Trap questions are a reality. It’s how you deal with them that counts.
Trap questions are the ones that sound really simple, but then you start to answer them and realise they’re actually not simple at all.
In fact, they’re designed to trip you up. They’re designed to make you look bad. They’re designed to make it feel as if you’re not capable of doing the job properly.
But that’s not necessarily the case – it’s just how these types of questions are approached by the questionnaires: they want to see how you react under pressure, what your thought process is and whether or not you can think on your feet.
So here are some examples of trap questions and tips on how to answer them:
What are trap questions?
Trap questions are questions that are designed to trap the respondent into giving a certain answer or admitting to a certain accusation.
“Trap questions are used to detect or test someone’s honesty. Most often, dishonest people will give the most detailed accounts of the event, while a person telling the truth will reveal facts that only support one side of the story.”
Trap questions are often used especially in behavioral-based interviews, in scholarship applications, statistics, health surveys and other areas like relationships, lovers or partners ask each other if they have doubts and trust issues.
The aim of trap questions is that they are designed to provoke a fault. They are designed to do this because some people prefer to give long-winded answers rather than saying no straight away.
A Trap Question is a question which has an obvious answer, but if you answer it, you end up committing yourself to some kind of position or action.
It can be used to make people do something or not do something or to accept something or reject something.
The trap questions are fun when used in the right way and at the right time. So be careful when you ask one or answer them.
Trap questions are not only tricky but they can also be a great way to start a conversation. There are many trap questions that you can use to have a funny conversation with people and also to assess their personality.
How do you answer trap questions?
The key to answering a trap question is to recognize that it’s a trap in the first place. This means you can’t just go off your gut feeling because if you do, the trap is set and you’re stuck in it. Instead, you must take a step back and examine the question before you begin to answer it.
The most common way to answer a trap question is by restating the question in such a way that makes it clear what the interviewer is getting at without actually answering it directly.”
The trickiest trap questions are ones that you can’t answer without creating a problem. The classic example is, “Would you still do it, even after I asked you not to?” If you answer in the affirmative, then you’re admitting that you did something wrong. If you say no, then you’ve got to admit that you did something wrong. Either way, it’s a loss for you.
A good way to avoid this kind of trap is to take the issue off the table by saying, “I wouldn’t do something like that.” Then change the subject.
Trap Questions
1. What comes to your mind when you think of the word “woman”?
2. Do you think, you are not the only person involved in the situation that occurred recently?
3. How did the phone unlocked by itself?
4. If I asked the same question again in a different way, would your answer change?
5. Would you still do it, even after I asked you not to?
6. What if I tell you that the reason why I am asking this is because I have a friend who is doing it right now?
7. Describe a time when you had too many things to do and you were required to prioritize your tasks. How did you decide which task needed immediate attention?
8. Do you think that you are right?
9. Why did you lie about being busy at work when I called on your phone when you were home?
10. How many times did your mom skip school when she was your age?
11. If you could eliminate one emotion from the human race, which would it be?
12. If you were forced to work for the rest of your life, how would you live your life differently from how you live now?
13. What is something that people do that is socially acceptable but should not be?
14. What are some things people believe about themselves that are wrong?
15. What does everyone want but no one has?
16. What would make it worth living to be years old?
17. If you’re born again, do you have two belly buttons?
18. What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it’s all about?
19. If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill himself, is it considered a hostage situation?
20. Why does quicksand work slowly?
21. If I say “I am thinking about something fishy”, what do you understand about it?
22. How can I believe that you are not lying at all?
23. How much time do you need to think before answering this question?
24. Now tell me, why did you think so much?
25. Do you know that there is an evil inside of me?
26. What makes you think that I trust you?
27. Are you sure that this is right?
28. Is there any other way to do this?
29. Can I completely rely on you?
30. What if this happens the other way around?
31. Do you have any proof for this claim?
32. Can I have some examples regarding this matter?
33. What if the opposite of this happens, what would you do then?
34. Aren’t there any other options to try instead of this one?
35. Which side are you on here, mine or theirs?
36. How can I be certain about your character now, after all this happened?
37. Why didn’t you tell me about it earlier even though we both knew about it already?
38. If you could make a second phone call to yourself at any point in your life present or future, when would you call and what would you say?
39. Is there something that everyone else seems to like, but you just hate?
40. What’s something that amazes you but probably shouldn’t?
41. What are some common things people assume about you that are completely wrong?
42. Who do you know that has surprised you the most by turning out to be a good person or not as good of a person as you thought?
