STOCHASTIC PROCESS MODELS OF PREFERENCE CHANGE

Michel Regenwetter, Yung Fong Hsu

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

This chapter gives an informal summary of a research program aiming to develop and test stochastic process models of preference change. What does it take to develop a formally precise and descriptively valid model of persuasion? Any such model should specify formally concise definitions of hypothetical constructs such as preferences or attitudes. The chapter reviews weak order and semiorder models of preferences that are grounded in decision theory. Such a model should also spell out how hypothetical constructs relate to observable behavior, such as feeling thermometer ratings. The chapter reviews response processes that, in some cases, accommodate within and across respondent heterogeneity in overt behavior. The model should furthermore specify formally what it means to change one’s preference over time and how that change relates to the persuasive environment. The chapter treats preference change as a continuous time stochastic process on a graph of preference states. The most innovative feature of the approach is to model the (perceived) persuasive environment itself also as a hypothetical construct that is not directly/objectively observable by the researcher. Last but not least, the chapter discusses how to accommodate partisan differences, how to incorporate respondents with immutable preferences, and the possibility that respondents may tune in and out of a persuasive campaign. The emphasis of the chapter lies in explaining key conceptual ideas grounded in decision theory and mathematical psychology.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationThe Oxford Handbook of Public Choice
Subtitle of host publicationVolume 1
PublisherOxford University Press
Pages665-682
Number of pages18
Volume1
ISBN (Electronic)9780190469733
ISBN (Print)9780190469740
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2019

Keywords

  • media theory
  • persuasion
  • preferences
  • response processes
  • stochastic model

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Economics, Econometrics and Finance
  • General Business, Management and Accounting

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'STOCHASTIC PROCESS MODELS OF PREFERENCE CHANGE'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this