Introduction | The Basic Model | Some Implications of the Model | An Advanced Model | References |
In the present case, one is not entitled to conclude from the model that a preference for being surrounded by similar people is the single factor that accounts for segregation/clustering in all cases. Nor is one entitled to conclude that other factors are irrelevant or even unlikely, either in individual cases or generally. One can conclude that a preference for being surrounded by similar people would suffice to account for segregation/clustering in a lots of different cases and, perhaps more importantly, that it could be a contributing factor of the sort that helps to explain why similar behavior occurs a wide variety of circumstances. And that a particular sort of change rather than another sort is more likely to be effective in a wide array of circumstances in bringing about more integrated communities (assuming one had that as an objective).
See Do Your Own Research for some additional general ideas about observations and conclusions that hold both for research on models and research on the world.