Characteristic flaw or Bravado???

There is a certain characteristic that my son, Hotrod, has that will be interesting to watch develop.  He is logical, like me...to a flaw.  When deciding what to do, he learns the rewards, weights the consequences, and makes his decision.  Once made, he follows through.  If this means accepting the consequences, so be it.  To give an example, if he doesn't like what is served for supper, he will leave the table knowing full well that he will not eat again until the next morning.  Even if that means foregoing York's or icecream.  He will say that he didn't want it anyway.  Today at pre-school, he did not earn his second set of skittles, why? He was making noises during naptime.  I asked him why he made noises if he knew he would not get the skittles. (He is all about the reward)  He said he didn't want it. Ok.  What do you say to that? Obviously, we have had the "do the right thing" talk, and the "obey the teacher" talk.  I am curious how this will play out at sixteen!