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Parent-Child Relationships and Honesty: Controlling for Social Desirability

Clemson University - Psychology

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship beteen a child!s honesty and his or her opennessith parents" Seventy-nine undergraduate students at Clemson University ere surveyed to

find if a reported high level of openness beteen the participant and his or her parents also

revealed a high level of honesty" Social desirability as also ta#en into account$ for it may be

socially desirable to indicate a high level of honesty or an open relationship ith parents$ even

if untrue" Honesty as positively correlated ith both social desirability and openness ith

parents$ and social desirability as also positively correlated ith openness ith parents"

%fter running a partial correlation beteen honesty and openness ith parents controlling for

social desirability$ the correlation as no longer significant" Hoever$ a trend beteen

honesty and openness ith parents as still apparent"

&hy do different people choose to lie in different social situations' There have been

numerous studies involved ith identifying the causes of lying and the feelings that are felt

prior to$ during$ and after the telling of the lie" There are also various different types of lies"

Some lies are mean-spirited hile others are grouped ith #indness" Honesty and #indness

can conflict$ as ith a social lie$ can be in consonance$ as in a supportive friendship$ or can be

in a comple( connection$ such as constructive criticism )*amborn$ +ischer$ , Pipp$ ../0"

*ies in social interactions$ therefore$ ta#e on many different forms" *ying has even been

found to happen on a daily basis$ here college students even reported lying at a rate of

appro(imately one out of every three of their social interactions everyday )DePaulo$

1ir#endol$ 1ashy$ &yer$ , 2pstein$ ..30" 4ecause of this fact$ much more research must be

done to determine the reasons behind this phenomenon" 5n this study$ 5 ill loo# at the

correlation beteen parent-child relationships and the subse6uent effect they have on lying" 5

hypothesi7e that parent-child relationships in hich the parent is stricter ill correlate ith a

higher degree of dishonesty ithin the child"

Research has found that lies are told for a variety of reasons" People have reported lying

most often about such topics as their feelings$ actions$ plans$ and hereabouts )DePaulo$ et


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al"$ ..30" These lies all tended to be self-serving in nature$ in hich the lies benefited the liar

and not the person ho as being lied to" Hoever$ some lies in that same study did sho to

benefit the other person$ in about 89 of the cases" These lies ere usually told in order to

protect the other person from embarrassment$ hurt feelings$ or orry" *ies are told for a

variety of reasons$ from the ;little hite lie< to save a friend!s feelings$ to a dishonest

statement about the person!s hereabouts" &hat can e(plain hy some people chose to lie at

such a fre6uency'

5n a study conducted by =artin$ %nderson and =ottet )...0$ the self-disclosure

dimension of honesty )at 8>0 had the strongest relationship to perceived understanding

hen loo#ing at the stepchild-stepparent relationship" &hen the child felt that the stepparent

understood them$ the child maintained a stronger communication pattern and disclosed more

personal information and disclosed this information more honestly" ?pen communication

beteen parent and child as also found to be important in a study focused around substance

use and se(ual behavior in early adolescence" &hen parents clearly communicated the norms

about substance use and people ho engage in se($ and parental supportiveness as present$

the child as less li#ely to participate in those acts" The norms embedded ithin the parent!s

message ere internali7ed )&illis$ @ibbons$ @errard$ =urry , 4rody$ 8AA>0" &hen the child

had an open relationship ith his or her parent$ the child as more li#ely to internali7e the

parent!s message$ be more honest$ and be more respectful of his or her parent!s vies"

?pen communication can also help ith a child!s moral development" 5n situations

here parents and children can revie a child!s past conduct together$ there have been

significant positive conse6uences for the child!s moral development )1ochans#a$ %#san$ ,

Bichols$ 8AA>0" ?pen communication beteen parent and child alloed the child to learn

from their mista#es and the parent as able to communicate to the child the e(pectations that

ere held for their behavior" This open communication as also one characteristic of a secure


