This statistic shows the results of a survey among adult Americans in 2016 on situations in which lying is okay. During the survey, 18 percent of respondents stated that lying in order to avoid hurting someone's feelings is often okay, while 58 percent said it was sometimes okay, and 24 percent thought it was never okay to lie in order to avoid hurting someone's feelings.
Do you think it is okay to lie in the following situations?
Characteristic
Often okay
Sometimes okay
Never okay
Lying in order to avoid hurting someone’s feelings
18%
58%
24%
Exaggerating the facts to make a story more interesting
8%
44%
48%
A parent lying about the parent’s past misbehavior
7%
46%
46%
Lying about one’s age
11%
40%
49%
Lying about being sick to take the day off
6%
41%
52%
Lying on a resume
4%
13%
82%
Lying to one’s spouse or partner about an affair
4%
10%
86%
Lying to one’s spouse or partner about forgetting an anniversary
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Ipsos. (April 4, 2016). Do you think it is okay to lie in the following situations? [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 23, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/539795/situations-that-warrant-a-lie/
Ipsos. "Do you think it is okay to lie in the following situations?." Chart. April 4, 2016. Statista. Accessed December 23, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/539795/situations-that-warrant-a-lie/
Ipsos. (2016). Do you think it is okay to lie in the following situations?. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: December 23, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/539795/situations-that-warrant-a-lie/
Ipsos. "Do You Think It Is Okay to Lie in The following Situations?." Statista, Statista Inc., 4 Apr 2016, https://www.statista.com/statistics/539795/situations-that-warrant-a-lie/
Ipsos, Do you think it is okay to lie in the following situations? Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/539795/situations-that-warrant-a-lie/ (last visited December 23, 2024)
Do you think it is okay to lie in the following situations? [Graph], Ipsos, April 4, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/539795/situations-that-warrant-a-lie/
