Irrelevant Alternatives

The Irrelevant Alternatives principle refers to the idea that introducing a new option into a choice set should not change the relative preference between existing options if that new option is clearly inferior or unrelated. In decision-making, a rational choice system should rank options consistently; adding a bad or irrelevant alternative should not alter the preference order of the better options. This concept is important in voting and choice theories to ensure stability and fairness, preventing the introduction of irrelevant options from skewing outcomes or preferences.