Performance of Holistic Evaluation for Multi-criteria Decisions Comparing Selection or Elimination of Alternatives

In some decision situations, the use of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making/Aiding methods cannot capture the real cognitive process performed by Decision-Makers. In this context, behavioral studies can be performed to investigate Decision-Makers’ behavior during the decision process. This study has been undertaken to compare previous studies in order to investigate how Decision-Makers performed holistic evaluations using graphical and tabular visualization presented in the FITradeoff Decision Support System. Results may be applied to other methods using additive aggregation in the MAVT (Multi-Attribute Value Theory) context. The study aims to modify or transform the method based on the inclusion of behavioral aspects observed during the decision process. Thus, in this study an experiment has been designed to conduct holistic evaluations. Eight visualizations are presented arranged in bar graphs and tables, and two decision processes have been investigated – the selection of the best alternative and the elimination of the worst alternative. The experiment has been applied to 134 participants, and the data were collected and analyzed in terms of their probabilities of success and preferences.