Most people don't like to admit that they lie, but everybody lies on occasion. And no matter how we might try to avoid it, we often get caught telling a lie. Think about the last time you were caught telling a lie to someone. Why did you lie? Did you lie to protect someone's feelings? to avoid getting in trouble? to get something you wanted? Did telling the lie lower your opinion of yourself? Does your lie indicate that you are generally not a trustworthy person?

Now think about the last time you learned that someone had lied to you. Why do you think that person lied? Was his or her motivation noble (to protect someone's feelings) or not (to avoid trouble)? More importantly, did learning about the lie lower your opinion of the person who lied to you? Does the person's lie indicate that she or he is generally not a trustworthy person?

People tend to explain their own behavior differently from the behavior of others. We view other people's behavior as being the result of stable, internal personality characteristics. We view our own behavior as being the result of external causes like the present situation. If someone lies to us, it is because they are a bad person. If we lie to someone else, it is because we found ourselves in a situation where a lie was our best option. This activity will try to demonstrate the fundamental attribution error by asking you to assess yourself, a good friend, and a public figure to determine whether you fall prey to this common judgment error.