Abstract: A bounding procedure for
expected multiattribute utility (Hartmut Holz and Karl Mosler)
The paper presents an interactive procedure for expected utility decisions based on a multiattribute utility function. The utility function is a weighted sum of single-attribute utilities. In each stage the decision maker is asked about his or her preference between a given pair of lotteries. The answer is used to derive inequalities either for the attribute weights or the single-attribute utility functions, to calculate bounds for the expected utility of all decision alternatives, and to determine, after this stage, a nondominated set of alternatives. The procedure can be stopped at any instance. It has been efficiently implemented on a PC.
Keywords: Decision under risk, multiple objectives, multiattribute utility technique (MAUT), interactive elicitation of utility functions, additively separable utility function, partial information, efficient sets of alternatives.