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Latent Change in Recurrent Choice Data

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2025

Ulf Böckenholt and
Rolf Langeheine
Ulf Böckenholt*
Affiliation:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Rolf Langeheine
Affiliation:
Institute for Science Education, University of Kiel
*
Requests for reprints should be sent to Ulf Böckenholt, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, I1 61820.
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Abstract

This paper introduces dynamic latent-class models for the analysis and interpretation of stability and change in recurrent choice data. These latent-class models provide a nonparametric representation of individual taste differences. Changes in preferences are modeled by allowing for individual-level transitions from one latent class to another over time. The most general model facilitates a saturated representation of class membership changes. Several special cases are presented to obtain a parsimonious description of latent change mechanisms. An easy to implement EM algorithm is derived for parameter estimation. The approach is illustrated by a detailed analysis of a purchase incidence data set.

Keywords

latent class modelsPoisson distributioncount dataEM algorithmlatent changechoice behavior

Information

Type
Original Paper
Information
Psychometrika , Volume 61 , Issue 2 , June 1996, pp. 285 - 301
Copyright
Copyright © 1996 The Psychometric Society

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Footnotes

We thank Greg M. Allenby and the A. C. Nielsen Corporation for providing the data used in the analysis, and the anonymous reviewers and the Editor for their helpful comments on a previous version of the article. This research was partially supported by National Science Foundation grant SBR-9409531.

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