful to educators and policymakers to strengthen moral and diversity education in schools to help mitigate cyberbullying events.