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decision making
You don't know what you want until you see it.
Preference construction theory demonstrates that people do not have fixed internal values; instead, they build their preferences in the moment of choice.
If you ask someone what they like, they struggle; if you give them two choices, they immediately decide. This is because the context of the choice—the available options—literally defines the value of the items, rather than the items having an intrinsic value beforehand.
Your choices are not expressions of your identity; they are reactions to the options you have been given.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Slovic, 1995, American Psychologist
- What the check found
- The referenced paper (Slovic, 1995) is a seminal work in the field of behavioral decision research that fundamentally argues against the existence of 'fixed' preferences in complex choice tasks.
- Confidence
- Solid, with limits
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.