Deception in 3-year-olds.

Children's ability to deceive was examined in order to determine whether they are able to hide their emotional expression intentionally. Three-year-oids were instructed not to peek at a toy while the experimenter left the room. When asked, the great majority either denied that they peeked or would not answer the question. Facial and bodily activity did not differentiate the deceivers from the truth tellers. Boys were more likely than girls to admit their transgression. These results indicate that very young children have begun to learn how to mask their emotional expressions and support the role of socialization in this process. Deception is a frequent activity in the life of individuals. It may take the simple form of agreeing with someone with whose opinion, in fact, we do not agree (e.g., saying we like the color of a tie when we do not) or other forms such as lying about a serious transgression. Deception can be directed toward the self as well, as in the case where we deny that we have a certain feeling when, in fact, we do feel this way (Lewis, in press). Moreover, cultures may have display rules that encourage masking negative emotion (Ekman, Friesen, Izard, 1977). Deception can be observed in all age groups, but the questions of how old a child must be in order to be able to deceive and how well a child can succeed in the deception are largely unexplored.