An extensive-form analysis for comparing fuzzy information systems by means of the worth and quietness of information

Abstract

Statistical decision problems deal with the choice among several actions, whose consequences depend upon the state of nature, and this choice is usually made on the basis of the outcome of an experiment selected from a collection of experiments whose probability measures depend upon the state. The selection criteria among the experiments are generally based on some measures of the information contained in each experiment about that true state. In this paper we suggest a new selection criterion among the experiments associated with a statistical decision problem, when the experimental outcomes cannot be exactly perceived by the decision maker, but rather the available information from each experimental outcome can be regarded as an element in a fuzzy information system (as defined by Tanaka, Okuda and Asai). In a previous paper we have proposed a method for comparing fuzzy information systems on the basis of the maximization of the ‘oworth of information of a fuzzy park information system’ (Tanaka et al). When the application of such a method leads to indifference between two fuzzy information systems, this indifference can be avoided by applying the criterion in this paper. This selection criterion is an extensive-form analysis which is based on two measures of the information contained in a fuzzy information system about the true state: the ‘worth of information of a fuzzy information system’ and the ‘expected quietness of information of a fuzzy information system’. The suitability of the criterion stated above is corroborated by studying its main properties and contrasting this procedure with other ones making use of different measures of information.