Personality Homophily in Residential Choice

The project examines whether individuals show personality homophily in residential choice, i.e., whether they select areas where people with similar personality traits already reside. Specifically, the project seeks to determine if, when, and why personality homophily occurs through three research packages. Research Package 1 uses large cross-sectional data from the United States to first demonstrate the existence of personality homophily and to determine its spatial universality and temporal stability. Research Package 2 combines panel and cross-sectional data from two countries (USA and UK) to determine under what conditions personality homophily occurs (e.g., life events and relocation motivations). Research Package 3 uses a self-designed experimental setup to identify the underlying processes of personality homophily in a series of experiments (i.e., whether individuals are attracted to similar personality characteristics or whether they prefer to live with others who share their traits). Overall, the project aims to determine if, when, and why personality homophily occurs and to isolate its independent effect on residential location choice (beyond ethnic and socioeconomic homophily).