Effects of Acute Experimental Crowding¹

Abstract

Recent concern with population growth has begun to stimulate interest in the effect of crowding on humans. This report presents a model of crowding based on the concept of normative expectations concerning appropriate interaction distances. A study of acute experimental crowding was then conducted. Contrary to findings of prior research, the present study found that crowding produced arousal. Subsequent social behavior, however, was mediated by different sex‐specific group processes. In general, crowded male groups displayed a competitive, fragmented orientation, whereas crowded women formed cohesive, cooperative groups. Contrary to preliminary expectations, subjects were differentially effected by crowding based on their seating position in the crowded room.

Conservative When Crowded: Social Crowding and Consumer Choice

“…We believe these findings add a new dimension to research on crowding, which has, to date, primarily centered on relatively narrow behavioral outcomes such as task performance or social behavior (e.g., Epstein and Karlin 1975;Evans and Lepore 1993). Similarly, consumer researchers have thus far shown only that store crowding decreases shopping satisfaction (Eroglu, Machleit, and Barr 2005), precipitates an earlier departure from a crowded store (Hui and Bateson 1991), and can threaten consumers' sense of individuality (Xu, Shen, and Wyer 2012).…”

The Experience of Crowding in Primary and Secondary Environments

“…The research of Epstein and Karlin ( 1975) emphasizes the importance of group norms concerning appropriate interaction distances in determining the behavioral impact of high density in a particular setting. The authors reasoned that the capacity of group members to share distress should enhance their adjust ment to the discomforts of excessive interpersonal proximity imposed by high density conditions.…”

Partitioning and Perceived Crowding in a Public Space

“…Much of the research deriving from stimulus-overload formulations has focused upon the role of architectural factors in mediating the perception of crowding and spatial behavior Baum et al, forthcoming;Bickman et al, 1973;Desor, 1972;Valins and Baum, 1973), whereas investigations based upon behavioral constraint and ecological analyses have emphasized personal (Cozby, 1973;Dooley, 1974;Schopler and Walton, 1974) and social-structural (Epstein and Karlin, 1974;Fisher, 1974;Hanson and Wicker, 1973;Stokols, et al, 1973) determinants of the crowding experience. Because one of the major objectives of the present study was to assess the relevance of behavioral science approaches to architectural design, stimulus-overload research pertaining specifically to the relationship between design factors and crowding was utilized by the authors as a basis for developing experimental hypothesis.…”