What is " consumer sentiment'?

And how do they calculate it? I am still baffled with the concepts that are used by the media to gauge the psychology of individuals consumers as if there was an exact barometer that could tell exactly how people felt about the state of the economy and its future prospects.

This extract is from CNBC

" U.S. consumer sentiment rose to its highest level in eight months in early February, boosted by recent tax cuts and optimism about the economy, a survey released on Friday showed.

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While consumers were more cheery about the economic and job market recovery, they still expected improvement to be lackluster, according to the latest consumer survey from Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan.

The preliminary February reading for the overall index on consumer sentiment came in at 75.1, up from 74.2 in January."

It was the highest level since June 2010 and was roughly in-line with the median forecast of 75 expected by economists polled by Reuters."

So? What does the consumer sentiments tell us? That the economy is recovering from the 2007 crash and that Ben Bernanke and Barack Obama are geniuses who saved the US economy and the world for the matter from the greatest depression since 1929? Please do not make me laugh!