Are you a liar?

To lie or not to lie? We all lie sometimes. In his research on deception, Dr. Ekman found nine common reasons why people lie. In which situations do you lie? How often do you resort to lying? Find out by seeing how you would respond in the scenarios below.

Are you a liar?

1. You accidentally dropped your new smartphone in the pool and it stopped working. Unfortunately, your insurance plan doesn't cover water damage repairs or replacements, leaving you stuck to pay out-of-pocket to fix it. You're hoping there's some way to avoid the fees so, when a sales representative asks what happened, you...

A. Make up an elaborate story about how your phone mysteriously stopped functioning suddenly.

B. Shrug and say nothing.

C. Dance around the question without giving any actual explanation.

D. Tell the truth about the water damage and ask if they'll make an exception, just this once.

2. You're hoping to get a scholarship for an expensive program and you're worried you won't be considered because you don't meet all of the qualifications listed. During the application process you...

A. Write a cover letter addressing the gaps between your experience and their prerequisites to explain how you are still an ideal candidate.

B. Fabricate some extra experience you don't actually have to strengthen your application.

C. Decide not to apply, there's no way you're gonna get it.

D. During the interview, slip the interviewer a $50 dollar bill and wink.

3. Your child has been accused of plagiarizing a book report. When investigating, you find evidence that confirms this but worry about the repercussions it may have and don't want them suspended from school. When the principal calls you to discuss the cheating, you respond by:

A. Playing dumb, claiming you have no idea what may have happened.

B. Vehemently denying the school's accusations and defending your child.

C. Acknowledging the evidence you found, sharing your disappointment in your child's behavior.

D. Ignoring the principal's calls—you don't want to be involved in this mess!

4. You're at a Super Bowl party with friends and realize your designated driver is no longer sober enough to safely (or legally) operate a vehicle. When they're ready to leave, they look to you and ask if you've seen their keys (they're in your pocket) and you...

A. Say you haven't seen them while pretending to help them look under the couch cushions.

B. Reprimand them for even considering driving in their inebriated state.

C. Avoid the question altogether and distract them with their favorite song.

D. Admit the keys are in your pocket and explain that you don't feel safe having them drive.

5. You've been trying to strengthen your relationship with your boss all year. When she turns and asks you what you thought about the Dodgers game last night (she's a huge fan, but you never watch sports), you respond by...

A. Nodding enthusiastically while saying nothing.

B. Pretending it's your favorite professional MLB team.

C. Changing the topic as quickly as possible to avoid answering.

D. Admitting you didn't catch last night's game but offer to get tickets for next week's game.

6. You're at a party when an acquaintance (whose name you've since forgotten) comes up to greet you. What do you do?

A. Tell them you've got to make an urgent call (you don't) and walk away.

B. Apologize for forgetting their name and ask them if they could remind you.

C. Take your best guess about their name and hope it's right!

D. Address them as "hey youuuu" and strike up a conversation, hoping you'll overhear someone else use their name eventually.

7. After using the bathroom at a friend's house, the toilet suddenly begins to overflow uncontrollably. Even though you weren't the cause of the malfunction, you're embarrassed by the whole situation and can't fix this yourself. What do you do now?

A. Blame it on the person who used the toilet before you.

B. Quietly exit the bathroom and plan to deny ever using it in the first place.

C. Find the host immediately to explain the situation.

D. Party's over, time to leave!

8. You've recently discovered that you and your partner are expecting a baby when your boss asks you to take over a coworker's project overseas for the next seven months. You don't want to share the personal news yet but already know you can't accept their request so you...

A. Thank them for the opportunity but decline, making up another reason about why it wouldn't work.

B. Tell them you'll have to let them know later and avoid them (even though you know your answer won't change).

C. Remain noncommittal with responses like, "Maybe," or, "That could work..."

D. Agree to go, all the while planning to decline at a later date, once you're ready to share your news.

9. You're the mayor of a small town and a major company approaches you about the prospect of moving their headquarters to your area. After hearing what this relocation process would entail, you know there will be significant negative impacts on town life which your constituents will likely disapprove of. However, since you still believe in the greater good of this project, you schedule a town hall meeting in hopes of persuading the townspeople by...

A. Giving them all the information you have (they have a right to know!) but putting extra emphasis on the benefits in hopes it will be enough to sway them.

B. Telling them about all the benefits and intentionally leaving out all the downsides.

C. Telling them about all the benefits and falsely reassuring them there are no downsides.

D. Presenting the exciting opportunity, all the while hoping no one asks you about the impacts it will have on the local community.

If you are human, leave this field blank.

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