I think Robert Trivers is right in his theory of self-deception; if he were not, our job as advertisers would be much easier than it is. We could just ask people why they did things or whether they would buy them, and they would reply honestly: ‘No I wouldn’t normally pay $4.65 for a coffee, but if you put a fancy green logo on a paper cup so I could display it to everybody as I walk into the office then I might just be interested …’ In reality, no one will ever tell you that.
