Question

One thousand randomly selected adult Americans participated in a survey. When asked "Do you think it is sometimes justified to lie or do you think lying is never justified?" 52% responded that lying was never justified. When asked about lying to avoid hurting someone's feelings, 630 responded that this was often or sometimes okay.

Comment on the apparent inconsistency in the responses given by the individuals in this sample.

a) At least 150 people were responding both that lying was never justified and that it was often or sometimes okay to lie to avoid hurting someone's feelings. These are inconsistent responses.

b) 110 people didn't respond to either question. There were no inconsistent responses.

c) 110 people were responding both that lying was never justified and that it was often or sometimes okay to lie to avoid hurting someone's feelings. These are inconsistent responses.

d) At least 150 people didn't respond to either question. There were no inconsistent responses.

Answer 1

Total No of People in Survey (n) = 1000

Lying never justified = 52%of n = 520

Always lying + sometime lying + no response = 1000-520 = 480 ………………….. (1)

Lying to avoid hurting someone’s feeling = 630

Always lying + sometimes lying = 630 ……………………………. (2)

From equation 1 and 2, it is clear that 150 people were responding lying was never justified and that it was often or sometimes okay to lie to avoid hurting someone's feelings. These are inconsistent responses.