Pinker, Steven2012-06-132011Pinker, Steven. 2011. Representations and decision rules in the theory of self-deception. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 34(1): 35-37.0140-525Xhttp://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:8874911Self-deception is a powerful but overapplied theory. It is adaptive only when a deception-detecting audience is in the loop, not when an inaccurate representation is invoked as an internal motivator. First, an inaccurate representation cannot be equated with self-deception, which entails two representations, one inaccurate and the other accurate. Second, any motivational advantages are best achieved with an adjustment to the decision rule on when to act, not with a systematic error in an internal representation.en-USJournal Article2012-06-1310.1017/S0140525X1000261X