This study examines the possibility that ability to avoid detection of deceptive behavior via nonverbal behavior might be related to an individual's role-taking skill. Sixty-one 5 to 12 year-old boys and girls were led to be verbally deceptive or truthful by saying that they either had enjoyed or not enjoyed an unpleasant experience or had enjoyed or not enjoyed a pleasant experience. Untrained adult judges then rated whether they thought the children were being truthful or deceptive. It was hypothesized that the children's role-taking skill would be positively correlated with their ability to avoid detection by the adult judges. Results indicate a positive relationship between the ability to take the perspective of others and success at avoiding detection. The awareness that one's nonverbal behavior during social interaction has an impact on the perception of others appears to be an important factor influencing the ability to control nonverbal cues. Children who are better able to take the perspective of others in the role-taking task were also more effective at controlling their nonverbal behavior. (Author/MP)