Search Strategies and Stopping Rules in Residential Mobility

Abstract

After a discussion of residential search, a number of stopping-rule models are introduced and reviewed, including the 'marriage problem' and the 'house-hunting problem'. Requirements for a search and stopping-rule model in residential selection are outlined. Such a model would incorporate adaptive, systematic and hierarchical search models, and the con- straining effects of discrimination and competition. GEOGRAPHICAL studies of migration and residential mobility have tended, over the last decade, to put increasing emphasis on the individual decision-maker and his behaviour. The social psycho- logical approach of Rossi (1955), adopted into geography by Wolpert (I965), has improved our understanding of the mobility process. A detailed model of individual behaviour can be used for constructing theory and making predictions about the behaviour of individuals and groups. The more comprehensive and well defined such a model is, the more likely it is that it may be useful in the development and co-ordination of theory beyond the heuristic value which has probably been the main contribution of behavioural models in geography to date. In order to make the model operational, certain unrealistic assumptions must necessarily be made, but these assump- tions are far more realistic than those customary in residential location models in use today. The fullest account of the intra-urban migrant's decision-making process is that offered by Brown and Moore (I970). In an earlier paper (Flowerdew, I974), Brown and Moore's approach to the migrant's choice of a new residence was discussed in some detail, and suggestions -ere made concerning ways in which it could be made more specific and complete. It is appropriate to give a brief description of the work of Brown and Moore in order to explain the context from which the problems discussed in this paper arise. The relevant section of their paper is 'Phase II: The Relocation Decision' in which evalua- tion procedures and search behaviour are considered in some detail. The household evaluates the satisfactoriness of vacancies with respect to many attributes. An 'aspiration region' is formulated, bounded by the upper and lower limits of the values of each attribute considered satisfactory by the moving household. A particular vacancy may then be considered acceptable if its charac- teristics all lie within the household's aspiration region. Brown and Moore view the search behaviour of prospective movers in terms of the initial information possessed by the movers and the ways in which information about vacancies may be obtained. It is stated (p. 9) that the intended migrant household's use of information channels (mass media, specialized agencies, display boards, personal contacts) is dependent on the sub- jective probability of success in finding a suitable vacancy using each channel, and the amount of time remaining before the household must commit itself. As search progresses, the house- hold's search strategy (i.e. the intensity and manner of its use of available information channels) may change in the light of experience, and the standards of acceptability may also change. This paper is concerned with two aspects of the search process, the mover's decisions as to