Affiliation:
1. Zhejiang Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory for Research in Early Development and Childcare Hangzhou Normal University Hangzhou PR China
2. Department of Psychology Hangzhou Normal University Hangzhou PR China
3. Dr. Erick Jackman Institute of Child Study University of Toronto Toronto Ontario Canada
Abstract
AbstractThis research examined the link between persistence and cheating in 3‐ to 6‐year‐old children (2021–2022, N = 200, 100 boys; Mage = 4.85 years; all middle‐class Han Chinese). Study 1 used a challenging game to measure whether children would cheat when they were allowed to play the game unsupervised. Results indicated that children's situational, but not trait, persistence negatively correlated with cheating: the higher children's situational persistence, the less likely they cheated. Study 2 not only replicated the results of Study 1 but also discovered that children who cheated became less persistent afterward. Our research reveals a novel bidirectional relation between situational persistence and cheating and underscores the importance of nurturing persistence in early childhood as a strategy to foster honesty.
Funder
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada