Such examples actually underscore the normative message of the traditional theory. Students who are exposed to them invariably gain a deeper understanding of the basic theoretical principles at issue. Indeed, they often seem to take an almost conspiratorial pride in being able to see through the errors of judgment that many consumers make. For instructors who want to pursue how cognitive limitations affect consumer behavior in greater detail, a supplementary chapter on this topic is included. A Broader Conception of Self-Interest Another goal in Microeconomics and Behavior has been to incorporate a broader conception of preferences into models of individual choice.
Most texts mention at the outset that our rational choice model takes people's tastes as given.
But having said that, most texts then proceed to ignore all motives other than material self-interest. It is easy to see why, because economic research has scored its most impressive gains on the strength of this portrayal of human motivation. It tells us, for example, why car pools form in the wake of gasoline price increases and why thermostats are generally set lower in apartments that have separately metered utilities. And yet, as students are keenly aware, our homo economicus caricature is patently at odds with much of what we know about human behavior. People vote in presidential elections.