Overview – Lee et al (1997)

Lee, K., Cameron, C., Xu, F., Fu, G. and Board, J. (1997) Chinese and Canadian children’s evaluations of lying and truth telling: Similarities and differences in the context of pro- and antisocial behaviours. Child Development, 68, (5), 924-934.

Lee et al (1997) is a key study in the developmental area of psychology that investigated how children judge lying and truth telling. The study compared children of various ages from China and Canada to investigate whether culture and age influence children’s moral judgements. The researchers presented children with stories in which a character either behaved in a prosocial or antisocial way and then either told the truth or lied about what they had done. The children rated how good or naughty the character’s behaviour and statement were. The study found both similarities and differences between Chinese and Canadian children. In particular, Chinese children’s judgements about lying and truth telling in prosocial situations changed with age in ways that differed from Canadian children’s judgements. This suggested that children’s moral development is influenced by both age and the cultural environment in which they grow up.

You can jump to different sections of this article via the links below:

• Aim
• Method (sampling and procedure)
• Results
• Conclusions
• Evaluation and methodological issues
• Relation to other core developmental psychology studies

Lee et al (1997)

Aim

The main aim of the study was to investigate how children judge lying and truth telling and whether these judgements are affected by culture and age.

The study was based on theories of children’s moral development. Earlier research suggested that children’s moral judgements about lying change as they grow:

• Piaget argued that younger children mainly judge lying based on whether the statement is true or false (regardless of the person’s intention) and whether the speaker is punished. Piaget suggested that it’s only later – at around 11 years old – when children start to consider the speaker’s intention (i.e. whether they actually meant to deceive) as an important part of their moral judgement.
• Kohlberg also argued that moral reasoning develops in stages. In the initial stage (pre-conventional morality), children judge actions as right or wrong depending on whether they are punished or rewarded – so for example a child might say stealing is wrong because they would get punished for stealing rather than because stealing is inherently unfair or harms another person. In the next stage (conventional morality), people judge right and wrong according to social approval, rules, and maintaining social order – so a child might say stealing is wrong because it breaks the rules and would be disapproved of by other people. At the highest level (post-conventional morality), moral judgements become based on abstract moral principles such as individual rights and justice.

However, later research challenged Piaget’s idea that younger children are unable to consider intention when making moral judgements. Studies suggested that even young children can distinguish between a statement that is simply false and an intentional lie when the speaker’s intention to deceive is clear. This raised questions about whether children’s moral reasoning develops in the way Piaget and Kohlberg suggested.

Researchers also began to question whether moral development follows the same pattern across all cultures. Much of this early research on children’s moral development had been conducted in Western (individualistic) countries, where values such as independence and self-expression are emphasised. So Lee et al investigated whether children’s moral judgements about lying were also influenced by their cultural background.

So overall, the study aimed to investigate two things:

• Whether children’s moral judgements about lying and truth telling changed with age. The researchers wanted to see whether older children were more likely than younger children to consider the social context and intention behind a lie.
• Whether children’s moral judgements differed between Chinese and Canadian children. This allowed the researchers to investigate whether children’s judgements about lying and truth telling are influenced by their cultural background.

Method

Participants and sampling

The study involved 228 children from China and Canada.

• The Chinese sample consisted of 120 children recruited from elementary schools in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province (China).
  • 40 children aged 7 (20 boys and 20 girls)
  • 40 children aged 9 (20 boys and 20 girls)
  • 40 children aged 11 (20 boys and 20 girls)
• The Canadian sample consisted of 108 children recruited from elementary schools in Fredericton, New Brunswick (Canada).
  • 36 children aged 7 (20 boys and 16 girls)
  • 40 children aged 9 (24 boys and 16 girls)
  • 32 children aged 11 (14 boys and 18 girls)

Most of the Canadian children came from middle-class families. The researchers did not have equivalent information about the socioeconomic status of the Chinese children because this type of categorisation was not available in the same way for China.

Procedure

Lee et al used a laboratory experiment (i.e. a controlled study conducted in a research setting). The researchers randomly assigned children to hear either social stories or physical stories. They then compared children’s moral judgements according to their culture, age, type of story, and type of behaviour.

The main variables being studied were:

• Culture: Chinese or Canadian.
• Age: 7, 9, or 11 years old.
• Type of story: Children heard either social stories or physical stories.
  • Note: The type of story (social or physical) generally didn’t produce a significant difference in children’s ratings so these notes pretty much ignore this variable and focus on the effects of e.g. age and culture, which are what people tend to be more interested in with this study.
• Type of behaviour: The stories involved either prosocial acts or antisocial acts.
• Type of statement: The character either told the truth or told a lie about their behaviour.

