Think you never lie? Be truthful in our fun quiz . . .
1You are writing an online dating profile. Do you: A. Stick to the facts on all particulars, but make your social life sound more interesting than it actually is. B. Add 2in to your height and take five years off your age. C. Blatantly lie about your marital status. D. Write nothing but the unvarnished truth. 2It’s Christmas and your mother-in-law gives you the same book she gave you last year (you hated it). Do you: A. Gently remind her that she bought it for you last year and that you really enjoyed it. B. Thank her profusely while claiming the author is a friend. C. Tell her you’ve been looking forward to reading this book for years and that she must be able to read your mind. D. Explain the situation honestly. 3 In a job interview, you are asked to name the achievement you are most
proud of in your career. Do you: A. Cite a project from your last job but make it sound more impressive than it was. B. Invent a story about doubling the firm’s revenue. C. Run through a few options from your entirely fictional CV before landing on the most impressive lie. D. Tell them you can’t think of one right now. 4You bump into an old friend pushing a pram and she invites you to admire her baby. It resembles a squashed tomato. Do you: A. Tell her it’s lovely. B. Weep and say you’re always moved to tears by beauty. C. Claim it resembles your own (non-existent) child. D. Enquire if the baby is sick. 5Your friend goes on holiday and entrusts you with her dog. one day, you leave the front door open, he makes a run for it and gets run over. Do you: A. Call your friend and break the bad news, without saying that you left the door open. B. Tell your friend that while out walking the dog he ran off and although you threw yourself in front of the car, you failed to save him. C. Buy a new dog that closely resembles your friend’s and train it to answer to Buster. D. Tell your friend exactly what happened. 6Your
company fails to land a new contract with a key client after a member of your team screws up. Your boss asks you what happened. Do you: A. Make up a reason for the failure that omits your colleague’s mistake. B. Pretend the client was about to sever all ties with your firm until you saved the day with a heartfelt speech. C. Wildly exaggerate the extent of your colleague’s misdemeanour; demand that he is fired and his salary is added to yours. D. Tell the boss about your colleague’s mistake but take the blame yourself. 7 You borrow a friend’s designer coat to wear to a glamorous boat party and spill a glass of red wine on it. The coat is damaged irreparably. Do you: A. Tell your friend that someone at the party (not you) spilt wine on the coat. B. Say that you saw a shivering homeless person and gave them the coat. C. Break off all relations with your friend since you never had any intention of returning the coat anyway. D. Admit that you spilt wine on the coat and offer to pay for a replacement. 8 You’re paying for your child to have extra tuition to pass an entrance exam, but you don’t want other parents at school to know. When asked why he’s doing so well, do you: A. Say he is getting help from a family friend. B. Explain that you are highly gifted and so is your child. C. Give them the number of a different tutor you know is not very good. D. Tell them about the private lessons.
HOW YOU SCORED
MOSTLY A: Little White Liar. You tell porkies now and then, usually to avoid hurting people’s feelings.
MOSTLY B: Narcissist. Your lies are designed to impress upon everyone just how fabulous you are. MOSTLY C: Sociopath. You have no compunction about lying to achieve your ends — even if other people end up getting hurt in the process.
MOSTLY D: Self-Deceiver. You never lie.