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2013-02-20 12:47:03 UTC
BEIJING -- Parents throughout the world have been known to tell a
white lie to cajole dinner into a fussy child or explain the pile of
gifts that appears under the Christmas tree as if by magic.
According to a new study, Chinese parents rank among the biggest
liars.
The study in the International Journal of Psychology titled
Instrumental lying by parents in the US and China found that most
respondents -- 84 percent of Americans and 98 percent of Chinese --
admitted that they lied to their children. Chinese parents, however,
were far more likely to lie to force changes in behavior, it found.
A larger proportion of the parents in China reported that they
employed instrumental lie telling to promote behavioral compliance,
and a larger proportion approved of this practice, as compared to the
parents in the U.S., the authors said in the report.
The researchers from the University of San Diego, the University of
Toronto and Zhejiang Normal University interviewed 114 American and 85
Chinese parents who had at least one child aged 3 years or older.
The participants were given a list of lies and asked to report which
ones they had told their children.
For example, 68 percent of Chinese respondents reported telling their
children, If you dont follow me, a kidnapper will come to kidnap you
while Im gone. Only 18 percent of American respondents made similar
claims.
There was no consideration made that any of the respondents were
telling the truth in their responses. A test question given to parents
of male children asked if they ever told them to 'stop playing with
that thing or it will fall off and you'll go blind so can't see to pee
through your straw. None of the parents admitted to that one though
the majority thought the question was humorous. Therefore the factor
of error in responses could be as high as 100% making the entire study
worthless.
http://behindthewall.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/20/17004160-study-chinese-parents-bigger-fibbers-than-american-ones?lite
white lie to cajole dinner into a fussy child or explain the pile of
gifts that appears under the Christmas tree as if by magic.
According to a new study, Chinese parents rank among the biggest
liars.
The study in the International Journal of Psychology titled
Instrumental lying by parents in the US and China found that most
respondents -- 84 percent of Americans and 98 percent of Chinese --
admitted that they lied to their children. Chinese parents, however,
were far more likely to lie to force changes in behavior, it found.
A larger proportion of the parents in China reported that they
employed instrumental lie telling to promote behavioral compliance,
and a larger proportion approved of this practice, as compared to the
parents in the U.S., the authors said in the report.
The researchers from the University of San Diego, the University of
Toronto and Zhejiang Normal University interviewed 114 American and 85
Chinese parents who had at least one child aged 3 years or older.
The participants were given a list of lies and asked to report which
ones they had told their children.
For example, 68 percent of Chinese respondents reported telling their
children, If you dont follow me, a kidnapper will come to kidnap you
while Im gone. Only 18 percent of American respondents made similar
claims.
There was no consideration made that any of the respondents were
telling the truth in their responses. A test question given to parents
of male children asked if they ever told them to 'stop playing with
that thing or it will fall off and you'll go blind so can't see to pee
through your straw. None of the parents admitted to that one though
the majority thought the question was humorous. Therefore the factor
of error in responses could be as high as 100% making the entire study
worthless.
http://behindthewall.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/20/17004160-study-chinese-parents-bigger-fibbers-than-american-ones?lite