The dependent variables (DVs) were the children’s ratings of:

• The character’s action.
• The character’s verbal statement.

The stories included 4 combinations of behaviour and truth telling:

Each child was tested individually.

The children were asked to rate each deed and each verbal statement using a rating scale ranging from very very good to very very naughty. The researchers used red stars to represent positive ratings and black crosses to represent negative ratings and explained the meaning of the symbols to the children before the experiment.

The researchers took several steps to reduce the possibility that the order in which information was presented would affect the children’s responses:

• They varied the order of the words ‘good’ and ‘naughty’ in the questions.
• They also used a randomisation table to create two different orders for the four stories. About half of the children in each condition heard the stories in one order and the other half heard them in the other order.

After the experiment, the researchers held post-experimental discussions with the children and asked them to explain the reasons behind some of their ratings. This provided qualitative data about why they gave the ratings they did.

Results

The researchers converted the children’s ratings (very very good to very very naughty) to a 7-point numerical rating scale like this:

As such, a higher score represented a more positive moral judgement and a lower score represented a more negative moral judgement.

The researchers first checked whether gender and story order affected the results. They found no significant differences for either variable so they combined the data for these variables in the later analyses.

The table below shows the children’s ratings of the characters’ actions across the four stories. This shows whether or not Chinese and Canadian children judged the underlying prosocial and antisocial behaviours in similar ways.

The results show that children generally viewed the prosocial actions positively and the antisocial actions negatively. This pattern was similar across Chinese and Canadian children and across the different ages. This is important because it suggests that any cultural differences in judgements of truth telling and lying were not simply caused by the two groups judging the underlying actions differently.

The next table shows the children’s ratings of the characters’ verbal statements. These ratings are particularly important because they allowed the researchers to compare children’s judgements of truth telling and lie telling in different situations.

Prosocial behaviour and truth telling

Children in both cultures generally viewed truth telling positively when the character had carried out a prosocial action. However, there was a difference between the cultures as children became older:

• Canadian children gave similar positive ratings to truth telling at different ages.
• Chinese children’s ratings of truth telling became less positive as age increased.

In other words, age had a different effect on the two cultural groups. Canadian children’s positive views of truth telling remained relatively stable from age 7 to 11, whereas Chinese children became less positive about truth telling as they got older.

Prosocial behaviour and lie telling

The biggest cultural difference was when children judged a lie that was used to hide a prosocial action.

• Canadian children generally always judged this type of lying negatively. However, their ratings became somewhat less negative as they became older.
• Chinese children’s judgements became increasingly positive with age, changing from negative at age 7 to positive by age 11.

In other words, the Chinese children grew up to see lying to hide a prosocial action as a good thing, whereas Canadian children always saw it as a bad thing (though less so with age). This is the main cultural difference the study found.

The post-experimental discussions provided some qualitative evidence that may help explain these ratings. Some Chinese children explained their negative ratings of truth telling after a prosocial action by saying that the character had been “begging for” or “wanting” praise. Others said that a child should not draw attention to a good deed by saying they had done it. Similar explanations were given for why some Chinese children rated lying positively in prosocial situations.

Antisocial behaviour and truth telling

Children from both cultures generally saw truth telling as very positive when the character had carried out an antisocial action.

Antisocial behaviour and lie telling

Both Chinese and Canadian children generally rated lying negatively when the character had carried out an antisocial action.

These ratings became more negative as age increased and this pattern was seen in both cultures.

Overall pattern of results

The results showed that culture and age were associated with children’s moral judgements in some situations but not others:

• The clearest cultural differences appeared when children judged lying after a prosocial action.
  • Canadian children generally judged prosocial lying negatively, although this became less negative with age.
  • Chinese children became increasingly positive about prosocial lying as they became older.
• Both cultures generally judged truth telling positively after an antisocial action.
• Both cultures generally judged lying negatively after an antisocial action.
• Age affected children’s judgements, but the pattern of development differed between the two cultures.

Conclusions

Overall, the study provided evidence that moral development is affected by both individual development and cultural experience.

Culture and moral development

Overall, Lee et al concluded that children’s moral judgements about lying and truth telling are influenced by the cultural and social environment in which they develop.

The differences between Chinese and Canadian children were particularly clear when children judged lying after a prosocial action. Chinese children’s ratings of prosocial lying became positive as they grew older. In contrast, Canadian children generally continued to view prosocial lying negatively (although their ratings became somewhat less negative with age).

