Deception as theory of mind in action: Developmental and methodological considerations

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Deception is a prevalent childhood behavior. Young children start to tell various types of lies from as early as three years of age (Evans & Lee, 2013). Deception is considered to be closely related to theory of mind development (Lee, 2013). Previous studies provided empirical evidence of the relationship between deception and theory of mind, but with inconsistent results. This symposium intends to delve into the relationship between deception and theory of mind in various populations using different lying paradigms. The first study examined 12- to 14-year-old Canadian adolescents’ decisions to conceal information from others and whether theory of mind predicted their concealment preferences. The second study adopted a longitudinal design with three time points and investigated how theory of mind and executive function contribute to the development of self-benefiting and self-protective lying in 3- to 4-year-old children from China. The third study examined the influence of parental control and warmth on the relationship between self-protective lying and theory of mind in 3- to 6-year-old Singaporean children. Finally, the fourth study adopted a microgenetic method to examine the relationships between theory of mind, strategic lying, moral behavior, and emotional understanding in 3- to 5-year-old children from Romania. Taken together, these presentations provide a uniquely nuanced picture of the relationship between children’s deception and theory of mind, using different methodologies with populations from a variety of cultural backgrounds.

Sub Unit

• Social Cognition

Chairs

• Laura A. Visu-Petra, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai

• Xiao Pan Ding, National University of Singapore

Individual Presentations

• I Share Because I’m Aware: Theory of Mind and Concealment in Early Adolescence - Presenting Author: Jennifer Lavoie, University of Edinburgh; Non-Presenting Author: Victoria Talwar, McGill University

• Relation between children’s lying, Theory of mind and Executive function: A longitudinal study - Non-Presenting Author: Liyang Sai, Hangzhou Normal University; Presenting Author: Changzhi Zhao, Hangzhou Normal University; Non-Presenting Author: Siyuan Shang, Hangzhou Normal University; Non-Presenting Author: Gail D Heyman, University of California - San Diego; Non-Presenting Author: Genyue Fu, Hangzhou Normal University

• Parental Control and Warmth Moderates the Relationship between Children’s Lying and Early Mental Understanding - Non-Presenting Author: Shu Juan Goh, National University of Singapore; Non-Presenting Author: Cleo Tay, National University of Singapore; Non-Presenting Author: Ryan Y. Hong, National University of Singapore; Presenting Author: Xiao Pan Ding, National University of Singapore

• A microgenetic study of preschoolers’ deceptive and moral behavior. Links with theory of mind - Non-Presenting Author: Daniela Teodora Seucan, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai; Non-Presenting Author: Raluca Szekely-Copîndean, Romanian Academy; Non-Presenting Author: Xiao Pan Ding, National University of Singapore; Presenting Author: Laura A. Visu-Petra, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai