One show , I don't recall the name,asked people answer some question like what is distance between NY to LA. They could choose any range as the answer and the right answer had to fall in that range.So to win people just had to select huge range like 0 to 1 million miles and be sure they got the answer right .However people would mostly select a narrow range that they felt was the right answer and got it wrong frequently. I think it is some desire not to sound stupid even though there is a incentive to select a ridiculous range.I think this desire not to sound stupid could be at play here as well so people choose things that to them seems reasonable even when asked about their ideal life.