We don't actually know why we do things - but that's where the money is

So in other words, we think we know why we do the things we do, but actually it's probably a story we've constructed or we've we've post rationalized or confabulated after the event in many cases.

6:57 / 7:39

So in other words, we think we know why we do the things we do, but actually it's probably a story we've constructed or we've we've post rationalized or confabulated after the event in many cases. And, you know, a large part of our kind of emotional machinery effectively is a kind of it's not quite a black box, but it's it's a pretty opaque box. And I would argue I would argue there is huge huge commercial importance, not necessarily to understanding this perfectly but to understanding it a lot better. And sometimes I think the best we can ever do is to say, I don't know if this is what the problem is, but let's test it.

About this clip

Rory Sutherland explains how humans construct stories to rationalize their decisions after the fact, rather than understanding their true motivations. He argues there's huge commercial value in better understanding this psychological reality, even if we can't fully decode human behavior.

Why this clip

Reveals a fundamental truth about human psychology that has direct commercial applications for understanding customers and markets.

6:57 - 7:3942smarket insight

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What they said next

Sometimes you have to tell clients their product is psychologically unsellable

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