43. When you’re asked to invite people over, how do you decide?
44. Do you think that money can buy happiness? Why or why not?
45. What was the most difficult decision you have made in the last two years and how did you come to that decision?
46. Give me an example of a time when you had to make an important decision quickly and under pressure.
47. Tell me about a situation where you were able to use persuasion to successfully convince someone to see things your way.
48. Describe how you would handle a situation if you were required to finish multiple tasks by the end of the day, and there was no conceivable way that you could finish them.
49. Tell me about a time when you set a goal for yourself and were able to meet or achieve it. Give me an example of when you motivated others.
50. What was the most stressful situation you have faced on the job, and how did you handle it?
51. Describe a time when something unexpected happened at work, and explain how you handled it.
52. Do you think that you are wrong?
53. Are there any good things about being wrong?
54. Have you ever been wrong in your life?
55. When was the first time you were wrong?
56. When was the last time you were wrong?
57. What is the worst thing about being wrong?
58. When was the first time you were right?
59. How many times have you been right in your life?
60. How do you know when you are right?
61. Why is it that when we “skate on thin ice”, we can “get in hot water”?
62. Why do you need a driver’s license to buy liquor when you can’t drink and drive?
63. Why isn’t phonetic spelled the way it sounds?
64. Why are there interstate highways in Hawaii?
65. Why are cigarettes sold in gas stations when smoking is prohibited there?
66. Do you need a silencer if you are going to shoot a mime?
67. Have you ever imagined a world with no hypothetical situations?
68. How does the guy who drives the snowplow get to work in the mornings?
69. If – is open hours a day, days a year, why are there locks on the doors?
70. “I am” is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language. Could it be that “I do” is the longest sentence?
71. If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn’t it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models dep
72. If God sneezes, what should you say?
73. Why do we scrub down and wash up? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?
74. Is it true cannibals don’t eat clowns because they taste funny?
75. Can a stupid person be a smart-ass?
76. Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet soup?
77. If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?
78. Before they invented drawing boards, what did they go back to?
79. Can atheists get insurance for acts of God?
80. Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery?
81. If all the world is a stage, where is the audience sitting?
82. If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?
83. If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest have to drown too?
84. How do I set my laser printer on stun?
85. What would happen if one day the sun just stopped rising?
86. Why do we drive on parkways and park on driveways?
87. Why can’t women put on mascara with their mouth closed?
88. Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together? Isn’t that what we call a condominium?
89. If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to see it, do the other trees make fun of it?
90. If you throw a cat out of a car window does it become kitty litter?
91. If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, does it also keep him busy?
92. If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a song about him?
93. If nothing sticks to teflon, how do they stay on the pan?
94. If you’re in a vehicle going the speed of light, what happens when you turn on the headlights?
95. Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane?
96. Why don’t they make all airplanes out of the material used for black boxes?
97. If you dial in England, what number do they call?
98. If I melt dry ice, can I take a bath without getting wet?
99. Don’t sweat the petty things and don’t pet the sweaty things.
100. Why is it considered necessary to nail down the lid of a coffin?
Mind Trap Questions
Mind Trap Questions, also known as lateral thinking questions are those questions that require you to think beyond the normal.
These type of questions are not easy to answer, which is why they are so interesting. The best part of mind trap questions is that they have no right or wrong answers; you can give any answer and it will be considered correct.
Here is a List of Mind Trap questions:
1. What two words in the English language rhyme with orange?
2. What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?
3. What four-sided shape can you make by joining the dots on the surface of a cube?
4. I am an odd number; take away one letter and I become even. What number am I?
5. What is the first thing you think when you see the word “Coke”?
6. If a man says something in the woods and there are no women there, is he still wrong?
7. Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?
8. Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?
9. Why is it the TWELVE steps of Alcoholics Anonymous never seem to get any shorter?
10. Why do we play in recitals and recite in plays?
11. Why isn’t phonetic spelled the way it sounds?
12. If Webster wrote the first dictionary, where did he find the words?
13. If God exists, then why did he make evil?
14. If we evolved from Apes, then why do Apes still exist?
15. Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They’re both dogs!
16. Can atheists get insurance for acts of God?
Trap questions to ask your boyfriend:
Here is a list of trap questions to ask your boyfriend:
1. Where were you when everyone in deep sleep?
2. How could the smell of my friend’s perfume is coming near you?
3. First, tell me how do you feel after doing this?
4. By mistake, if I said something about you which is not true then what would you do with me?
5. If we have one chance to change our past then will we change it or leave it as it is and enjoy our present?
6. If someone blames us for something then what will be our reaction after listening to it from them? Will we accept it or deny it?
