Summary On Preference In English Grammar

The term "preferences" is used in a variety of related, but not identical, ways in the scientific literature. This makes it necessary to make explicit the sense in which the term is used in different social sciences.

In psychology, preferences could be conceived of as an individual's attitude towards a set of objects, typically reflected in an explicit decision-making process (Lichtenstein & Slovic, 2006). Alternatively, one could interpret the term "preference" to mean evaluative judgment in the sense of liking or disliking an object (e.g., Scherer, 2005) which is the most typical definition employed in psychology. However, it does not mean that a preference is necessarily stable over time. Preference can be notably modified by decision-making processes, such as choices (Brehm, 1956; Sharot, De Martino, & Dolan, 2009), even in an unconscious way (see Coppin, Delplanque, Cayeux, Porcherot, & Sander, 2010).

"Preference" may also refer to non-choices, such as genetic and biological explanations for one's preference. Sexual orientation, for example, is considered a sexual preference.

Like (gerund + noun + adjective) ~> better than (gerund + noun + adjective)

Example:
* I like dancing better than singing.
* Franky likes a glass of wine better than a bottle of coca cola.
* Jovanka likes pink better than red.

Prefer (gerund / noun / adjective) ~> to (gerund / noun / adjective)

Example:
* I prefer dancing to singing.
* Franky prefers a glass of wine to a bottle of coca cola.
* Jovanka prefers pink to red.

Would rather (bare inf. / have + noun / have + adjective) ~> than (bare inf. / noun / adjective)

Example:
* I would rather dance than sing.
* Franky would rather have a glass of wine than a bottle of coca cola.
* Jovanka would rather have pink than red.

Would prefer (to + inf. / noun / adjective) ~> rather than (to + inf. / noun / adjective)

Example:
* I would prefer to dance rather than to sing.
* Franky would prefer a glass of wine rather than a bottle of coca cola.
* Jovanka would prefer pink rather than red.