Quasitransitive relation

The mathematical notion of quasitransitivity is a weakened version of transitivity that is used in social choice theory and microeconomics. Informally, a relation is quasitransitive if it is symmetric for some values and transitive elsewhere. The concept was introduced by to study the consequences of Arrow's theorem. A binary relation T over a set X is quasitransitive if for all a, b, and c in X the following holds: If the relation is also antisymmetric, T is transitive. Alternately, for a relation T, define the asymmetric or "strict" part P: Then T is quasitransitive if and only if P is transitive. Preferences are assumed to be quasitransitive (rather than transitive) in some economic contexts. The classic example is a person indifferent between 7 and 8 grams of sugar and indifferent between 8 and 9 grams of sugar, but who prefers 9 grams of sugar to 7. Similarly, the Sorites paradox can be resolved by weakening assumed transitivity of certain relations to quasitransitivity. A relation R is quasitransitive if, and only if, it is the disjoint union of a symmetric relation J and a transitive relation P. J and P are not uniquely determined by a given R; however, the P from the only-if part is minimal. As a consequence, each symmetric relation is quasitransitive, and so is each transitive relation. Moreover, an antisymmetric and quasitransitive relation is always transitive. The relation from the above sugar example, {(7,7), (7,8), (7,9), (8,7), (8,8), (8,9), (9,8), (9,9)}, is quasitransitive, but not transitive. A quasitransitive relation needn't be acyclic: for every non-empty set A, the universal relation A×A is both cyclic and quasitransitive. A relation is quasitransitive if, and only if, its complement is. Similarly, a relation is quasitransitive if, and only if, its converse is.

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Related concepts (2)

Homogeneous relation

In mathematics, a homogeneous relation (also called endorelation) on a set X is a binary relation between X and itself, i.e. it is a subset of the Cartesian product X × X. This is commonly phrased as "a relation on X" or "a (binary) relation over X". An example of a homogeneous relation is the relation of kinship, where the relation is between people. Common types of endorelations include orders, graphs, and equivalences. Specialized studies of order theory and graph theory have developed understanding of endorelations.

Reflexive relation

In mathematics, a binary relation R on a set X is reflexive if it relates every element of X to itself. An example of a reflexive relation is the relation "is equal to" on the set of real numbers, since every real number is equal to itself. A reflexive relation is said to have the reflexive property or is said to possess reflexivity. Along with symmetry and transitivity, reflexivity is one of three properties defining equivalence relations.