Highlight the Benefits of Honesty to Increase it in Children

Teaching the benefits of honesty is more effective than teaching the negative consequences of lying, according to a recent study which explored means of increasing honesty in children.

Dr. Kang Lee, a professor of human development and applied psychology at the University of Toronto,  has spent over a decade studying honesty and dishonesty in children, according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal. In June 2014 Dr. Lee published a study in Psychological Science which looked at the impact morality based stories have upon the probability that a child will be honest.

According to Dr. Lee, "Talking to kids about the moral importance of honesty and the moral negativity of lying has no impact on kids' tendency to tell the truth." However, focusing on the benefits of honesty significantly increased the frequency at which children were honest. 

Dr. Lee also highlighted the importance of parents modeling honesty for their children. According to the article in the Wall Street Journal, " Many parents ask children to tell them the truth and say they won't get mad, then do become upset over the transgression itself. They need to dissociate their reaction to the child coming clean from the fact that, say, the child broke an expensive vase. These are separate teachable moments, Dr. Lee says."

To learn more read Clues to Teaching Young Children to Tell the Truth at the Wall Street Journal.