Utility Analysis of Belief in Evidence Theory

This article proposes, for the first time, a new issue called utility paradox problem, which can not be solved effectively by existing methods in evidence theory. A utility analysis method considering the subjective preference of decision maker is presented to solve the utility paradox problem. First, with a utility-belief function, the belief degrees given by experts are transformed into the utility-belief degrees, which determine decision makers' actions. Second, the rule of combination in evidence theory is used to combine the utility-belief degrees. This article presents properties the utility-belief function should have, and a specific function is given with its validation proved. Experiment shows the method is effective to solve the utility paradox problem.