If honesty's always be the best policy, how do you raise honest kids? Do young children take cautionary tales to heart, or simply ignore the message?

Researchers from the University of Toronto may have the answer.
 
According to a press release, research published in Psychological Science concludes that praising, say, the virtue of being honest is more effective than focusing on the negative repercussions of lying. In other words, although stories like 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' and 'Pinocchio' are classics, they probably won't inspire honesty in children.

Indeed, it's not a given that moral stories lead to moral behaviour, claims lead author Kang Lee of the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study at the University of Toronto. Researchers conducted an experiment with more than 250 children aged between three and seven, in which the kids were asked if they peeked at a toy when the researcher left the room.

Those who read the stories 'The Tortoise and the Hare,' 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf,' 'Pinocchio' were no more likely to be truthful about their behaviour than those who hadn't read the stories.

Yet those who read 'George Washington and the Cherry Tree'—in which the first U.S. president is praised for confessing a wrongdoing—were three times more likely to admit they had peeked at the toy.

Conversely, if the ending of 'George' was altered to a negative or punitive outcome, the children were less likely to confess themselves.

"Our study shows that to promote moral behaviour such as honesty, emphasizing the positive outcomes of honesty rather than the negative consequences of dishonesty is the key," said Lee. "This may apply to other moral behaviours as well." It's not clear whether the same findings apply in the long term.

What do you think of this research? Will it change the way you teach your children?

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