SEQUENTIAL ASPECTS OF RESIDENTIAL SEARCH AND SELECTION

Tversky's "elimination by aspects'' approach is used as a decision-making model in this survey of the residential choice process of a sample of intraurban migrants. Rather than attempting to examine the covert cognitive operations described in the elimination-by-aspects model, this research seeks to describe overt residential search and selection behaviors which derive from Tversky's approach. The sequence in which information on criterion variables is acquired indicates a general two-stage process for the sample of residential migrants. Residential decision makers exhibit differential use of information sources on specific variables and appear to consult information sources in a selective manner. The sequence in which the information sources are utilized exhibits a diverse pattern for the sample of all intraurban migrants. Disaggregating the sample by significant social groupings reveals several information source strategies for certain groups, along with considerable individual diversity in residential decision making.