Who determines how much utility an individual will receive from consuming a good?

Accepting the conventional knowledge that preferences are a function of personal preference is the first step toward an economic reason for why individuals make diverse choices. Economists, on the other hand, believe that individuals 's decisions are impacted by their incomes, the cost of the goods and services they consume, and other factors such as where they reside.

Economists believe that individual decisions, such as what commodities and services to purchase, can be analyzed as decisions made within particular financial limitations. People are often aiming to get the most bang for their buck. Given their budget constraints, they are attempting to optimize total utility, or contentment. The assumption behind economic analysis of household behavior is that people want the highest level of value or satisfaction. People are the only ones who can assess their own worth. In general, better total utility is associated with more consumption of a good.