Theory of Mind and Concealing vs. Forthcoming Communication in Adolescence

Lavoie, Jennifer; Talwar, Victoria

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.866964

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Indeed, Diesendruck and Markson (2011) proposed a ‘limited theory‐of‐mind’ explanation for young children's propensity to treat novel information as conventional. Though Lavoie and Talwar (2022) recently demonstrated in a sample of young adolescents that ToM abilities were correlated with concealment and disclosure strategies, Gordon et al. (2014) found no significant relation between theory of mind ability and young children's secret‐keeping behaviours (see also Clément et al., 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On a need‐to‐know basis: Young children distinguish conventional and privileged information

Behrend,

Girgis,

Stevens

2024

British J of Dev Psycho

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Young children are biased to treat new information communicated to them as conventional, shareable, and known by others in their community. However, some information is privileged in the sense that is not intended to be shared with or known by all. The current study compared judgements regarding sharing conventional versus privileged information. Seventy‐four 3‐ to 5‐year‐olds and adults responded to vignettes in which a protagonist had to decide whether to share conventional (an object name) or privileged information (surprise). Consistent with our hypothesis, there was no developmental change in sharing judgements for conventional information but a clear decrease with age for sharing privileged information. Nonetheless, even 3‐year‐olds were more likely to judge that conventional information should be shared more than privileged information, though this difference increased with age. While children overall treat information as shareable, there is an emerging ability to distinguish how conventional versus privileged information should be shared.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On a need‐to‐know basis: Young children distinguish conventional and privileged information

Behrend,

Girgis,

Stevens

2024

British J of Dev Psycho

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“…Indeed, ToM and working memory are each positively associated with pro-social behaviour in neurotypical childhood ( de Wilde et al, 2016 ; Imuta et al, 2016 ). Furthermore, ToM ability corresponds with non-autistic adolescents concealing less information and being more forthcoming in close relationships ( Lavoie & Talwar, 2022 ). As such, greater ToM capacity may facilitate honest interactions and reduce the need for deception (for further discussion, see Lavoie & Talwar, 2022 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, ToM ability corresponds with non-autistic adolescents concealing less information and being more forthcoming in close relationships ( Lavoie & Talwar, 2022 ). As such, greater ToM capacity may facilitate honest interactions and reduce the need for deception (for further discussion, see Lavoie & Talwar, 2022 ). Indeed, it appears that only one previous study has reported an association between ToM and deception inclination in non-autistic adults ( El Haj et al, 2017 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autistic adults’ inclination to lie in everyday situations

Bagnall,

Russell,

Brosnan

et al. 2023

Autism

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Autistic children and adolescents often have greater difficulty engaging in deception than their non-autistic peers. However, deception in autistic adulthood has received little attention to date. This study examined whether autistic and non-autistic adults differed in their inclination to lie in everyday situations and the factors that underpin this. Forty-one autistic and 41 non-autistic participants completed self-report measures relating to their inclination to lie, ability to lie and moral attitudes about the acceptability of lying. Participants also undertook a reaction-time test of lie-telling, as well as theory of mind and working memory measures. Autistic and non-autistic adults did not significantly differ in their inclination to lie in everyday situations. The degree to which lying was viewed as morally acceptable positively predicted both groups’ inclination to lie. The remaining factors underpinning the inclination to lie differed between groups. Lower self-rated lying ability and slower lie speed predicted a reduced inclination to lie in autistic participants, whereas higher theory of mind and working memory capacity predicted a reduced inclination to lie in the non-autistic group. Implications for our understanding of deception in autistic and non-autistic adults are discussed. Lay abstract Differences in social communication and understanding others’ mental states may mean that autistic adults are less likely to deceive others than non-autistic individuals. We investigated whether autistic and non-autistic adults differ in their inclination to lie and which psychological factors are involved in the inclination to lie. We found that autistic and non-autistic groups reported a similar inclination to lie, and the extent to which participants viewed lying as acceptable helped to explain their inclination to deceive others. However, the other underlying psychological factors associated with deception inclination differed between autistic and non-autistic groups. Autistic adults’ belief about their ability to lie and also how quickly they could lie helped to explain whether they were more or less inclined to lie. For non-autistic adults, their memory and ability to understand others’ mental states helped to explain their lie inclination. We discuss these findings and recommend areas for future research.

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How Important is Developmental Maturity in Assessing Whether Adolescents Will Share True or False Accounts of a First Offense in Legal Interactions?

Lavoie,

Fine,

Thomas

et al. 2023

J Dev Life Course Criminology

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We examined the developmental and situation-specific differences between four groupings of adolescents charged with a first offense: those who committed the crime and told the authorities they committed the crime (true confessors; 71%), those who committed the crime but told the authorities they did not commit the crime (false deniers; 8%), those who did not commit the crime but told the authorities they did commit the crime (false confessors; 12%) and those who did not commit the crime and told the authorities they did not commit the crime (true deniers; 10%). Findings indicate a developmental profile for each respondent grouping, and an overall effect in which adolescents with lower psychosocial maturity tended to have higher perceptions of the legitimacy and fairness of legal authorities. These results suggest that psychosocial maturity is an important factor to bear in mind even from the first legal interactions with officers of the justice system.

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Theory of Mind and Concealing vs. Forthcoming Communication in Adolescence

Cited by 5 publications

References 53 publications

On a need‐to‐know basis: Young children distinguish conventional and privileged information

On a need‐to‐know basis: Young children distinguish conventional and privileged information

Autistic adults’ inclination to lie in everyday situations

How Important is Developmental Maturity in Assessing Whether Adolescents Will Share True or False Accounts of a First Offense in Legal Interactions?

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