Concepts of Independence in Multiattribute Utility Theory.
Abstract
The paper surveys and relates various sets of independence properties which have been investigated in multiattribute utility theory. Three types of independence conditions are covered: value independence, utility independence, and preferential independence. Such conditions, which concern the decision maker's preferences between specified consequences or lotteries, place restrictions on the functional forms of the utility functions u(x(1),x(2),...,x(n)). These usually involve weighted sums and products of utility functions over subsets of the complete set of attributes. Thus, given a specific problem, if independence conditions are verified, the assessment of the utility function can be simplified. The functional forms implied by various sets of independence properties are presented, and methods to assess the resulting utility functions are discussed. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1972
- Accession Number
- AD0753803
Entities
People
- Ralph L. Keeney
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology