preferenser

Preferenser, or preferences, describe the likes and choices that guide an individual’s behavior. In economics and decision theory, a preference relation is a binary relation on a set of alternatives that expresses when one option is at least as good as another. If a person can consistently rank all options, the preferences are complete; if the ranking respects transitivity, they are transitive. From these properties, economists often model choice with a utility function that assigns higher numbers to more preferred bundles. When only the ranking matters, preferences are ordinal; when the scale conveys intensity, they are cardinal.

Preferences can be observed directly through stated choices or inferred from behavior—this latter idea is known as revealed preference theory. In practice, preferences may be affected by context, framing, satiation, and risk, leading to phenomena such as loss aversion or changing tastes. Risk preferences range from risk aversion to risk seeking.

Applications include predicting consumer demand, evaluating welfare, and informing policy. Welfare economics uses stated or revealed preferences to assess well-being, though the approach faces questions about measurement, interpersonally comparable welfare, and ethical limits on preference aggregation.

Measuring preferences relies on surveys, experiments, and analysis of choice data. The term derives from Latin praeferre and broadly encompasses individual taste, choice behavior, and the normative study of welfare.