New Arming the Donkeys
Oct
08
Children and Cheating
This week’s “Arming the Donkeys” podcast is now posted on Duke’s iTunes U site. Here’s the link:
And here’s the blurb:
In this week’s program, I talk with Mike Norton, associate professor of marketing at Harvard Business School, about children and cheating. Mike wonders whether kids are any more trustworthy than the rest of us, or simply not as good at concealing their dishonesty.
Enjoy
Dan
The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone - Especially Ourselves
The Mike Norton link may be pointing to another Mike (www.ihatemike.com/bio/ vs.
http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=326229). If not, this is even more interesting!
First of all we have to clarify what the cheating is. If cheating is the process when one individual follows his one interest against the “rules” (whatever and whoever instituted them) then is one case (external imposed rules). If cheating is when the individual is stepping over his own imposed rules is another case. Let’s call these situations as: external rules and internal rules.
In my experience the children will find easier to bend the external rules once tested them and found “flexibility” available. If, on contrary, the rules (or those imposing them) were allowing not even the smallest transgression (when tested by childred) the children are somehow learning to obey them without questionning. Testing the rules is another subject: it is in the very nature of the child (it happens offen and without “precaucionary” warnings for the rule keepers) and child learns not only from his own experiments on rules but also from the way those around are respecting the rules (parents & teachers – own example and hypocrisy if the case, fellows of games – stories and example displaying their own behaviour, etc). So, in my opinion the children will test the external rules very active in a vast variety of ways. Once the external rules can be bent they will be. In which degree? Hard to tell.
When speaking about internal rules the thrustworthiness (for children, compared with adults) is somehow low. In my experience the children can switch very easily from one objective (and aiming one objective drag some rules to be followed; a different objective and the rules are somehow different) to another whithout too much conflict. Lets say the child has proposed himself to put together some sweets for about 1 week. According with this objectives here comes some rules: increasing the amount of existing sweets and not eating from those already treasured during the said interval. But guess what happens when his friend comes by accident to see the sweet treasure, asking to just taste some of the green/blue/red coated ones. As per his own imposed rules the child shall explain to his friend the whole story and ask him to be patient about. Or at least this is what an adult would do. But the kid sees the glare in his friend eyes, instinctly feels a better appreciation from his friend and not only allows the friend to have some of the treasured sweets but the kid himself will do some tasting along. Is the child cheating himself? Definetily yes. Would be an adult more controlled? I think so. Even more, the adult maybe will feel a touch of remorce for failing his target. While asking the child what happened the answer will be: nothing, we just had some of my sweets.
thank you for sharing and experience
Very interesting! Just found your blog today!!! Will be back for more
Very enriching podcast for my business. thanks you !
Nice blog ill add it on my favorite list
You’re so awesome! I do not think I’ve truly read through a single thing like that before. So nice to discover somebody with some unique thoughts on this topic. Seriously.. many thanks for starting this up. This site is one thing that’s needed on the web, someone with a bit of originality!
say thanks a ton for sharing and experience
Verti Draining
We can’t really blame children who cheats, they only learn it from what they saw or what they learn from the community they grow up. What we do is to nurtured them while they still can cause once the tree becomes bigger you can no longer penetrate it.
Children cheats to succeed a certain goal or they are afraid if there parents finds out that they fail for not doing there part.