7. Did you ever say a lie in your entire life and being caught while lying because of other’s help or not telling anything but being caught by their own without anyone’s interference?
8. How can you get access to my phone, if I am sitting at my desk all day?
9. Did anyone else know about your plan, or it was just your idea?
10. Did anyone else have access to your phone the other day?
11. Can I see your phone for a minute please?
12. Can I check your call logs and messages, as usually people don’t delete them even after reading it once?
13. Did you ever try to unlock my phone with my fingerprint while I was asleep or not near it and why do you need to unlock it at all as I don’t keep anything private and share everything with you anyways?
14. What will be you reaction if I tell about my pregnancy?
15. Why the GPS was turned off during that time?
16. When did you realize that we are not just friends anymore?
17. Why was your mobile switched off for a week?
18. How did the room get locked from inside even after I checked it before sleeping?
19. How did you know that I am coming to this place? (To meet someone)
20. What was your reaction when you saw me with another guy yesterday?
21. How do you want me to react on this picture of yours with other girl/boyfriend?
22. What should be my reaction when I saw you walking hand in hand with my best friend?
23. Why don’t we have any pics together in our phones even after being best friends for so long?
Also read: 100 Trap questions to ask your boyfriend
Funny Trap Questions
Here is a list of funny trap questions:
1.What do you think about when you’re alone in the shower?
2.If the earth is flat, why doesn’t everyone fall off?
3.If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill himself, is it considered a hostage situation?
4.Why do they call it “getting your dog fixed” if afterwards he doesn’t work anymore?
5.Why do they sterilize needles for lethal injections?
6.Are children who act in rated ‘R’ movies allowed to see them?
7.If the president were gay, would his husband be the first man?
8.Would a fly without wings be called a walk?
9.Why is it illegal to park in a handicap space but its ok to use a handicap toilet?
10.If 7-11 is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, why are there locks on the doors?
Trap questions to ask your girlfriend
Here is a list of trap questions to ask your girlfriend:
1. What if I ask you to choose between me and your favorite color?
2. Would you mind if I start dating with your cousin?
3. If I say that I am going to be out of this world, how would you feel about it?
4. Think about the worst situation when you got stuck in the elevator for hours, what did you do there?
5. What if I ask you to marry me right now, will you accept or leave it for tomorrow?
6. Does love exist or is it just an imagination of our minds?
7. What does it mean “you know me from inside out” in relationship terms?
8. Can we live without food for days surviving just on water only?
9. Do you think your hair is more important than me?
10. What if someone asks you to take off your clothes while we are walking down the street, will you do that
11. Can you name the things which are more important for you than me?
12. What if I suddenly reveal something, will you open up about yourself?
13. Do you like to be with me or my money?
14. Do you like to go out for a movie with me or with my friends?
15. What if I don’t let you watch TV for one whole week, would that make any difference in our relationship?
16. Would you make any compromise with your parents if they say not to marry me?
17. If I present myself as Mr. Perfect, will you still love me?
18. Give a few reasons why would I choose someone else rather than you?
19. Do you really think you are the most beautiful girl on earth? If yes, then give some reasons too!
Also read: 150+ Trap questions to ask your girlfriend
Mind Trap Questions with answers:
1. How would you get an elephant into a fridge?
Answer: The correct answer to all of these questions is: “Open the fridge, put in the elephant, and close the door.”
2. If a plane crashes on the border between the US and Mexico, where do they bury the survivors?
Answer: They aren’t dead yet!
3. Which travels faster, heat or cold?
Answer: Heat, because you can catch a cold!
4. What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment but never in a thousand years?
Answer: The letter M!
5. How many times can you subtract 10 from 100?
Answer: Once, after that it’s 90 (not minus 10)!
6. If day before yesterday I was 25 and the next year I will be 28. How is that possible?
Answer: Today is February 29th!
7. What is the largest number you can think of?
Answer: Infinity + 1
8. First, I am heavy but second, I am not. What am I?
Answer: First, I am “ton” but second, I am not.
9. Two in a corner, 1 in a room, 0 in a house, but 1 in a shelter. What am I?
Answer: The letter r.
