Conflict, coordination, compromise? The potential of game theory to explain the choice of viewing in shared domestic television use

Abstract

AbstractA large proportion of television consumption takes place in groups, usually in households shared by partners or families. However, theories of media use tend to neglect this: Although they explain how individual orders of preference come about, they hardly address the fact that different orders of preference within a small group may conflict with one another. We propose using game theory to illustrate how to find a solution when conflicts in orders of preference arise. Game theory is suited to explaining decisions in social conflict situations in which those involved have an influence over one another. We use different (fictional) examples to demonstrate the potential of game theory here and provide a theoretical framework for future empirical studies.