This suggests that children do not develop moral judgements in exactly the same way across all cultures.

Age and experience

The study also showed that age was important in children’s moral development.

Children’s judgements changed as they became older. However, the direction of this change was not always the same between the the two cultures.

This suggests that moral development is not simply a universal process in which all children develop the same judgements at the same age. Children’s experiences and the social values around them may influence how their moral understanding develops.

Challenge to simple explanations of moral development

The findings also challenge the idea that children’s moral judgements develop in exactly the same sequence regardless of culture.

Instead, the findings support the idea that moral development is a highly contextualised process. This means that children’s moral understanding develops partly through interaction with their social and cultural environment.

The researchers suggested that cultural values such as the Chinese emphasis on self-effacement and modesty may help explain why Chinese children’s judgements about prosocial lying changed with age.

Evaluation

Research methods and techniques

Lee et al used a laboratory experiment with a structured procedure for assessing several variables and their effects on children’s moral judgements.

• High control and standardisation: The researchers used the same basic procedure, rating scale, and story structure for all participants. This increased control over the experiment and made it more likely that differences in responses were caused by the variables being investigated.
• Control of order effects: The researchers used two different orders for the four stories. This reduced the possibility that the order of the stories affected the children’s ratings.
• Individual testing: Each child was tested individually. This reduced the possibility that children would influence each other’s responses.
• Random assignment: Children were randomly assigned to the social or physical story condition. Random assignment reduces the effect of pre-existing differences between participants.
• Artificial task: The children judged fictional stories using a rating scale in a research setting. This is very different from making moral judgements during real-life situations. This may reduce ecological validity.
• Possible language and cultural differences: Differences in language or cultural meaning could affect how children interpreted the questions. For example, the Chinese words used to translate ‘naughty’ and ‘good’ might not have the same meaning or emotional connotations as they do in Canada and so the children in China could have interpreted the rating scale differently, skewing the results.

Population and sampling

The study involved 228 children from elementary schools in China and Canada.

• Large sample: The study included 120 Chinese children and 108 Canadian children. This provided a substantial amount of data and allowed the researchers to compare different ages and cultures.
• Different age groups: The sample included 7, 9, and 11 year olds. This allowed the researchers to investigate how moral judgements changed with age.
• Cross-cultural sample: Including children from China and Canada allowed the researchers to investigate cultural differences directly rather than assuming that findings from one culture applied to everyone.
• Limited geographical representation: The children came from schools in only two cities. The findings may not represent all children in China or Canada.
• Socioeconomic differences: Most Canadian children came from middle-class families, but the researchers did not have equivalent socioeconomic information for the Chinese children. This means socioeconomic differences between the samples could have contributed to some of the cultural differences.
• Unequal numbers: There were 120 Chinese participants but only 108 Canadian participants. The numbers also differed slightly between the Canadian age groups and between boys and girls.

Types of data

The study mainly produced quantitative data because the children gave numerical ratings of the characters’ behaviour and statements. Post-experiment interviews provided some qualitative data.

• Quantitative data: Children’s moral judgements (e.g. ‘very naughty’ or ‘very good’) were converted into numerical scores from +3 to -3.
  • Objective and easy to compare: Numerical ratings allowed the researchers to compare children’s judgements across age groups, cultures and story conditions.
  • Statistical analysis: The numerical data allowed the researchers to use statistical tests to determine whether differences between groups were significant.
  • Standardised measurement: Using the same rating scale for all participants made the children’s responses easier to compare.
• Qualitative data: The researchers also collected qualitative data by asking children to explain why they had given particular ratings.
  • More detail: The children’s explanations provided information about the reasoning behind their moral judgements, helping the researchers understand the cultural norms that may have influenced their ratings.

Representativeness and generalisability

The sample included children from China and Canada and covered three different age groups.

• Cross-cultural comparison: The study included children from both a Western culture and a non-Western culture. This provides stronger evidence about cultural differences than a study conducted in only one country.
• Different age groups: Including 7, 9, and 11 year olds allowed the researchers to examine developmental changes in moral judgement.
• Limited samples within each culture: The children came from particular schools in Hangzhou and Fredericton. They may not represent children from rural areas, other cities or different social backgrounds.
• Socioeconomic differences: Most Canadian children were from middle-class families, while comparable socioeconomic information was not available for the Chinese sample. This makes it difficult to know whether all differences were caused by culture.

