Sara S
08-18-2011, 01:02 PM
from delancyplace.com:
In today's encore excerpt - a controversial suggestion regarding children and lying:
"Researchers have found that the ability to tell fibs at the age of two is a sign
of a fast developing brain and means they are more likely to have successful lives.
They found that the more plausible the lie, the more quick witted they will be
in later years and the better their ability to think on their feet. It also means
that they have developed 'executive function' - the ability to invent a convincing
lie by keeping the truth at the back of their mind.
" 'Parents should not be alarmed if their child tells a fib,' said Dr Kang Lee,
director of the Institute of Child Study at Toronto University who carried out
the research. 'Almost all children lie. Those who have better cognitive development
lie better because they can cover up their tracks. They may make bankers in later
life.' Lying involves multiple brain processes, such as integrating sources of
information and manipulating the data to their advantage. It is linked to the development
of brain regions that allow 'executive functioning' and use higher order thinking
and reasoning.
"Dr Lee and his team tested 1,200 children aged two to 16 years old. A majority
of the volunteers told lies but it is the children with better cognitive abilities
who can tell the best lies. At the age of two, 20 per cent of children will lie.
This rises to 50 per cent by three and almost 90 per cent at four. The most deceitful
age, they discovered, was 12, when almost every child tells lies. The tendency
starts to fall away by the age of 16, when it is 70 per cent. As adulthood approaches,
young people learn instead to use the less harmful 'white lies' that everyone tells
to avoid hurting people's feelings.
"Researchers say there is no link between telling fibs in childhood and any tendency
to cheat in exams or to become a fraudster later in life. Nor does strict parenting
or a religious upbringing have any impact. Dr Lee said that catching your children
lying was not a bad thing but should be exploited as a 'teachable moment'. 'You
shouldn't smack or scream at your child but you should talk about the importance
of honesty and the negativity of lying,' he told the Sunday Times. 'After the age
of eight the opportunities are going to be very rare.'
"The research team invited younger children - one at a time - to sit in a room
with hidden cameras. A soft toy was placed behind them. When the researcher briefly
left the room, the children were told not to look. In nine out of ten cases cameras
caught them peeking. But when asked if they had looked, they almost always said
no. They tripped themselves up when asked what they thought the toy might be.
One little girl asked to place her hand underneath a blanket that was over the
toy before she answered the question. After feeling the toy but not seeing it,
she said: 'It feels purple so it must be Barney.' Dr Lee, who caught his son Nathan,
three, looking at the toy, said: 'We even had cameras trained on their knees because
we thought their legs would fidget if they were telling a lie, but it isn't true.'
"Older children were [given] a test paper but were told they must not look at the
answers printed on the back. Some of the questions were easy, such as who lives
in the White House. But the children who looked at the back gave the printed
answer 'Presidius Akeman' to the bogus question 'Who discovered Tunisia?' When
asked how they knew this, some said they learned it in a history class."
Author: Richard Alleyne
Title: "Lying Children Will Grow Up to Be Successful Citizens"
Publisher: Telegraph.co.uk
Date: August 3, 2010
Pages: Home Section, Science
In today's encore excerpt - a controversial suggestion regarding children and lying:
"Researchers have found that the ability to tell fibs at the age of two is a sign
of a fast developing brain and means they are more likely to have successful lives.
They found that the more plausible the lie, the more quick witted they will be
in later years and the better their ability to think on their feet. It also means
that they have developed 'executive function' - the ability to invent a convincing
lie by keeping the truth at the back of their mind.
" 'Parents should not be alarmed if their child tells a fib,' said Dr Kang Lee,
director of the Institute of Child Study at Toronto University who carried out
the research. 'Almost all children lie. Those who have better cognitive development
lie better because they can cover up their tracks. They may make bankers in later
life.' Lying involves multiple brain processes, such as integrating sources of
information and manipulating the data to their advantage. It is linked to the development
of brain regions that allow 'executive functioning' and use higher order thinking
and reasoning.
"Dr Lee and his team tested 1,200 children aged two to 16 years old. A majority
of the volunteers told lies but it is the children with better cognitive abilities
who can tell the best lies. At the age of two, 20 per cent of children will lie.
This rises to 50 per cent by three and almost 90 per cent at four. The most deceitful
age, they discovered, was 12, when almost every child tells lies. The tendency
starts to fall away by the age of 16, when it is 70 per cent. As adulthood approaches,
young people learn instead to use the less harmful 'white lies' that everyone tells
to avoid hurting people's feelings.
"Researchers say there is no link between telling fibs in childhood and any tendency
to cheat in exams or to become a fraudster later in life. Nor does strict parenting
or a religious upbringing have any impact. Dr Lee said that catching your children
lying was not a bad thing but should be exploited as a 'teachable moment'. 'You
shouldn't smack or scream at your child but you should talk about the importance
of honesty and the negativity of lying,' he told the Sunday Times. 'After the age
of eight the opportunities are going to be very rare.'
"The research team invited younger children - one at a time - to sit in a room
with hidden cameras. A soft toy was placed behind them. When the researcher briefly
left the room, the children were told not to look. In nine out of ten cases cameras
caught them peeking. But when asked if they had looked, they almost always said
no. They tripped themselves up when asked what they thought the toy might be.
One little girl asked to place her hand underneath a blanket that was over the
toy before she answered the question. After feeling the toy but not seeing it,
she said: 'It feels purple so it must be Barney.' Dr Lee, who caught his son Nathan,
three, looking at the toy, said: 'We even had cameras trained on their knees because
we thought their legs would fidget if they were telling a lie, but it isn't true.'
"Older children were [given] a test paper but were told they must not look at the
answers printed on the back. Some of the questions were easy, such as who lives
in the White House. But the children who looked at the back gave the printed
answer 'Presidius Akeman' to the bogus question 'Who discovered Tunisia?' When
asked how they knew this, some said they learned it in a history class."
Author: Richard Alleyne
Title: "Lying Children Will Grow Up to Be Successful Citizens"
Publisher: Telegraph.co.uk
Date: August 3, 2010
Pages: Home Section, Science