“Princess Alice is watching you”: children’s belief in an invisible person inhibits cheating

Ingram, G, Piazza, J and Bering, J (2011) '“Princess Alice is watching you”: children’s belief in an invisible person inhibits cheating.' Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 109 (3). pp. 311-320. ISSN 0022-0965

Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2011.02.003

Abstract

Two child groups (5–6 and 8–9 years of age) participated in a challenging rule-following task while they were (a) told that they were in the presence of a watchful invisible person (‘‘Princess Alice’’), (b)observed by a real adult, or (c) unsupervised. Children were covertly videotaped performing the task in the experimenter’s absence. Older children had an easier time at following the rules but engaged in equal levels of purposeful cheating as the younger children. Importantly, children’s expressed belief in the invisible person significantly determined their cheating latency, and this was true even after controlling for individual differences in temperament. When ‘‘skeptical’’ children were omitted from the analysis, the inhibitory effects of being told about Princess Alice were equivalent to having a real adult present. Furthermore, skeptical children cheated only after having first behaviorally disconfirmed the ‘‘presence’’ of Princess Alice. The findings suggest that children’s belief in a watchful invisible person tends to deter cheating.

Item Type: Article
Keywords: Supernatural beliefs Cheating Rule following Moral development Inhibitory control Invisible
Divisions: School of Sciences
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2011.02.003
Date Deposited: 30 Jan 2013 12:56
Last Modified: 15 Aug 2021 09:33
URI / Page ID: https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/964
Request a change to this item or report an issue Request a change to this item or report an issue
Update item (repository staff only) Update item (repository staff only)