10. If you were born on January 1st 2000 and died on December 31st 2099 what would be your age when you died?
Answer: 1 year old or 0 years old or 100 years old or 99 years old or 101 years old (depends on the calendar system)
11. It goes up when raining down and down when going down. What is it?
Answer: Umbrella.
12. I am a super hero without any special powers but can make anyone feel great, who am I?
Answer: Mirror
13. I’m always there when you need me, but gone when you don’t. What Am I?
Answer: Your shadow
14. When you have me, you feel like sharing me. But, if you do share me, you don’t have me. What am I?
Answer: A secret
15. What has four wheels and flies?
Answer: A garbage truck
16. What goes up and down but never moves?
Answer: Stairs
17. Mary’s father has five daughters: 1. Nana, 2. Nene, 3. Nini, 4. Nono. What is the name of the fifth daughter?
Answer: If you answered Nunu, you are wrong! It’s Mary! Read the question again!
18. You answer me although I never ask you questions; what am I?
Answer: An telephone or phonebook
19. The more of them you take away, the more there will be left of them; what are they?
Answer: Footsteps in the sand (or holes in the ground)
Trap Questions in Interviews
Interviewing is stressful. You’re being assessed on every word that comes out of your mouth and you’re under constant scrutiny. That pressure can cause you to slip up and say something that you don’t mean.
The hard truth is, interviewers are looking for ways to disqualify candidates. One of the most effective ways to do that is by asking tricky interview questions designed to throw candidates off their game.
Some of those questions might seem inappropriate or even illegal, but they’re not. Employers are allowed to ask some pretty personal questions, like how much money you make now or what salary you want next, because it’s legal for them to pay different salaries for the same job based on an individual’s experience and skillset.
The key is to avoid over-thinking and to not fall into the trap. This can happen if you draw the wrong conclusion from the question, or if you let personal biases get in the way of your answer.
Here is a list of Trap Interview questions:
1. Why did you leave your last job?
This is a tricky question because most people don’t want to say anything negative about their former employer. This question is designed to see if you have any issues with authority, work well on a team, or if you’ll speak ill of an employer. The best way to answer this question is with something positive and general, such as “I was looking for a new challenge,” or “I left for an opportunity at a company that is more aligned with my long-term goals.”
2. What are your weaknesses?
The key with this question is to answer honestly and steer clear of “weaknesses” that are really strengths in disguise (e.g., “I work too hard”). Instead, try giving a real weakness that is relevant to the job at hand and then follow up by explaining how you’re working to overcome it.
3. Do you have any questions for me?
Every interviewer asks this question. And it is one of the most crucial ones too. You can know everything about the company, its products, services, growth etc. But if you don’t ask relevant questions then your interviewer may get the feeling that you are not interested in the job or that you are not a go-getter. So, before attending an interview, prepare at least 5-6 questions that you would like to ask your employer.
4. What do you know about our company?
A lot of candidates face difficulties with this question because there isn’t much information available on the internet about small companies. But this shouldn’t stop you from answering this question. You can always talk about the products and services of the company and how it makes money by selling those products and services.
5. What salary do you expect?
Even if they haven’t mentioned anything about salary in the job description, they will probably ask this question. And if you are right out of college then it is highly likely that they will try to pay you less than what is your worth (and what other similar companies are paying). So, make sure that you have done enough research and
6. If you were an animal, which one would you want to be?
This question gives employers a peek into how you see yourself and what you consider your best qualities to be. They’ll also get a sense of whether or not you can think on your feet, so choose your answer carefully.
7. Why do you want this job?
There are many answers to this question and most of them will overlap; however, what makes yours unique is how passionate and enthusiastic you are about wanting the job
8. What other companies are you interviewing with?
If they ask this question, they’re probably trying to determine how serious you are about getting the job.
9. If I were to ask your friends to describe you, what would they say?
10. Do you like working in teams or prefer working individually? Why?
11. What makes you uncomfortable?
12. Do you have any questions for me?
13. Have you ever stolen anything from work or school?
14. I see that on your resume that one of your hobbies is playing video games, but it doesn’t seem very professional to me…what do you think about that?
15. Do you know how much we pay for this position? Why should we hire someone at this salary when we can get someone
16. If you could start a company from scratch, what would it be?
17. What are you looking for in terms of career development?
18. Why do you want to work here?
19. What motivates you to do good work?
20. How do you handle criticism?
21. What was the last book you read for fun?
22. Are you willing to put the interests of the organization ahead of your own?
23. What does customer service mean to you?
24. Where do you see yourself in five years?
