--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: people’s “declared preferences” — what…" description: "\"“people’s “declared preferences” — what they say they want — are far different from their “revealed preferences” — what they actually do.”\" — Nir Eyal" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da4/nir-eyal-1258_preferences-actually_people-s-declared-preferences-what-they_846826.jpg" --- # people’s “declared preferences” — what they say they want… ![“people’s “declared preferences” — what they say they want — are far different from their “revealed preferences” — what they actually do.” quote by Nir Eyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da4/nir-eyal-1258_preferences-actually_people-s-declared-preferences-what-they_846826.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da4/nir-eyal-1258_preferences-actually_people-s-declared-preferences-what-they_846826.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da4/nir-eyal-1258_preferences-actually_people-s-declared-preferences-what-they_846826.jpg) > ““people’s “declared preferences” — what they say they want — are far different from their “revealed preferences” — what they actually do.”” [Nir Eyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nir-eyal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often claim desires that differ from their actual behavior, highlighting a gap between stated and observed actions. **In simple terms:** Words and deeds often don’t match. Key Takeaway Check if actions align with words. Themes behavioral economics psychology decision making Mood reflective analytical Type observational analytical When to use this quote - marketing research - product design - personal habit tracking - policy making Key Concepts revealed preferences declared preferences cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify true preferences? - What influences the gap between words and actions? A Different Perspective Stated preferences can be unreliable for predicting outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [You'll often find that people's declared preferences - what they say they want - are far different from their revealed preferences - what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nir-eyal/you-ll-often-find-that-people-s-declared-preferences-what-they-say/) [Nir Eyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nir-eyal/) > [When you decide to like something, I mean, you may feel you're sort of innocently putting out your preferences, but actually you're delivering something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wu/when-you-decide-to-like-something-i-mean-you-may-feel-you-re-sort-of/) [Tim Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wu/) > [“The problem is that while some incentives are obvious, many aren’t. And simply asking people what they want or need doesn’t necessarily work. Let’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-problem-is-that-while-some-incentives-are-obvious-many-aren-t-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So persuasive is the power of the institutions we have created that they shape not only our preferences but actually our sense of possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/so-persuasive-is-the-power-of-the-institutions-we-have-created-that/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [“THE STUDY OF ONESELF AND OTHERS   The economists have a term called “revealed preferences” – it means that the only way you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-marshall/the-study-of-oneself-and-others-the-economists-have-a-term-called/) [Sebastian Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-marshall/) ## More by Nir Eyal > [“Imagine a time when your mobile phone rang but you didn’t answer it. Why not? Perhaps the phone was buried in a bag, making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nir-eyal/imagine-a-time-when-your-mobile-phone-rang-but-you-didn-t-answer-it/) [Nir Eyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nir-eyal/) > [“For an example of how perception of a limited supply can increase sales, look no further than Amazon.com. My recent search for a DVD…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nir-eyal/for-an-example-of-how-perception-of-a-limited-supply-can-increase/) [Nir Eyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nir-eyal/) > [“all humans are motivated to seek pleasure and avoid pain, to seek hope and avoid fear, and finally, to seek social acceptance and avoid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nir-eyal/all-humans-are-motivated-to-seek-pleasure-and-avoid-pain-to-seek-hope/) [Nir Eyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nir-eyal/) > [“The more users invest in a product through tiny bits of work, the more valuable the product becomes in their lives and the less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nir-eyal/the-more-users-invest-in-a-product-through-tiny-bits-of-work-the-more/) [Nir Eyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nir-eyal/) > [“Twitter The “feed” has become a social staple of many online products. The stream of limitless information displayed in a scrolling interface makes for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nir-eyal/twitter-the-feed-has-become-a-social-staple-of-many-online-products/) [Nir Eyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nir-eyal/) > [“Once a technology has created an association in users’ minds that the product is the solution of choice, they return on their own, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nir-eyal/once-a-technology-has-created-an-association-in-users-minds-that-the/) [Nir Eyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nir-eyal/) > [ “Instead of asking ‘what problem should I solve?’ ask ‘what problem do I wish someone else would solve for me?’”\[cxxxi\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nir-eyal/instead-of-asking-what-problem-should-i-solve-ask-what-problem-do-i/) [Nir Eyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nir-eyal/) > [“Storing Value Unlike physical goods in the real world, the software that runs our technology products can adapt itself to our needs. To become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nir-eyal/storing-value-unlike-physical-goods-in-the-real-world-the-software/) [Nir Eyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nir-eyal/) > [“From the follower side of the equation, the more Twitter users curate the list of people they follow, the better the service will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nir-eyal/from-the-follower-side-of-the-equation-the-more-twitter-users-curate/) [Nir Eyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nir-eyal/) > [“When bored, many people seek excitement and turn to dramatic news headlines. When we feel overly stressed we seek calm, perhaps finding relief in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nir-eyal/when-bored-many-people-seek-excitement-and-turn-to-dramatic-news/) [Nir Eyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nir-eyal/) > [“Remember and Share - Action is the second step in The Hook. - The action is the simplest behavior in anticipation of reward. -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nir-eyal/remember-and-share-action-is-the-second-step-in-the-hook-the-action/) [Nir Eyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nir-eyal/) > [Habit-forming products often start as nice-to-haves, but once the habit is formed, they become must-haves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nir-eyal/habit-forming-products-often-start-as-nice-to-haves-but-once-the/) [Nir Eyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nir-eyal/) > [“Experiences with finite variability become less engaging because they eventually become predictable. Businesses with finite variability are not inferior per se, they just operate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nir-eyal/experiences-with-finite-variability-become-less-engaging-because-they/) [Nir Eyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nir-eyal/) > [Fogg states that all humans are motivated to seek pleasure and avoid pain; to seek hope and avoid fear; and finally, to seek social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nir-eyal/fogg-states-that-all-humans-are-motivated-to-seek-pleasure-and-avoid/) [Nir Eyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nir-eyal/) > [“Stack Overflow’s content is created voluntarily by people who use the site. A staggering 5,000 answers to questions are generated per day by site…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nir-eyal/stack-overflow-s-content-is-created-voluntarily-by-people-who-use-the/) [Nir Eyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nir-eyal/) [Explore all 262 Nir Eyal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nir-eyal/) ## More Preferences Actually quotes > [You'll often find that people's declared preferences - what they say they want - are far different from their revealed preferences - what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nir-eyal/you-ll-often-find-that-people-s-declared-preferences-what-they-say/) [Nir Eyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nir-eyal/) > [When you decide to like something, I mean, you may feel you're sort of innocently putting out your preferences, but actually you're delivering something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wu/when-you-decide-to-like-something-i-mean-you-may-feel-you-re-sort-of/) [Tim Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wu/) > [So persuasive is the power of the institutions we have created that they shape not only our preferences but actually our sense of possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/so-persuasive-is-the-power-of-the-institutions-we-have-created-that/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) Browse all 4 Preferences Actually quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“people’s “declared preferences” — what they say they want — are far different from their “revealed preferences” — what they actually do.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nir Eyal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nir-eyal/people-s-declared-preferences-what-they-say-they-want-are-far/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Preferences Actually" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nir-eyal/people-s-declared-preferences-what-they-say-they-want-are-far/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da4/nir-eyal-1258_preferences-actually_people-s-declared-preferences-what-they_846826.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da4/nir-eyal-1258_preferences-actually_people-s-declared-preferences-what-they_846826.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da4/nir-eyal-1258_preferences-actually_people-s-declared-preferences-what-they_846826.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“people’s “declared preferences” — what they say they want — are far different from their “revealed…” — Nir Eyal", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Nir Eyal", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nir-eyal/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“people’s “declared preferences” — what they...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nir-eyal/people-s-declared-preferences-what-they-say-they-want-are-far/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nir-eyal/people-s-declared-preferences-what-they-say-they-want-are-far/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```