Deception In Punitive Environments

Deception is so prevalent in our society that it is deemed a natural phenomenon. In fact, deception is not only prevalent among children who are brought up in punitive environments but also among those who are raised in non-punitive environments. It also commonly manifests itself as camouflage which is meant for survival among animals. Additionally, it is especially very helpful for the young and the weak as a form of defense and hence helps them avoid physical danger and aggression from their predators. Examples of animals that use deception frequently for their defense include the young ones of lower ranked chimps (Lewis). Hence, it doesn’t come as a surprise, that little children adopt deception as a strategy to get what they want or even defend themselves from any harm. However, not all children adopt this strategy. Research indicates that children who adopt this self-defense strategy are mostly those who find themselves being brought up in harsh environments. However, only a few empirical studies have been done in this area to ascertain this finding. Nevertheless, researchers have adopted one common paradigm to look at this finding. The hypothesis here is
A study conducted on children from punitive and non- punitive environments was able to establish this finding. In this study, it was proved that children from hostile environments lie in order to hide their minor transgression. Further, researchers have also revealed that most of these children had the ability to conceal their lies non- verbally. Interestingly, half of all children from punitive environment were also instinctively motivated to lie about breaking the rule (i.e. not peeking at a toy). This shows how the environment which the children are brought up in plays an important role and a hostile environment is likely to encourage the development of lying in