Risk Perception, Risk Attitude and Decision: a Rank-Dependent Approach

Michèle Cohen

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Abstract: The classical expected utility model of decision under risk (von Neumann-Morgenstern, 1944) has been criticized from an experimental point of view (Allais' paradox) as well as for its restrictive lack of explanatory power. The Rank-Dependent Expected Utility model (RDU) model (Quiggin, 1982) attempts to answer some of these criticisms. The decision maker is characterized by two functions : a utility function on consequences measuring preferences over sure outcomes and a probability weighting function measuring the subjective weighting of probabilities. As we show and illustrate in this paper, this model allows for more diversified types of behavior : it is consistent with the behavior revealed by the Allais paradox ; the decision maker could dislike risk (prefer to any lottery its expectation) without necessarily avoiding any increase in risk ; diminishing marginal utility may coexists with "weak" risk seeking attitudes ; decision makers with the same utility function may differ in their choices between lotteries when they have different probability weighting functions ; furthemore, the same decision maker may have different, context-dependent, subjective beliefs on events.

Keywords: Décision dans le risque; perception des risques; aversion pour le risque; paradoxe d'Allais; modèle Rank-Dependent Expected Utility.; Rank-Dependent Expected Utility Model; Decision under risk; risk perception; risk aversion; Allais paradox; Rank-Dependent Expected Utility Model. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008-12
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00348810v1
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published in 2008

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Related works:
Working Paper: Risk Perception, Risk Attitude, and Decision: a Rank-Dependent Approach (2015)
Working Paper: Risk Perception, Risk Attitude, and Decision: a Rank-Dependent Approach (2015)
Working Paper: Risk Perception, Risk Attitude, and Decision: a Rank-Dependent Approach (2015)
Working Paper: Risk Perception, Risk Attitude and Decision: a Rank-Dependent Approach (2008)
Working Paper: Risk perception, risk attitude and decision: a Rank-Dependent approach (2008)
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