A new study by Y&R and Dr. Joel Weinberger of Adelphi University shows that consumers' unconscious desires are at odds with what we say we want.

Ad firm Y&R teamed up with psychologist Dr. Joel Weinberger of Adelphi University to design a study that revealed respondents’ subconscious preferences using implicit association testing. The study, tellingly named “Secrets and Lies,” has been released and is available here.

Three key findings:

1. What consumers say is important is often the opposite of what truly is important to them.

In the chart below “conscious preference” is what people said they held to be of value. “Unconscious preference” shows how testing determined what they actually, subconsciously, valued. These global responses came from Brazil, China, and the US...