Generalized Utility Independence and Some Implications

Peter C. Fishburn and Ralph L. Keeney
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Peter C. Fishburn: Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
Ralph L. Keeney: International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg, Austria

Operations Research, 1975, vol. 23, issue 5, 928-940

Abstract: This paper introduces the concept of generalized utility independence. Subject to various generalized utility independence assumptions, we derive three functional forms for a multiattribute von Neumann-Morgenstern utility function u . These are the additive, the multiplicative, and the quasi-additive forms, each of which expresses u as a combination of utility functions defined on the separate attributes. It is demonstrated that if u is unbounded from above and below, then given the three forms, either reversal of preferences over some attributes occurs or else the additive form must hold.

Date: 1975
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