Abstract
The concept of preference intensity has been criticized over the past sixty years for having no substantive meaning. Much of the controversy stems from the inadequacy of measurement procedures. In reviewing the shortcomings of existing procedures, we identify three objectives for developing a satisfactory procedure: (1) the capability of validating expressed preference differences by actual choices among naturally occurring options, (2) compatibility with the existing problem structure, and (3) no confounding of extraneous factors in the measurement of preference intensity. Several recently developed measurement procedures are criticized for failing one or more of these objectives. We then examine three different approaches for measuring preference intensity based on multiple perspectives. Thereplication approach emerges as a promising way of satisfying the three objectives above. This methodology applies to problems where an attribute can be replicated by “parallel components” that are independent, identical copies of the attribute. We illustrate the approach with two applications reported in the decision analysis literature. We also offer guidance on how to construct parallel components satisfying the requisite properties.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
F. Alt, On the measurability of utility, Zeitschrift für Nationalokonomie 7(1936)161. Translated and reprinted in:Preferences, Utility and Demand, ed. J.S. Chipman, L. Hurwicz, M.K. Richter and H.F. Sonnenschein (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1971) pp. 424–431.
F.H. Barron, D. von Winterfeldt and G.W. Fischer, Empirical and theoretical relationships between value and utility functions, Acta Psychologica 56(1984)233.
D.E. Bell, Assessing single attribute measurable value functions, Working Paper, Harvard Business School, Boston, MA (1982).
A. Camacho, Approaches to cardinal utility, Theory and Decision 12(1980)359.
A. Camacho, Cardinal utility and decision making under uncertainty, in:Foundations of Utility and Risk Theory with Applications, ed. B.P. Stigum and F. Wenstop (Reidel, Dordrecht, 1983) pp. 347–370.
J.S. Dyer, W. Farrell and P. Bradley, Utility functions for test performance, Manag. Sci. 20(1973)507.
J.S. Dyer and R.K. Sarin, Measurable multiattribute value functions, Oper. Res. 27(1979)810.
J.S. Dyer and R.K. Sarin, Group preference aggregation rules based on strength of preference, Manag. Sci. 25(1979)822.
J.S. Dyer and R.K. Sarin, Relative risk aversion, Manag. Sci. 28(1982)875.
W. Edwards, Use of multiattribute utility measurement for social decision making, in:Conflicting Objectives in Decisions, ed. D.E. Bell, R.L. Keeney and H. Raiffa (Wiley, New York, 1977) pp. 247–275.
D. Ellsberg, Classic and current notions of measurable utility, Economics Journal 64(1954)528.
P.H. Farquhar, Interdependent criteria in utility analysis, in:Multiple Criteria Problem Solving, ed. S. Zionts (Springer-Verlag, New York, 1978) pp. 131–180.
P.H. Farquhar, Utility assessment methods, Manag. Sci. 30(1984)283.
P.C. Fishburn, Methods of estimating additive utilities, Manag. Sci. 13(1967)435.
P.C. Fishburn,Utility Theory for Decision Making (Wiley, New York, 1970).
P.C. Fishburn, Cardinal utility: An interpretive essay, Rivista Internazionale di Scienze Economiche e Commerciali 23(1976)1102.
S. French,Decision Theory: An Introduction to the Mathematics of Rationality (Ellis Horwood, Chichester, England, 1986).
R. Frisch, Sur une problème d'économie pure, Norsk Mathematish Forenings Skrifter 1(1926)1.
E. Galanter, The direct measurement of utility and subjective probability, Amer. J. Psychology 75(1962)208.
B. Grofman and G. Owen, eds.,Information Pooling and Group Decision Making (JAI Press, Greenwich, Connecticut, 1986).
J.C. Harsanyi, Cardinal utility in welfare economics and in the theory of risk taking, Journal of Political Economy 61(1953)434.
J.C. Harsanyi, Bayesian decision theory and utilitarian ethics, Amer. Econ. Rev. 68(1978)223.
J.R. Hauser and S.M. Shugan, Intensity measures of consumer preference, Oper. Res. 28(1980)278.
R.M. Hogarth, ed.,Question Framing and Response Consistency (Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1982).
