Why Science Says It's Good for Kids to Lie | National Geographic

[Music] My name is Ellen. I'm a research assistant at Kong Leaf Development Lab. This is where we do our deception studies, and here we play three games with the kids. You've been doing such a good job, and we got off to such a good start that I kind of want to give you a prize. So I've actually picked one out just for you. So you can open it up, and I'm going to get data for the next activity. Do you like your prize?

Yes, children begin to tell lies at two years of age. These kinds of lies tend to be for their own benefits, such as to cover up their transgressions or to gain some benefits for themselves. But with increased age, they become more and more likely to have white lies to spare other people's feelings or to be blind. Ironically, even though we morally do not condone lying in general, lying is an essential part of our everyday life. Imagine a world where nobody lies, and that's going to be incredibly crude.

Let's try this one! Getting a fire on lower, lower right... see? Uh-oh, Elisa, this is the moment of truth. This is the flash card. Yet we are playing, so you can guess this one right. That candy bag is yours, but if you can't guess it right, then I get to keep that bag of candy.

For you know what, I think I hear my phone ringing. Oh, okay, okay. One second, I'll be right back. Don't look at the card! You can make your guess, might get off, and then just be committed. [Music]

Oh my god, Elise! I’m so sorry. I heard it ringing; it was my mom—super important. So sorry. Okay, so let’s get back to it. These women, I was out of the room. Did you peek at the card?

Mm-hmm. Can you sit for your handsome for me? Thank you! Say yes or no. [Music]

Okay, once young, Jolyon, under seven years of age, can ask for abortions, and then you can easily detect that they actually lie and just lied because they cannot cover up the initial lie. Children's ability to tell lies at a young age tends to be indicative of their other abilities, such as the ability to communicate with others, their ability to understand other people's emotions, and the ability to know the difference between what they know and how they feel, and whether others know or feel.

These abilities are essential for us to interact with each other, so having the ability to tell lies is really a milestone to tell you your child is doing okay. There are telltale signs of lying or truth-telling that we cannot see with our naked eye, but computer vision can see. We used technology developed by emotions, and this program basically uses computer vision to learn to detect your subtle muscle movements on your face. By looking at the combinations or patterns of your muscle movements, we can tell whether or not you are experiencing real emotion or you are faking emotion. [Music] Oh!