---
title: Revealed Preference
slug: revealed-preference
url: https://templeton.host/lexicon/revealed-preference/
type: defined-term
inDefinedTermSet: https://templeton.host/lexicon
author: Andrew Templeton
---

# Revealed Preference

## Definition

Inferring the operator's preferences by watching what they actually do - not what they say they want. Based on revealed preference theory (Afriat's theorem, GARP). Cheapest evidence channel because the operator is doing what they would do anyway.

## Why this term exists

People are unreliable narrators of their own preferences. What they choose when real stakes are on the line reveals what they actually value. Behavioral observation captures this without interrupting the operator.

## See also

- [The Deity Problem](https://templeton.host/frameworks/deity-problem)
- [Structured Elicitation](https://templeton.host/lexicon/structured-elicitation)
- [Direct Query](https://templeton.host/lexicon/direct-query)

Canonical URL: https://templeton.host/lexicon/revealed-preference/