Thanks to the work of Brock University developmental psychologist Angela Evans, we now know that lying in children starts as young as two, and it only gets worse from there.<\/p>\n
Her research has linked this lie-telling to the development of children\u2019s thinking<\/a>, specifically how children understand their own thoughts and the thoughts of others, and how they co-ordinate several mental activities at once.<\/p>\n Evans is one of 14 researchers at Brock awarded $1.3 million in Insight<\/a> and Insight Development Grants<\/a> from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). In addition, 18 Brock University students were awarded $670,000 in SSHRC student grants.<\/p>\n With her Insight Grant, Evans aims to expand on her research into deception at the other end of the lifespan and construct a theoretical model of how honesty develops from childhood to older adulthood. She will explore the nature, context and motivations of older adult lie-telling behaviours, and how changes such as declines in executive functioning affect honesty.<\/p>\n \u201cAging is not simply development in reverse,\u201d says Evans, Associate Professor of Psychology, noting that \u201cvery little research\u201d has been done on deception in older adulthood.<\/p>\n \u201cUnderstanding developmental changes in our moral evaluations of lie-telling and lie-telling behaviours provides new insight into mechanisms influencing moral development, which can help tell us how and why deceptive behaviours change across the lifespan,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Preliminary research has shown that older adults are less likely to lie than younger adults, says Evans. She will examine whether this is consistent across different types of lies \u2014 such as those told to protect others\u2019 feelings or lies to conceal health issues.<\/p>\n \u201cFindings from my research can be used to help create programs for older adults around how (dis)honesty might be impacting their social relationships,\u201d says Evans, adding that the research will also help those who work with older adults to better understand what motivates them to be dishonest.<\/p>\n Brock Vice-President, Research Tim Kenyon says federal government investment is vital for research that makes a difference in society.<\/p>\n \u201cWith this funding from SSHRC, our researchers are conducting leading-edge studies that will give insights into language learning, regional economic re-invention, the prevention of animal cruelty and barriers to climate change mitigation, among other issues in today\u2019s rapidly-changing world,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n The latest round of Insight Grant recipients includes:<\/p>\n Insight Development Grant recipients are:<\/p>\n\n
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