Machiavellianism is an antisocial interpersonal style involving the use of manipulative, deceptive, and coercive behaviors in the pursuit of self-interest. Although widely studied as a "dark" personality trait in adults, relatively little is known about the developmental correlates of Machiavellian tendencies earlier in life. The present…

The present review aimed to examine cross-cultural differences (eastern vs western cultures) in the evaluation of antisocial and prosocial lies through two meta-analyses. A total of 10 studies consisting of 2,347 participants between 5 and 12 years of age were included. Both meta-analyses did not find significant cross-cultural differences on…

Adults deliver mixed messages to children about the acceptability of truth- and lie-telling across contexts. To probe this discrepancy, we investigated how adults evaluate children's truths and lies across various situations. Participants watched videos of children telling prosocial lies or hurtful truths that varied in their directness (blunt or…

This article aims to review and debate the concept of lying and the variables associated with it, such as the age of its emergence in infancy, developmental patterns in a life cycle, motives for lying, consequences on social relationships and contextual and educational factors. The paradoxical nature of this behaviour is also emphasized because it…

The development of children's lie-telling abilities is considered to be a social and cognitive milestone. While occasional lying is developmentally appropriate, the use of frequent, antisocial lies as a maladaptive problem-solving mechanism can indicate behaviour problems. Since lying is often considered a moral transgression, researchers should…

Although parents frequently instruct children not to lie, children often observe lie-telling within the family environment. To date, no empirical research has examined children's spontaneous lie-telling to different lie-recipients. The current study examined children's spontaneous deceptive behaviour to parents and unfamiliar adults. In…