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attachment style" Secure attachment style can be seen in all types of relationships$ including

the relationship beteen parent and child" &hen a child and parent share a secure attachment

style$ the parent is more li#ely to monitor their child!s behavior to ensure their child is not in

danger and that all the child!s emotional needs are being met" Conse6uently$ children in a

secure attachment relationship are more prone to ta#e responsibility to alert their parents

about their hereabouts and actions )1erns$ %spelmeir$ @ent7ler$ , @rabill$ 8AA0" Children

ill be more li#ely to ta#e responsibility for their doings and be honest ith their parents if

the relationship beteen the child and parent is open and secure"

The role that parenting plays in the development of a child is far-reaching" Burturant

parenting has also been found to have a positive relationship ith fle(ible$ involved

adolescent behavior )Rueter , Conger$ ..0" &hen parents ere nurturing and #ind to their

children$ instead of aggressive and harsh$ the children ere shon to be more fle(ible and

involved and had better problem-solving s#ills" Begative communication beteen parent and

child$ along ith aggression$ can also have behavioral effects on the child" Harsh parenting

can be seen as a form of affect communication$ communication that includes many sensory

senses such as auditory and visual$ and can be modeled by the children )Chang$ Schart7$

Dodge , =c4ride-Chang$ 8AA>0" &hen a parent hits or scolds a child$ they communicate

anger and the child ill react emotionally negative to this anger" This is especially true hen

the une(pected party )in many cases the mother0 shos the aggression )Chang$ et" al 8AA>0"

The child is not accustomed to the mother being the authoritative parent and is used to the

mother being the more emotional parent" &hen the mother shos aggression or negative

communication$ the child reacts emotionally negative and can become hostile and model the

aggression$ or even undergo learning difficulties in problem-solving tas#s )Chang$ et" al

8AA>0" The communication beteen parent and child$ therefore$ can be seen as a crucial

element of the child!s emotional$ behavioral and intellectual development"


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Depaulo and 1ashy )..0 also found that the closeness that college students felt for their

parents$ or mothers in this particular study$ as about as high as for best friends$ yet the rate

of lying to their parents as not especially lo" This as in part due to the fact that parents

still control significant resources and so the students ould lie in order to obtain those

resources" %lso$ children of all ages are still concerned ith hat their parents thin# of them

and so they ill use self-presentational lies in order to prevent their parents from loo#ing

don on them" Though this research does not directly reflect ho strict parenting ill affect

honesty ithin the child$ it does sho that children ill lie to their parents if they believe it

ill #eep them out of trouble and ill #eep them on better terms ith their parents" The

children$ therefore$ do not ant to ma#e a mista#e and have their parents! resources ta#en

aay from them"

%nother factor that should be analy7ed is social desirability" This tendency for a

person to give hat he or she feels to be the socially acceptable anser$ hether or not it is

true$ is similar to many types of dishonesty that are apparent in everyday life" To feel that an

anser is approvable$ people may be more li#ely to be dishonest" 2specially hen the topics

are personal$ a person may be more li#ely to be dishonest and state a socially acceptable

anser to avoid negative evaluation" Honesty and the level of openness ith one!s parents can

be to personal topics that can lead to a socially desirable response"

5n summary$ research has been done to sho the relationship beteen open

communication beteen a child and parent and the high level of honesty that is seen in that

relationship" &hen children feel that their parents understand them$ they are more li#ely to be

honest and open" ?n the other hand$ hen the child fears ma#ing a mista#e$ the need to

preserve their image to a parent can subse6uently lead the child to lie in order to hide the

mista#e" %lso$ because it may not be socially acceptable to admit dishonesty or having a

negative relationship ith parents$ some people may be more dishonest hen ansering


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6uestions about personal topics" 4ecause of this$ 5 hypothesi7e that a less open relationship

beteen parent and child ill correlate ith a higher level of dishonesty among the child" The

child ill feel that it is not o#ay to ma#e mista#es$ and ill subse6uently lie to cover up hat

they have done rong" 5f the child feels that the parent ill be more understanding$ and that it

is o#ay to ma#e a mista#e$ the child ill be more li#ely to tell the truth" 2ven after social

desirability has been e(amined$ that relationship beteen honesty and openness ith parents

should still be seen" 5 hypothesi7e that this study may find a relationship beteen the parent-

child relationship and the vies on honesty that the child holds"