Ethical issues

• Informed consent: The participants were very young children so they could not provide the same level of informed consent as adults. However, the children took part with the permission of their schools and families.
• Protection from psychological harm: The study did not expose children to physical danger or highly distressing material. The children listened to fictional stories and gave moral judgements.
• Deception: There is no obvious indication that the procedure required significant deception so this does not appear to have been a major ethical concern.
• Debriefing: The researchers held post-experimental discussions with the children. This provided an opportunity to discuss the study with the participants after testing.
• Cross-cultural sensitivity: The study was specifically designed to compare cultural differences rather than assuming that one culture represented a universal standard of moral development.

Overall, the study appears to raise relatively few serious ethical concerns compared with studies involving physical intervention, deception, or psychological distress.

Validity

• Internal Validity: Are the findings caused by the experimental variables rather than another variable?
  • High standardisation: The researchers used the same basic stories, rating scale, and procedure across all participants. This makes it more likely that differences in ratings reflected the variables being studied – e.g.  age, culture, or story condition – rather than differences in the procedure.
  • Control of order effects: The researchers used two different orders for the stories. This reduced the possibility that the order in which children heard the stories influenced their ratings. The researchers also varied the order in which the words ‘good’ and ‘naughty’ appeared in questions to prevent this skewing the results. 
  • Individual testing: Children were tested individually, which reduced the likelihood of other children’s responses influencing their answers.
  • Random assignment: Children were randomly assigned to the social or physical story condition. This reduced the possibility that pre-existing differences between the groups affected the results.
  • Cultural confounding variables: The Chinese and Canadian samples may have differed in factors other than culture such as socioeconomic background, school environment, and language. As such, it’s possible that these factors rather than culture caused the differences in moral judgements.
• Ecological Validity: Do the findings translate to the real world?
  • Artificial task: Children judged fictional stories in a controlled research setting. Real-life moral judgements are often more complicated and involve real consequences for other people.
  • Rating scale: Children had to reduce a complex moral judgement to a score from +3 to -3. This may not fully reflect how children would judge lying or truth telling in everyday situations.
  • Realistic moral situations: The stories were based on everyday social behaviour, such as helping a teacher or responding to a question about an action. This gives the task some relevance to children’s everyday experiences.

Reliability

• Internal Reliability: Is the procedure and measurement consistent across participants in this particular study?
  • Standardisation: The researchers used the same rating scale, symbols, story structure, and basic procedure for participants. This increased internal reliability because children’s responses were collected in a consistent way.
  • Clear operationalisation: The researchers clearly defined what children were asked to rate (the character’s act and verbal statement). This made it easier for the same aspects of behaviour to be measured consistently across participants.
• External Reliability: Can the study be replicated at a different time and with different groups to produce consistent results?
  • Clearly described procedure: The researchers provided a detailed description of the stories, rating scale and procedure. This makes the study reasonably easy for other researchers to replicate.
  • Standardised measures: The 7-point rating scale and clearly defined story conditions could be used again in future research.
  • Cultural and language differences: Replications in other countries may require changes to the language or examples used in the stories. For example, a word such as ‘naughty’ might not have an exact equivalent in another language. These changes could make exact replication more difficult.

Ethnocentrism

The study was specifically designed to investigate ethnocentrism by studying two different cultures.

• Strengths:
  • Cross-cultural comparison: The researchers directly compared Chinese and Canadian children. This challenged the assumption that findings from Western children automatically apply to children from other cultures.
  • Similar findings across cultures: The study also found similarities between Chinese and Canadian children, particularly in their negative judgements of lying after antisocial behaviour. This suggests that not all aspects of moral development are necessarily culture-specific.
• Weaknesses:
  • Only two cultures: The study compared China and Canada. It cannot establish whether the findings apply to all Western or non-Western cultures.
  • Possible cultural confounding variables: The Chinese and Canadian groups differed in more than nationality. For example, there were differences in socioeconomic information and the size of the cities in which the children lived. These factors could have contributed to differences between the groups.
  • Cultural interpretation: The researchers suggested that Chinese cultural values such as modesty and self-effacement could explain the findings. However, it is difficult to measure exactly which aspects of culture caused the differences.

Overall, Lee et al made an important contribution to reducing ethnocentrism in developmental psychology because it directly tested children from two different cultural backgrounds. However, the findings cannot be used to represent all cultures.

Evaluation summary table

Relation to developmental psychology more broadly

Lee et al (1997) contributes to developmental psychology by showing that children’s moral development can be influenced by both age and culture. The study is particularly important because much earlier research into moral development had been conducted in Western countries. Lee et al extended this research by comparing children from China and Canada.

The table below summarises how this study compares with other core studies and evaluates its contribution and current relevance: