Utility is the satisfaction or benefit a consumer can get from a good or

service. The idea of consumers always acting in their own self-interest to

maximize the satisfaction derived from own economic decisions is
supported by the theory of rational consumer choice which is based on
several principles.
The first one is consumer rationality that combines all assumptions about
the individual’s capabilities. For example, consumers are able to rank
goods by preference, meaning they can certainly say which ones they
prefer or not. They also preserve consistency between choices, such as
when preferring A over B and B over C, they should prefer A over C.
Lastly, consumers always prefer more of a good to less when being
confronted by 2 groups with different number of goods.
The second principle is perfect information stating that a consumer has
knowledge of all possible products, their qualities, and prices. As a result,
when they pick 1 good over another, they do so because of the
information available, thereby acting rational.
In conclusion, both principles lead to utility maximization as consumers
always tend to maximize their satisfaction from consuming goods and
services by doing reasonable purchases based on rationality and having
all information about the products.

Even so, the above assumption can be criticized by behavioral economics

which studies the effects of psychological factors in economic decision. It
shows that the theory of rational consumer choice has limitations in the
form of biases (systematic errors in thinking and evaluating) that can
impact consumer choices.
For instance, rules of thumb are simple guidelines based on experience
and common sense that exclude any complex consideration of choices,
like comparing one serving of fruit to a fist in size (avoiding more
complicating ways of doing measurements). In addition, anchoring is
purchases based on irrelevant information, such as when shopping for a
new computer and the first one is $3,000, but you skip and find another
one for $1,700, so suddenly, the second computer seems a bargain, even
though it's still expensive. Finally, there’s framing – purchases based on
the way information is presented, like when preferring yogurt with
package saying “80% fat free” instead of “20% fat”.
Such standpoint inspired several procedures used in countries’ policies
nowadays, in particular, nudge theory and choice architecture. Nudge
theory is finding a method to influence consumers’ choices in a
predictable way without offering something.
For example, in 2012, the UK government decided to change the
reminder letters sent to taxpayers that were late in their income tax
payment with the help of The British Behavioral Insights Team (BIT). The
team altered the messaging to “Nine out of ten people in the U.K. pay
their taxes on time. You are currently in the very small minority of people
who have not paid us yet.” As a consequence, this had a significant effect
on the delinquent taxpayers who, in the number of almost 120,000, made
payments of 4.9 million pounds which would not have been raised
without the intervention. By feeling isolated and pressured, consumers
were influenced to not examine the situation properly, but rather indulge
own instincts, thereby diminishing the money available to purchase goods
and services, and therefore, total utility.