Method

Participants

The current study sampled . undergraduate students from Clemson University in

Clemson$ South Carolina" Students ere randomly chosen from a variety of locations around

campus in a convenience sample" This sample included >A male and /. female students" ?f

the . participants$ ." ere Caucasian$ "3 ere %frican-%merican$ "> ere %sian

and A" ere grouped into the ;other< category" ?ne participant chose not to respond to

the ethnicity 6uestion" The age of the participants ranged from -8>" The average age as 8A

years old" The participants ere various years at the university ith 8" freshman$ >

sophomores$ >". Euniors$ and . seniors" +our participants did not include their year of

study"

Procedure

2ach participant as approached and as#ed to help ith a Psychology >A %dvanced

2(perimental Psychology study" 2veryone 5 approached as illing to help in my study" 5

handed each person a 6uestionnaire pac#et" %ll pac#ets contained the same three

6uestionnaires$ but they ere counterbalanced ith half of the participants ansering the


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honesty 6uestionnaire first hile the second group ansered the openness ith parents

6uestionnaire first" ?n the top of the first page$ there ere blan#s for each participant!s age$

gender and class standing )either freshman$ sophomore$ Eunior$ senior$ or graduate student0"

%long ith each 6uestionnaire as a debriefing page so that the participant as completely

aare of the relationships the study as attempting to find"

5 briefly e(plained the instructions )for they ere also printed on each 6uestionnaire0

and re-e(plained ho their ansers ould be anonymous and ould not affect their status at

Clemson in any ay" The participants ere also aare that they ere able to ithdra their

participation at any point" This as also printed on each of the 6uestionnaires" The

participants ere then free to fill out the 6uestionnaire" 5 as present to anser any 6uestions

they had$ but participants #ne that they had as much time as they needed to complete the

6uestionnaires" %fter completion of the survey$ each participant as than#ed for their

participation and debriefed" 2ach participant as handed an information sheet about the

purpose of the study and the relationships 5 hoped to find" %lso$ they ere free to as# me any

6uestions at that time about the study"

Measures

The measures used in the current e(periment ere as follos:

Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MCSD))Crone and =arloe$ .3A0F

=CSD: This is a >> item trueGfalse scale that as reduced from the 9A 6uestion 2dards scale

and is used to measure the need for approval by participants" The items either describe

desirable but uncommon behaviors or undesirable but common behaviors" Participants

respond either ;True< or ;+alse< to each item )ith items #eyed in the positive direction

and 9 items #eyed in the negative direction0" The scale is then scored anyhere from A to >>

after all items are summed to obtain one single score" The higher scores sho a higher need

for social approval hile loer scores sho a loer need for social approval" The Cronbach


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%lpha for this study as "/ after e(cluding to items that did not seem to be correlating

correctly ith the other items in the scale" 5tems include ;5 never ma#e a long trip ithout

chec#ing the safety of my car$< ;5 never hesitate to go out of my ay to help someone in

trouble$< and ;5 have never intensely disli#ed someone"$p< "A9"

This had been hypothesi7ed to be significantly correlated" 5 ent on to e(amine the

correlations beteen social desirability and both honesty and openness ith parents" Social

desirability as found to be positively correlated ith both openness ith parents$ r ">A9$p

J "A$ and ith honesty$ r ">9$pJ "A" 4oth of these findings ere also e(pected due to

the fact that it ould be socially desirable to seem both honest and open ith your parents"

&hen controlling for social desirability in a partial correlation$ it had been

hypothesi7ed that there ould still be a significant correlation beteen honesty and openness

ith parents" &hen the correlation as performed$ the results ere not found to be

significant$ r ".9$pK "A9" The p-value as reduced to thepJ "A. level" % relationship as

still seen to be present$ even if not at a significant level"

Discussion

The present study yielded both some e(pected and some surprising results" %s

hypothesi7ed$ a positive correlation as found beteen honesty and openness ith parents" %

participant ho reported being more honest also reported having a more open relationship

ith their parents" Positive correlations ere also found beteen social desirability and both


