How Halloween really can bring out the little monster in kids
AS every parent knows, guising can be a cover for all sorts of impish behaviour.
And it seems the ancient Scottish tradition of wearing costumes for Hallowe’en reveals a lot about how much of a little monster a child really is, according to scientists.
Researchers tested 544 trick-or-treaters’ truthfulness when they went to the door of behavioural economist Joshua Tasoff.
They found costumes were a cover for youngsters’ true behaviour. Children dressed as ‘good guys’ are more likely to tell lies to get extra sweets – and it is actually those posing as baddies who are more honest behind the mask.
Associate Professor Tasoff, of Claremont Graduate University in Los Angeles, said the results go to the heart of guising.
He added: ‘There are several cultural examples in which people don costumes and then behave in ways that would otherwise be considered norm violations.
‘It makes a lot of sense that if you’re going to break some rule, you’d want to be in disguise.’
In the study, each child was asked to roll a die in a cup, knowing that a six would be rewarded with extra sweets – but, crucially, they did not have to provide any proof of what number had come up.
Bonus treats were claimed 40 per cent of the time.
Four-year-olds were the least likely to roll a six at 28 per cent, but that figure rose with each year of age, peaking at 47 per cent for those aged 12 and 13 before declining with maturity. A subgroup of 464 children were asked first whether they considered they were dressed as a heroic figure – the most popular being a unicorn, Spider-Man and Batman – or a wicked character such as an evil clown, vampire or Jason from the film Friday The 13th.
The study found self-identified baddies were 27 per cent less likely to claim bonus treats.
It states: ‘This result is opposite to what we predicted.
‘A proposed explanation is that “good guys” feel their costume equates to moral tokens providing them less incentive to follow norms and more incentive to lie, making use of their good deed tokens. Conversely, “bad guys”… may feel persuaded to lie less in order to overtly show their true identity does not align with their “bad guy” costume.’
The paper, in the Journal of Economic Behaviour & Organisation, adds: ‘It seems that an important reason why Hallowe’en is so attractive to children is that it facilitates enjoyable role play.’
This year’s celebrations for Hallowe’en – which evolved from the Celtic holiday of Samhain – will inevitably be quieter than usual due to the pandemic.
The Scottish Government said it is too early to decide whether to allow trick-or-treating under national or regional restrictions.