In addition to external social factors, children are also influenced by internal social factors
(i.e., pleasing themselves by doing the ‘‘right’’ thing).
Furthermore, the influence of external and internal factors may change with age.
Over time, children internalize moral standards held by their parents and society
and become increasingly influenced by internal social factors . In this study,
we examined the influence of external appeals that emphasized pleasing another person on children’s honesty
as well as the influence of internal appeals that emphasized telling the truth to please oneself in children aged
4 to 8 years.