A.M. Isen, B. Means, R. Patrick and G. Nowicki, Some factors influencing decision-making strategy and risk taking, in:Affect and Cognition, The Seventeenth Annual Carnegie Symposium on Cognition, ed. M.S. Clark and S.T. Fiske (Lawrence Erlbaum, New Jersey, 1982), pp. 243–261.
E.M. Johnson and G. Huber, The technology of utility assessment, IEEE Trans. on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, SMC-7(1977)311.
R.L. Keeney and H. Raiffa,Decisions with Multiple Objectives: Preferences and Value Tradeoffs (Wiley, New York, 1976).
L.R. Keller, An empirical investigation of relative risk aversion, IEEE Trans. on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics 15(1985)475.
N.P. Kneppreth, D.H. Gustafson, R.P. Leifer and E.M. Johnson, Techniques for the assessment of worth, Technical Paper 254, U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral Sciences, Arlington, Virginia. Also in:Health Status Indexes, ed. R. Berg (Hospital Research and Education Trust, Chicago, Illinois, 1974).
N.P. Kneppreth, W. Hoessel, D.H. Gustafson and E.M. Johnson, A strategy for selecting a worth assessment technique, Technical Paper 280, U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral Sciences, Arlington, Virginia, 1978).
D.H. Krantz, R.D. Luce, P. Suppes and A. Tversky,Foundations of Measurement, Vol. 1 (Academic Press, New York, 1971).
R. Kulkarni, S. Rothstein, A. Sicherman, F. Finn and V. Ozernoy, Development of a construction priority system, Final Report prepared for the Kansas Department of Transportation, Woodward-Clyde Consultants, San Francisco, CA (1981).
W. Lyons,The Disappearance of Introspection (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1986).
M.J. Machina, “Rational” decision making versus “rational” decision modelling?, Journal of Mathematical Psychology 24(1981)163.
M.E. Merkhofer,Decision Science and Social Risk Management (Reidel, Dordrecht, 1987).
R. Nisbett and L. Ross,Human Inference: Strategies and Shortcomings of Social Judgment (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1980).
V. Pareto,Manuel d'Economie Politique, 2nd ed. (Giard, Paris, 1927).
J.S. Pliskin and C.H. Beck, A health index for patient selection: A value function approach with application to chronic renal failure patients, Manag. Sci. 22(1976)1009.
E.C. Poulton, Models of biases in judging sensory magnitude, Psychological Bulletin 86(1979)777.
H. Raiffa,Decision Analysis — Introductory Lectures on Choices under Uncertainty (Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1968).
J. Rawls,A Theory of Justice (Belknap Press, Cambridge, MA, 1971).
R.K. Sarin, Strength of preference and risky choice, Oper. Res. 30(1982)982.
R.K. Sarin, Measurable value function theory: Survey and open problems, in:Essays and Surveys on Multiple Criteria Decision Making, ed. P. Hansen (Springer-Verlag, New York, 1983).
P. Suppes and M. Winet, An axiomatization of utility based on the notion of utility differences, Manag. Sci. 1(1955)259.
W.S. Torgerson,Theory and Methods of Scaling (Wiley, New York, 1958).
R. Turner,Logics for Artificial Intelligence (Ellis Horwood, Chichester, England, 1984).
A. Tversky and D. Kahneman, The framing of decisions and the psychology of choice, Science 211(1981)453.
J.-C. Vansnick, Strength of preference — theoretical and practical aspects, in:Operational Research '84, ed. J.P. Brans (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1984) pp. 367–381.
J.-C. Vansnick, Intensity of preference, in:Toward Interactive and Intelligent Decision Support Systems, Vol. 2, ed. Y. Sawaragi, K. Inoue and H. Nakayama (Springer-Verlag, New York, 1987) pp. 220–229.
D. von Winterfeldt and W. Edwards,Decision Analysis and Behavioral Research (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, 1986).
P. Wakker, Cardinal coordinate independence for expected utility, Journal of Mathematical Psychology 28(1984)110.
P. Wakker, The repetitions approach to characterize cardinal utility, Theory and Decision 17(1986)33.
D.J. White,Operational Research (Wiley, New York, 1985).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Farquhar, P.H., Keller, L.R. Preference intensity measurement. Ann Oper Res 19, 205–217 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02283521
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02283521