Consensus reaching with two-stage minimum adjustments in multi-attribute group decision making: A method based on preference-approval structure and prospect theory

This study presents a novel consensus reaching method for multi-attribute group decision making (MAGDM) problems with preference-approval structures in prospect theory. In this method, with the consideration of the reference dependence and loss aversion behaviors of individuals, the individual prospect values of different alternatives are calculated. Then, we develop two-stage consensus reaching models with minimum adjustments to improve the consensus level among the individuals. In stage I, we assist the individuals to adjust their individual positional orderings and reference points. Next, the adjusted individual positional orderings will be as the input of the model of Stage II which aims to provide the support for individuals adjust their decision evaluations. Furthermore, a numerical example is to illustrate the feasibility of the proposal. Finally, some experiments are designed to justify the effectiveness of the proposed method. Compared with the existing studies, the proposed method can decrease the adjustments of individuals and promote the efficient of consensus reaching. The proposed method can be used to deal with some practical group decision making (e.g., the engineering bid and the urban ecological park location), where the individuals will have no conflicts of interests.

Automated summary

This study proposes a novel consensus reaching method for multi-attribute group decision making, aiming to improve the consensus level among individuals with minimum adjustments. By considering individuals' reference dependence and loss aversion behaviors, the method can decrease individual adjustments and promote the efficiency of consensus reaching. The proposed method can be applied to practical group decision-making scenarios without conflicts of interests.