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honesty and openness ith parents" Participants ho scored higher for social desirability ere

found to also score higher for honesty and openness ith parents" This as also assumed

because it ould be more socially acceptable to say that you are honest and open ith your

parents"

The surprising results ere found in the partial correlation beteen honesty and

openness ith parents hile controlling for social desirability" 5t had been hypothesi7ed that

the significant correlation ould still be present$ because although social desirability ould

be a factor in the ansers that participants gave$ it ould not be profound enough to affect a

significant correlation" Though a trend as still visible and the magnitude of the finding as

still significant$ the relationship as not significant on the "A9 level" There is a relationship

beteen honesty and openness ith parents even after controlling for social desirability that is

shon to be a non-significant trend"

The effect social desirability ould have on the correlations as underestimated in

this study" Social desirability is alays assumed to have at least a small effect hen dealing

ith private or sensitive issues" % person!s honesty and the relationship that person has ith

their parents could both be issues that ould illicit a stronger need for social desirability

ithin the subEect" Social desirability shos an indirect need for approval" 4y ansering

6uestions in a socially acceptable ay$ the participant might be see#ing approval from others"

This need for approval can be so strong that it is actually learned from parents" *obel and

4empechat )..80 found that hen mothers had a high need for approval$ their children also

modeled socially acceptable behavior" The young boys felt that they must maintain high

e(pectations for themselves and tried to create a positive impression of them hile the

daughters tried to display a modest public self" The need for approval influences these

children to act in social desirable ays that they had modeled from their mothers"


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5f need for approval can be modeled by children$ then perhaps social desirability is a

larger factor in studies than ould previously be e(pected" 5f participants gre up in

households in hich their parents ere high in need for approval$ then the participants might

also have a high need for approval" This could complicate studies involving intimate topics$

such as home life" Though social desirability might be a factor in findings$ hoever$ it should

not cause a significant difference"

*ying has been shon to be a part of everyday life" The reason people choose to lie

varies$ from self-serving motives to trying to protect the one ho is lied to" Relationships in

hich dishonesty as present ere found by DePaulo et al" )..30 to be less intimate and less

pleasant" This led me to assume that a relationship that is more pleasant and intimate ould

breed more honesty" +indings by =artin et al" )...0 shoed there as a relationship

beteen perceived understanding and self-disclosure in the stepchild-stepparent relationship"

&hen the stepchildren felt that the stepparent understood them$ they ere more li#ely to self-

disclose personal information" Those ho chose to tell self-disclosing statements ere also

more honest in nature" These findings led to the hypothesis that a more open relationship

ould also tend to be more intimate" This higher level of intimacy could then e(hibit more

honest e(changes beteen the parent and child"

The findings do sho a relationship beteen honesty and openness ith parents at a

significant level" 2ven hen the relationship as not significant$ a trend as seen" 4ecause of

this fact$ the prior theory that hen controlling for social desirability$ honesty and openness

ith parents are still significantly correlated$ does not need to be abandoned" This study

contained some limitations that may have reduced the significance of the findings" ?ne such

limitation is that due to time constraints$ only . participants could be surveyed" Though this

number is not e(tremely lo$ to find a significant correlation a larger number ould have

been ideal" %lso$ the internal consistency of the scales as not as high as e(pected" The


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sample of students at Clemson University is also not the most diverse population of people" %

more diverse campus might find a better result since students from different bac#grounds can

be surveyed" %nother limitation is that 5 developed the 6uestionnaire and the 6uestionnaire

giving both those 6uestionnaires an un#non validity" %dditionally$ this study as a

correlational study and so no causal inference can be made"

Though this study did not find significant results for all correlations$ the conclusions

that ere discussed could be helpful in future investigations" 4ecause lying is an everyday

event and open communication yields self-disclosure and honesty ithin children$ the present

hypotheses should be further researched" +urther studies can be conducted ith the same

hypotheses$ but using separate scales" %lso$ the relationship beteen a parent!s need for

approval and a child!s honesty and social desirability could be e(amined to see if there is a

correlation in future studies" This may help to understand hy the phenomenon of lying is a

part of everyday life" Until that 6uestion is ansered$ further research must be conducted to

find an anser"

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