How Small Fibs Lead to Big Lies

Which of the following best identifies the text’s main idea about lying?

• The more often people lie, the more comfortable they become and the more likely they are to tell serious lies

• commit more serious misconducts to achieve the same experience.

• People who lie more often are more likely to not only tell bigger lies, but participate in other forms of serious misconduct.

• People who naturally have less activity in their amygdala are more capable of telling lies without understanding the consequences.

Which detail from the text best supports the main idea?

• “‘Despite the dramatic impact of these acts on economics, policy and education, we do not have a clear understanding of how and why small transgressions may gradually lead to larger ones.’” (Paragraph 5)

• “What they found was that when people first started lying — deceiving their partner in order to benefit themselves — the amygdala showed more activity.” (Paragraph 8)

• “Notably, participants were also willing to lie to benefit their partners, but the magnitude of those lies did not grow over time.” (Paragraph 11)

• “So, if there’s less of an emotional response to lying, they reason, ‘people may engage in more frequent and severe acts [of self-serving deception].’” (Paragraph 14)

Which statement best describes how the author introduces the study conducted about lying?

• The author explains why researchers are studying something people already believe to be true.

• The author provides readers with examples of other successful studies conducted by the researchers.

• The author explains why the study is the first of its kind and has never been attempted before.

• The author acknowledges that readers may be skeptical about the results of the study.

What is the author’s main purpose in the final paragraph of the text?

• to encourage readers to think about the consequences of even seemingly harmless actions

• to suggest the study’s findings could help to understand how other forms of misconduct grow

• to prove that small lies can lead to more serious acts of misconduct and criminal conduct

• to provide readers with the information to look into another ongoing study about how misconduct can escalate

What is the objective of the study?

• to disprove people’s beliefs about lying

• to find out why people lie

• to prove a widely-held hypothesis

• to prove whether lying leads to criminality