Parent-Child Relationships and Honesty: Controlling for Social Desirability Clemson University - Psychology

Abstract
This study investigated the relationship bet een a child!s honesty and his or her openness ith parents" Seventy-nine undergraduate students at Clemson University ere surveyed to find if a reported high level of openness bet een 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 bet een honesty and openness ith parents controlling for social desirability$ the correlation as no longer significant" Ho ever$ a trend bet een 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 bet een 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

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" Ho ever$ 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 bet een 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 vie s" ?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 bet een parent and child allo ed 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

attachment style" Secure attachment style can be seen in all types of relationships$ including the relationship bet een 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$ 8AA-0" Children ill be more li#ely to ta#e responsibility for their doings and be honest ith their parents if the relationship bet een 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$ -..C0" &hen parents ere nurturing and #ind to their children$ instead of aggressive and harsh$ the children ere sho n to be more fle(ible and involved and had better problem-solving s#ills" Begative communication bet een 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$ Sch art7$ 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 sho s 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 sho s 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 bet een parent and child$ therefore$ can be seen as a crucial element of the child!s emotional$ behavioral and intellectual development"

Depaulo and 1ashy )-..C0 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 do n 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 a ay 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 ans er$ hether or not it is true$ is similar to many types of dishonesty that are apparent in everyday life" To feel that an ans er 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 ans er to avoid negative evaluation" Honesty and the level of openness ith one!s parents can be t o personal topics that can lead to a socially desirable response" 5n summary$ research has been done to sho the relationship bet een open communication bet een 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 ans ering

6uestions about personal topics" 4ecause of this$ 5 hypothesi7e that a less open relationship bet een 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 bet een honesty and openness ith parents should still be seen" 5 hypothesi7e that this study may find a relationship bet een the parentchild relationship and the vie s on honesty that the child holds"

Method
Participants The current study sampled D. 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 D. participants$ D."D: ere Caucasian$ D"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 -C-8>" The average age as 8A years old" The participants ere various years at the university ith 8-"-: freshman$ >C: 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 ans ering the

honesty 6uestionnaire first hile the second group ans ered 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 a are 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 ans ers ould be anonymous and ould not affect their status at Clemson in any ay" The participants ere also a are 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 ans er 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 follo s: Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MCSD) )Cro ne and =arlo e$ -.3A0F =CSD: This is a >> item trueGfalse scale that as reduced from the 9A 6uestion 2d ards 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 -C items #eyed in the positive direction and -9 items #eyed in the negative direction0" The scale is then scored any here from A to >> after all items are summed to obtain one single score" The higher scores sho a higher need for social approval hile lo er scores sho a lo er need for social approval" The Cronbach

%lpha for this study as "D/ after e(cluding t o 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"< The second portion of the survey utili7ed my o n 6uestions" 5t is a -A-item scale e(amining the participants! parent-child relationship" 5t is scored on a 9 point *i#ert Scale ith -HStrongly Disagree and 9HStrongly %gree" 5n this scale$ 9 items ere #eyed in the positive direction and 9 items ere #eyed in the negative direction" Response items are summed to a single score" % higher score indicates a lo level of openness ith parents hile a lo er score indicates a more open relationship ith parents" This scale is used to measure the parent-child relationship that the participant possesses and ill tap into ho o#ay they feel it is to ma#e a mista#e ith their parents and ho their parents communicate ith the child" The Cronbach %lpha in this study as "D- after e(cluding t o 6uestions because they did not have a high item-total correlation" Iuestions include ;=y parents and 5 openly communicate< and ;5 feel safe confiding in my parents about sensitive topics"< See %ppendi( % for the measure" The third portion of the survey as my o n 6uestions" 5t is a -A-item scale e(amining the honesty of the participant" 5t is scored on a 9 point *i#ert Scale ith -HStrongly Disagree and 9HStrongly %gree$ ith C items #eyed in the positive direction and C items #eyed in the negative direction" Response items are summed to a single score" % higher score indicated dishonesty hile a lo er score indicated more honesty" This scale is used to measure the participant!s vie on honesty" Iuestions include$ ;5n some situations$ it is o#ay to tell a little hite lie< and ;5 have borro ed someone!s belongingsG eaten some of their food ithout letting them #no "< This scale sho ed a Cronbach %lpha of "3-" Three items ere removed because they negatively correlated ith the other items and did not seem to be successfully

measuring the construct of honesty" This reliability is lo er than hat ould be ideal$ and the ording of some 6uestions might have confused participants" See %ppendi( 4 for the measure"

Results
Results for the social desirability scale ere calculated to have a mean of -"9. on a 8point scale$ ith a standard deviation of "-/" The honesty scale yielded a mean of 8".$ on a five-point scale$ ith a standard deviation of "/C and the openness ith parents scale had a mean of 8"C$ on a five-point scale$ ith a standard deviation of "9/" The correlation bet een honesty and openness ith parents as found to be significantly positive$ r H "8C>$ p < "A9" This had been hypothesi7ed to be significantly correlated" 5 ent on to e(amine the correlations bet een social desirability and both honesty and openness ith parents" Social desirability as found to be positively correlated ith both openness ith parents$ r H ">A9$ p J "A-$ and ith honesty$ r H ">9D$ p J "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 bet een honesty and openness ith parents" &hen the correlation as performed$ the results ere not found to be significant$ r H "-.9$ p K "A9" The p-value as reduced to the p J "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 bet een 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 bet een social desirability and both

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 bet een 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 ans ers 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 bet een honesty and openness ith parents even after controlling for social desirability that is sho n to be a non-significant trend" The effect social desirability ould have on the correlations as underestimated in this study" Social desirability is al ays 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 sho s an indirect need for approval" 4y ans ering 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"

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$ ho ever$ it should not cause a significant difference" *ying has been sho n 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 sho ed there as a relationship bet een 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 selfdisclose 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 bet een the parent and child" The findings do sho a relationship bet een 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 D. 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

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#no n 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 bet een 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 ans ered$ further research must be conducted to find an ans er"