提出结构化方法精准删除决策树中的无关条件,简化规则同时保证可靠性。
Relevance-Aware Rule: Structural Deletion of Irrelevant Conditions in Decision Trees

- 基于分裂时类别比例相反变化的结构性原理识别可疑无关条件。
- 实验表明该方法显著简化规则,且不降低原始模型可靠性。
- 适合需要可解释性与简洁性的机器学习应用,如医疗决策支持。
决策树生成可解释的若-则规则,但包含无关条件(IRCs)。这些条件源于树分裂的结构性机制,即使在现代最优稀疏树生成算法中仍存在。现有删除方法忽视这一机制,导致或保留过松影响可靠性,或删除过严无法实现有效简化。本研究建立理论基础,揭示二元分裂会使子分支类别比例朝相反方向变化:一个分支类1比例上升,则其兄弟分支类0比例必然上升,从而产生C1链和C0链。基于此,提出结构化无关条件删除框架:相对于每个叶节点,提升本类比例的链接视为匹配,提升对立类比例的链接视为不匹配,标记为结构可疑的候选。不直接删除,而是通过预测可靠性评估严格诊断其相关性,仅选择性删除结构与实证上均无关的条件,严格保护删后会降低可靠性的条件。实验验证该框架在不牺牲原树可靠性前提下实现显著规则简化。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Decision trees generate interpretable if--then rules, yet they contain irrelevant conditions (IRCs). These IRCs arise from the structural mechanism of tree splitting and persist even in modern optimal sparse tree induction algorithms. Existing IRC deletion methods overlook this structural mechanism; therefore, they either preserve the original tree too loosely to remain reliable, or too strictly to achieve meaningful simplification. This study provides theoretical foundations for reliable IRC deletion by establishing theorems and propositions related to the underlying IRC mechanism. The key finding is that a binary split shifts class proportions in opposite directions relative to the parent. Specifically, an increase in the class-1 proportion along one branch necessitates an increase in the class-0 proportion along its sibling, thereby generating a C1-link and a C0-link. Based on this structural fact, we propose a structural IRC deletion framework. Relative to each leaf, links that increase the leaf-class proportion are matched, whereas links that increase the proportion of the opposite leaf-class are mismatched. These mismatched links are flagged as structurally suspicious IRC candidates. Rather than deleting them outright, the framework rigorously diagnoses their relevance by assessing prediction reliability. It selectively deletes conditions that are structurally and empirically irrelevant, while strictly protecting those whose deletion would reduce the rule's reliability. Experimental results confirm that the proposed framework achieves substantial rule simplification without sacrificing the reliability of the original tree.
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