Preferences

Preferences describe an individual's or group's favorable disposition toward one option over others, guiding choices, judgments, and actions. They are subjective and can reflect tastes, goals, and values. Preferences can be stable or context-dependent and may change with information, framing, or experience.

In economics and decision theory, preferences are formalized as relations that compare options. If a is preferred to b, or a is at least as good as b, this defines a preference relation. Rational choice assumes completeness and transitivity, enabling a representable utility function, either ordinal or cardinal. The concept of revealed preference uses observed choices to infer underlying preferences, rather than relying on stated judgments. Preferences also interact with uncertainty through expected utility.

Preference elicitation seeks to quantify preferences through surveys, experiments, or market data. Methods include pairwise comparisons, rating scales, conjoint analysis, and choice modeling, often to estimate willingness to pay or utility parameters. Preference aggregation concerns how individual preferences are combined into group or societal decisions, raising questions of fairness and legitimacy.

Behavioral research shows that preferences can be malleable and context-sensitive. Framing, default options, and cognitive biases can shift choices, producing preference reversals or dynamic preferences over time. Some theories distinguish between nominal (expressed) preferences and revealed preferences, or between instrumental and terminal preferences in ethical debates.

In technology and design, user preferences describe configurable settings, customization options, or recommended content. Applications include personalization, search ranking, and recommender systems. Managing preferences involves privacy considerations and trust, since inferred preferences can reveal sensitive information about users.