Perturbation Model for a Product of Joint Consumption

Couples often have difference in preference for a product. They are likely to use either coercive or non-coercive means to resolve their differences. This behavior is, however, likely to vary from person to person. This paper operationalizes the difference of opinion through perturbation and models heterogeneity in an individual’s propensity to coerce based on a certain level of perturbation. The study uses the Expectation-Maximization (EM) Algorithm to model this heterogeneity for a product of joint consumption – movies. The study shows that for the same level of perturbation, couples do behave differently in using coercive strategies to settle their disagreements