Want to get at the truth? You might want to try asking your question in a text message.

A new University of Michigan study suggests people are more likely to tell the truth when asked sensitive questions if they’re responding by text message rather than on the phone.

"This is sort of surprising since many people thought that texting would decrease the likelihood of disclosing sensitive information because it creates a persistent, visual record of questions and answers that others might see on your phone and in the cloud,” said Fred Conrad, a cognitive psychologist and director of the Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research.

The researchers theorized people are more likely to tell the truth by text because they have more time to come up with accurate answers.

Among the questions researchers said respondents answered more honestly via text than speech: In a typical week, about how often do you exercise? During the past 30 days, on how many days did you have five or more drinks on the same occasion?

Conrad conducted the study with Michael Schober, a professor of psychology and dean of the graduate faculty at The New School for Social Research. The National Science Foundation funded the study.

• Read U-M's news release about the study.