TED: Do you really know why you do what you do? | Petter Johansson

The video explores the concept of self-knowledge and how people often misinterpret their own choices. Through experiments involving choice manipulation, it demonstrates that individuals can be unaware of changes to their decisions and still justify them convincingly. The research extends to political contexts, showing that people can shift their views when exposed to opposing perspectives. The conclusion suggests that self-knowledge is more about interpretation than certainty, highlighting the flexibility of human attitudes.

What is the main challenge in understanding why people make certain choices?

• Subjectivity makes it hard to prove people wrong about their choices.

• People often lie about their choices.

• People never remember their choices accurately.

• Choices are always influenced by external factors.

How did the researchers create an illusion of free choice in their experiment?

• By using psychological tricks.

• By collaborating with magicians.

• By using complex algorithms.

• By asking participants to choose blindly.

What does the term 'choice blindness' refer to?

• The inability to make a choice.

• The tendency to forget past choices.

• The failure to notice changes in one's choices.

• The preference for familiar choices.

In the political experiment, what was the main finding regarding participants' voting intentions?

• Participants refused to discuss their choices.

• Participants were unaffected by the manipulations.

• Most participants changed their voting intentions.

• Participants became more certain of their original choices.

What is a key takeaway about self-knowledge from the conclusion?

• Self-knowledge is fixed and unchangeable.

• Self-knowledge is often a form of self-interpretation.

• Self-knowledge is always accurate.

• Self-knowledge is irrelevant to decision-making.