You often hear economists (proudly) say that they don't take stated preferences seriously, but instead rely on observed preferences. Correct?
To me both are problematic if you want to understand preferences, since people often do things they don't want to do. Example: I prefer to go to bed at 22:00 but I observe that I very often get caught up and don't do this.
Decision making of individuals is complicated and I think everyone should be careful interpreting observerd preferences?
My question is: Can anyone provide further points thinking about this issue and/or articles about the interpretability of observed preferences?
I am aware there exists micro-models with "Hyperbolic discounting" making preferences time-inconsistent. I am looking for some more general discussion and frameworks.