Does real GDP control for changing preferences?
I think the confusion here may be about the phrases &quot;control for&quot; and &quot;account for&quot;.
Real GDP &quot;controls for&quot; prices, meaning that if prices change (say every price doubles), then real GDP shouldn't change either.
In contrast, real GDP does not &quot;control for&quot; preferences, because if preferences change, then real GDP will also change.

The phrase &quot;account for&quot; is ambiguous and could mean either &quot;control for&quot; (as described above) or &quot;is affected by&quot; (pretty much the exact opposite meaning).