A British economist at Warwick University is interested in discovering whether it is possible to determine if the theory of the consumer optimum, using measurable utility instead of relative levels of utility, can be derived from happiness surveys. In such a survey, shoppers in a mall are approached and asked about items they have purchased. The shoppers are then asked how happy they are on a scale of 1 to 10 with each purchase they have made. Then they are asked the price of each item. The happiness score of each item is then divided by its price. The idea is to test the notion that a consumer maximizes utility by equating the ratios across all purchases. Why might the happiness score be imperfect measures of utility?