Suppose instead of just asking the respondents whether they have ever faked a phone call, the interviewer said, “Research has shown that only 5% of adult Americans with cell phones have faked a phone call. Have you ever faked a phone call?” Do you think that would have affected how the respondents answered the question on faking a cell phone call? If so, how would that affect their answer?

Have you ever pretended to be talking on your cell phone in order to avoid interacting with people around you? Is faking cell phone calls a common practice among cell phone users? A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center during April 26–May 22, 2011, asked cell phone users about this issue and many others regarding the respondents’ cell phone usage in the past 30 days. The survey involved selecting a random sample of 1,858 American cell phone users.