Misconceptions, Misinterpretations, and Misrepresentations of Behavioral Approaches in Human Geography

Abstract

This paper itemises and examines some of the myths that appear to be building up in geography around the topic of behavioral research. In particular it traces some of the reasons for the development of behavioral approaches in the discipline, defines some of their fundamental characteristics, and examines the epistemological bases of selected types of behavioral research. Comments are made about research on utility and choice, mobility and migration, and cognitive mapping in an attempt to dispell these myths—or at least to inhibit their further development and acceptance.