The role of cognition in children's lying

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Deception is a complex human behaviour that involves higher order cognitive functioning including attention, memory, executive functioning and theory-of-mind. Studying verbal deception can further our understanding of the interactions between these processes and the role of memory, decision-making, and problem-solving to meet interpersonal goals (Gombos, 2006). However, the cognitive framework behind verbal deception is poorly understood. Current cognitive theories of verbal deception have emphasized the role and interactions of different cognitive processes in verbal deception. However, many of the details of these theories remain largely untested empirically, and the related research has been focused on adult deception. Yet, the examination of children's verbal deception whose cognitive abilities are developing can help identify and elucidate the role of different cognitive processes in this complex human behavior. The current program of research is comprised of 3 inter-related projects that are part of a broader long-term goal to develop and test a comprehensive theoretical model of the cognition of deception that delineates the development of verbal deception from rudimentary to complex and sophisticated verbal deceits. These projects examine how the development of human deception is related to different complex cognitive processes including theory-of-mind, executive functioning (i.e., inhibitory control, working memory, set shifting) that interact in the decision making and on-line problem-solving to produce plausible and convincing lies. Project 1 will examine children's emerging verbal deception in preschool children between 2 and 5 years of age as a function of their mental-state understanding (i.e. precursors to theory-of-mind) and their developing executive functioning abilities. Project 2 will examine the role of working memory in children's and adults' ability to give false reports (in comparison to true reports) that are based on past memories/experiences versus those that are based on novel experiences not previously experienced. In Project 3, the studies will investigate systematically children and adults' cost-benefit calculations when deciding to lie (or tell truth) and how these relationships change as a function of the type of lie and cognitive abilities. Overall, this research program will increase our understanding of the underlying mechanisms involved in verbal deception and more generally the interplay between cognitive processes in human goal-directed behaviours.