Abstract：
Three preregistered studies examined whether 5-year-old children cheat consistently or remain honest across multiple math tests. We observed high consistency in both honesty and cheating. All children who cheated on the first test continued cheating on subsequent tests, with shorter cheating latencies over time. In contrast, 77% of initially honest children maintained honesty despite repeated failure to complete the tests successfully. A brief integrity intervention helped initially honest children remain honest but failed to dissuade initially cheating children from cheating. These findings demonstrate that cheating emerges early and persists strongly in young children, underscoring the importance of early prevention efforts. They also suggest that bolstering honesty from the start may be more effective than attempting to remedy cheating after it has occurred. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Our research examines whether 5-year-old children, once they have started cheating, will continue to do so consistently. We also investigate whether 5-year-old children who are initially honest will continue to be honest subsequently. We discovered high consistency in both honesty and cheating among 5-year-old children. Almost all the children who initially cheated continued this behavior, while those who were honest stayed honest. A brief integrity-boosting intervention successfully helped 5-year-old children maintain their honesty. However, the same intervention failed to deter cheaters from cheating again. These findings underscore the importance of implementing integrity intervention as early as possible, potentially before children have had their first experience of cheating.
摘要：
三项预先注册的研究检查了5岁的孩子在多次数学测试中是否一贯作弊或保持诚实。我们观察到诚实和作弊的高度一致性。所有在第一次考试中作弊的孩子在随后的考试中继续作弊，随着时间的推移，作弊延迟更短。相比之下,77％的最初诚实的孩子保持诚实，尽管一再未能成功完成测试。简短的诚信干预帮助最初诚实的孩子保持诚实，但未能阻止最初作弊的孩子作弊。这些发现表明，作弊在幼儿中出现得很早，并且持续存在。强调早期预防工作的重要性。他们还建议，从一开始就加强诚实可能比在作弊发生后试图补救更有效。研究重点：我们的研究检查了5岁儿童，一旦他们开始作弊，将继续始终如一地这样做。我们还调查了最初诚实的5岁儿童随后是否会继续诚实。我们发现在5岁儿童中诚实和作弊的一致性很高。几乎所有最初作弊的孩子都继续这种行为，而那些诚实的人保持诚实。简短的促进诚信的干预措施成功地帮助了5岁的孩子保持了诚实。然而,同样的干预未能阻止作弊者再次作弊。这些发现强调了尽早实施诚信干预的重要性，可能在孩子们第一次经历作弊之前。
