Smiling, face covering, and rhythmic body rocking in children who cheat versus do not cheat

Cheating is the behavioral realization of immoral decisions. It is a dynamic process that does not begin or end on the enactment of cheating. However, little research has closely looked at the behavioral dynamics of the cheating process. The current study analyzed smiling, face covering, and rhythmic body rocking among 4- to 7-year-old children (N = 120) who participated in a challenging math test. We compared these target expressive behaviors from baseline practice trials to the critical test trial. Compared with children who did not cheat, we found that those who cheated were more likely to display smiling during the critical test trial, and those who cheated were more likely to cover their faces throughout the experiment even before they had the opportunity to cheat. Rhythmic body rocking did not differ between cheating and non-cheating children. The study identified behavioral differences between children who cheated and those who did not cheat, laying the groundwork for understanding children’s cheating behaviors from the lens of behavioral dynamics. It also suggests that with further research there might be some potential for distinguishing between these groups based on behavioral cues.