You'll defend a choice you never made. And never notice the swap.

You point at one face. A quick sleight of hand slides your pick away face down, ring and all, and sets the other card in front of you. Most people then confidently praise the face they just rejected.: your pick · the one you rejected · roughly 1 in 7 notice

In a 2005 study, people picked the more attractive of two faces. Then they were handed the other one and asked to justify their pick. Most never noticed the swap, and happily explained, in detail, why they 'preferred' the face they had actually rejected. Our sense that we know why we decided is often a story assembled after the fact.

Your reasons often aren't why you chose: they're the story you tell once you already have.