Stated vs. Revealed Preference: Cookies
What people say they want vs. what they actually choose: cookies.
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Free for classrooms, worksheets, slides and other non-commercial use under CC BY-NC 4.0, with credit to Ben Orlin.
Cartoon by Ben Orlin, Math with Bad Drawings. https://cartoons.mathwithbaddrawings.com/2025-11-20-revealed-preference--stated-vs-revealed-preference-cookies/ (CC BY-NC 4.0)Transcript
"REVEALED PREFERENCE: a Math with Bad Drawings guide to a key economic concept" Stated Preference (what people claim to want when asked): "No cookies, thank you. I'm an adult with self-control, not a ravenous brain-dead sugar-goblin." Revealed Preference (what people actually choose to do): NOM NOM NOM