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Study: Dishonest Children Have Good Thinking And Memory Skills

By Kristina Dougherty

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND (CBS) – A new study suggests that children with the best thinking and memory skills are better liars than other children.

Researchers say those kids can keep track of a lot of information, allowing them to be better at covering up lies.

The study had six to seven-year-old children presented with the opportunity to do something that they were told not to do; look at answers on the back of a card during a trivia game.

Researchers say a hidden camera allowed them to identify which children had peeked at the cards, despite the kids' denials.

Researchers say further questioning about the answers on the cards enabled them to determine who was good at lying and who was bad at it.

During the experiment, researchers say they measured two elements, verbal and visuospatial working memory in kids.

Researchers say the results found that the children who were good at lying performed better in the verbal working memory tests, compared to the kids who were bad at lying.

"Kids who possessed better memories and could keep track of lots of information were able to successfully make and maintain a cover story for their lie," researchers say.

The study found there was no difference in the visuospatial scores between the good and bad liars.

The results of the study were published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.

Dr Elena Hoicka, from the University of Sheffield's Department of Psychology, says, "While parents are usually not too proud when their kids lie, they can at least be pleased to discover that when their children are lying well, it means their children are becoming better at thinking and have good memory skills."

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