On solving intransitiveities in repeated pairwise choices

A method is presented to transform intransitive, possibly incomplete, preferences between objects into a transitive ordering. In most cases the method provides a unique solution which is easily computed, also if many objects are involved. The method takes into account information about stabililty or intensity of preferences. Preferences are represented as arcs in a digraph. The number of arc reversals that form the solution often coincides with the minimal number of arc reversals known as Slater's i. A Monte Carlo study is reported that strongly supports the method. The method is shown to require polynomial computation time.