Toward a psychological theory of crowding.

Abstract

A broad psychological correlate of population size, overall level of social stimulation, was postulated as the variable controlling human judgments of crowding. Seventy human subjects were presented with scaled-down rooms and human figures and asked to place as many people as possible in the rooms without overcrowding them. Room area was constant, while architectural features varying interpersonal perception (partitions, disparity of linear dimensions, number of doors) varied. Results support the theory that "being crowded" is reception of excessive social stimulation and not merely a lack of space. Secondary results indicate one's criterion of crowding varies with ongoing activity. No replicable sex differences were observed.

Behavioral and Physiological Consequences of Crowding in Humans1

“…Recently, Stokols, Smith and Proster (in press) have tested the effects of partitions in a live field experiment on perceived crowding and found contradictory data from that suggested by Desor (1972). whose work forms the basis for most research on stress, has proposed that stress is a bodily state manifested by the general adaptation syndrome (GAS).…”

Factors in the Perception of Crowding

“…Marshall (1972) found a relationship between the perception of crowding and past living experience or other environmental factors. Desor (1972) investigated the effect of three types of partition upon the perception of crowding. Kutner (1973) examined how visual exposure of other people mediates anxiety in high density interpersonal situations.…”

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.…”

“…Stimulus overload analyses, for example, portray density as a stressor variable to the degree that it exposes individuals to excessive levels of stimulations Desor, 1972;Esser, 1972;Milgram, 1970;Saegert, 1973;Simmel, 1950;Valins and Baum, 1973;Wirth, 1939;Zlutnick and Altman, 1972). Behavioral constraint formulations view density as stressful to the extent that it imposes restrictions on behavioral freedom (Proshansky et al, 1970;Stokols, 1972).…”