Deceptive Behavior in Young Children Confronted with Physical Evidence of their Transgressions: Links with Executive Functioning and Internalizing or Externalizing Symptoms

The present study investigated deceptive behavior in 3-5 year old preschoolers by using a modified temptation resistance paradigm, and related the results to individual differences in executive functioning (short-term memory, inhibition and shifting) and to parental reports of problematic behavior (internalizing and externalizing symptoms). In the experimental part of the study, children were told not to peek at two toys successively hidden under some cups in the experimenter's absence. Peeking under one of the cups left behind physical evidence of the transgression, while peeking under the other one didn’t. Unlike findings from other cultures, most of the Romanian young children (around 70%) did not peek under any of the cups, and the majority of the ones who did, peeked under both cups. No significant relationships were found between the presence of peeking behavior and executive functioning, or internalizing/externalizing problems.