Final answer:
It is true that not all consumers act according to the classical definition of a rational consumer, as real-world decision-making includes emotional influences and cognitive biases like loss aversion and the endowment effect.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that not all consumers act according to the classical definition of a rational consumer is true. Classical economic theory regarding consumers assumes rational behavior, where consumers always make decisions aimed at maximizing their utility based on information and preference with no influence of emotions or cognitive biases. However, in practice, consumers often display behaviors that deviate from this model due to a variety of psychological factors and cognitive biases. For instance, the endowment effect suggests that people assign more value to things merely because they own them, which contradicts the traditional view that value is determined solely by the properties of the good or service.
Individuals may value a dollar lost more than a dollar gained, showing an asymmetry in how they experience gains and losses, which is known as loss aversion. This emotional influence on decision-making is not accounted for in classical consumer theory, demonstrating that while the rational model can serve as a rough approximation, it fails to capture the full complexity of human behavior. It's recognized that people often make decisions based on heuristics and rules of thumb rather than precise calculations of utility maximization.
However, it can still be argued that consumers act approximately rational because, despite the influences of feelings and cognitive biases, their behavior could still be consistent with trying to achieve satisfaction within their means and according to their preferences, albeit not perfectly aligned with the economic model of rationality.