When it comes to getting kids to tell the truth, “Pinocchio” has got nothing on “George Washington and the Cherry Tree,” a new experiment suggests.
Researchers tested 268 children aged 3 to 7 to see if they would admit to an innocuous lie. Those who were read stories like “Pinocchio” – in which liars are punished – admitted to lying no more often than those who were read neutral tales like “The Tortoise and the Hare.” However, the story of George Washington and the cherry tree did raise the rate at which kids admitted to lying, possibly because in that story liars are rewarded for telling the truth.
Researchers confirmed this by changing the ending to one in which the lie is punished; confession rates dropped accordingly.
Original research paper published in the journal Psychological Science on June 13, 2014.
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