Liar, liar, working memory on fire: Investigating the role of working memory in childhood verbal deception

The contributions of mental state understanding and executive functioning to preschool‐aged children's lie‐telling

“…Studies with older children suggest that working memory is related to lie-telling (e.g., Alloway et al, 2015;. Studies with older children suggest that working memory is related to lie-telling (e.g., Alloway et al, 2015;.…”

“…Overall across studies, between 29% and 40% of children denied peeking at a forbidden toy (using a TRP), which is a significantly lower rate of lie-telling behaviour than is found in older children (aged 4 and above; e.g., Talwar & Lee, 2002, 2008. Although evidence for the unique contribution of working memory exists in the tertiary stage of lie-telling (e.g., Alloway, McCallum, Alloway, & Hoicka, 2015;Evans, Xu, & Lee, 2011), such investigations have yet to be explored in preschool-aged children. Although evidence for the unique contribution of working memory exists in the tertiary stage of lie-telling (e.g., Alloway, McCallum, Alloway, & Hoicka, 2015;Evans, Xu, & Lee, 2011), such investigations have yet to be explored in preschool-aged children.…”

“…Furthermore, in Evans and Lee's (2013) research, a measure of working memory, in combination with inhibitory control (i.e., Shape Stroop), predicted lie-telling, while Williams et al (2017) found that inhibitory control alone had an independent effect in young children's lietelling behaviours. Although evidence for the unique contribution of working memory exists in the tertiary stage of lie-telling (e.g., Alloway, McCallum, Alloway, & Hoicka, 2015;Evans, Xu, & Lee, 2011), such investigations have yet to be explored in preschool-aged children.…”

An Experimental Investigation of Antisocial Lie‐Telling Among Children With Disruptive Behavior Disorders and Typically Developing Children

“…Extensive research has examined TD children's lying behavior, revealing that lie‐telling is part of typical development and is reliably associated with advances in cognitive development (e.g., executive functioning; Alloway, McCallum, Alloway, & Hoicka, ; Evans & Lee, , ; Leduc, Williams, Gomez‐Garibello, & Talwar, ; Talwar & Lee, 2008). Early lies are often antisocial (i.e., to protect oneself) and are commonly told to avoid punishment (i.e., to conceal wrongdoing; Newton, Reddy, & Bull, ; Wilson, Smith, & Ross, ); they tend to be relatively simple and recognizable by others (Evans & Lee, ; Talwar & Lee, 2008).…”

“…There is a distinction between simply denying a transgression and sustaining a more elaborate lie; the latter requires a situation‐specific assessment of what should (and should not) be said (Polak & Harris, ; Talwar & Lee, 2008). Thus, executive functioning skills have often been linked with children's lie maintenance in particular (e.g., Alloway et al., ; Evans & Lee, ). Children's ability to maintain their lies verbally can be assessed by examining how children respond to follow‐up questions about their lies (e.g., Evans & Lee, ; Talwar & Lee, 2002, 2008).…”