(Dis)Honesty - The Truth About Lies
A Companion Film Discussion & Activity Guide
“A lie is like a knife. So if you use
a knife to stab somebody, it’s
wrong. If you use a knife to put
some butter on your bread, then
there’s nothing wrong with it.”
—Etgar Keret
1
It’s human nature to lie, we all do it! But little
fibs can snowball into large-scale problems
with major implications for society. Everyone
has an interesting story to tell about navigat-
ing the “grey zone” – that place where right
and wrong are not as clear as we would like
them to be.
We’ve put together this brief activity and discussion guide for families
and groups to enjoy after watching the film. It is meant to encourage
meaningful and thoughtful discussions about our (dis)honest behavior.
We believe talking about the complexity of honesty and dishonesty can
bring us closer together and help us become our better selves.

“When I lied on the application,
I just thought I was doing what
was in the best interest of my
daughters.”
—Kelley Williams Bolar
“Being an NBA referee and
being involved in the planning
of how the game was going
to be called that night, I knew
certain teams were going to be
at an advantage or a disadvan-
tage. And it was just a situa-
tion where I crossed a line that
I shouldn’t have been near.”
—Tim Donaghy
2
(Dis)Honesty - The Truth About Lies | A Companion Discussion Guide (cont’d)
Family and Group Discussion Questions
• THE FUDGE FACTOR – Dan uses this term as a catch phrase for all the things
that allow us to misbehave and still think of ourselves as good people. What are
some examples of the fudge factor in the film and where does the fudge factor
come into play for you, your family, or even your community?
• In Joe’s segment about his experience as a professional cyclist, he said that it
was hard not to dope when EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING IT. Discuss a situation
where you’ve gotten wrapped up in something wrong because everyone else
was doing it. What would you do if you were in Joe’s situation?
• Marilee lied on the resume she gave to MIT. As the lies about her resume
worsened over the years, she engaged in a form of SELF DECEPTION. Can you
think of times when you might have exaggerated your past accomplishments
and how this could be dangerous for the future?
• Tim suggests that he felt ok about breaking NBA rules and betting on basketball
games because the RULES OF THE GAME weren’t being enforced anyway.
Discuss familiar environments like school, work, and/or government where this
can happen. What are some possible ways to correct the situation?
• Kelley lied to send her girls to a better school. What do you think about what
she did? For a challenge, try to argue the side you don’t agree with. Can you
think of different examples in which LYING FOR OTHERS is the right thing to
do? Can you think of situations in which this justification could lead to negative
consequences?
• Walt talks about the financial fraud he committed at MCI as simply moving
numbers on a spreadsheet. How does DISTANCE FROM MONEY — and
things like credit cards and electronic transactions — make it easier for us to
misbehave financially? How can we protect ourselves better?
• Ryan’s marketing techniques to promote his friend’s book were very CREATIVE
and also manipulative. What do you think about Ryan’s methods?
• Dan shows that thinking about the Ten Commandments and signing an HONOR
CODE made people act more honestly in his experiments because they were
reminded of their moral codes. What reminders can you come up with to help
us all act better?
• Having faith in others, or SOCIAL TRUST, is an important ingredient for a
thriving society. Countries with high SOCIAL TRUST are more transparent, are
happier, and have stronger economic growth. How can we strengthen social
trust in our family, our community, our country, our world?
 (Dis)Honesty - The Truth About Lies | A Companion Discussion Guide (cont’d)

Dan is watching!
Family and Group Activities, Warm Ups, & Experiments
• Play. Two Truths and a Lie Game. Have each person share three things about
themselves — two should be true and one should be a lie. Have the rest of the
group take turns guessing which is the lie.
• Discuss. Have everyone go around the table or room and share a white lie.
• Experiment. Identify a behavior in your family or group that can be improved.
For example, putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher or turning the lights off. Try
to measure the problem by counting the number of dirty dishes or the number
of lights left on. Take a close-up photo of yourself or someone else and put it
up on the wall next to where the activity takes place (see photo from the sink
area at Dan Ariely’s lab - left). Be explicit about the rules regarding the things
you want improved so everyone’s on the same page - and see what happens!
Measure the change, and let us know.
• Create. Go to the project website and take a look at the TRUTH BOX, our
installation that asks people to share the truth about a lie on camera. Invent
or create your own TRUTH BOX, a place where you might feel safe sharing the
truth about a lie. It can be as small as a shoebox for confessional notes or as big
as a stadium. Use crayons, paper, pens etc. to draw your idea — or go ahead and
build one (but maybe not the stadium).

Learn More & Be In Touch

The film is part of a larger initiative around ethics. Please send us photos of the
creations you make, games you invent, and any conversation highlights that you can
share by emailing truth@thedishonestyproject.com.

To learn more visit www.thedishonestyproject.com.