Talwar et al.,(2004)

Talwar et al.,(2004)

1. Two Experiments examined lie-telling to conceal parental transgression.

   • Exp. 1 Broken puppet- 3-11yr olds
     • Children questioned
       • Moral understanding of T&L assessed
         • Promise to tell truth
           • Significantly more told the truth- parent present or not
             • Present- Non-verbal answers
         • Relation between lie-telling and moral understanding
         • increased significantly with age
     • 3 conditions
       • Parental Present
         • Ease anxiety - Less Traumatic
         • Reluctant to disclose evidence
       • Child Absent
         • Likelihood of blame reduced
           • More likely to lie
       • Parent Absent
         • Made no difference
   • Exp.2 Replicated findings
     • questioned about lies
       • Promise to tell the truth
         • More likely to tell truth in 2nd interview
           • Less likely to reveal parental transgression
   • Implications for Justice System
     • children may tell lies for parents
       • to avoid negative consequences to themselves
     • about two thirds eventually told the truth
       • suggests many children are truthful
       • unwilling to lie for parents despite explicit coaching