Abstract
Recent empirical research has sometimes failed to support the existence of a direct causal link between human crowding, as measured by objective density indices, and stress effects. It has even been proposed that high density merely intensifies reactions due to other causes, thereby casting basic doubt on the reality of crowding-induced stress.
Conceptual issues in crowding research are discussed, and an attempt is made to resolve definitional problems. Theories of crowding are reviewed, suggesting that any plausible theory of crowding effects must take seriously the cognitive mediation of environmental variables, plus the operation of a complex set of personal and interpersonal processes which will determine whether and when high densityis likely to result in stress. These considerations cast doubt on the generalizability of that research which has failed to demonstrate crowding stress effects, and highlight the need for an integration of existing theories, so that predictions of the circumstances where crowding stress is most likely can eventually be made with greater precision.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aiello, J.R., De Risi, D.T., Epstein, Y.M. & Karlin, R.A. (1977). Crowding and the role of interpersonal distance preference. Sociometry, 40, 271–281.
Altman, I. (1975). The Environment and Social Behaviour: Privacy, Personal Space, Territory, Crowding. Monterey: Brooks/Cole.
Argyle, M. & Dean, J. (1965). Eye-contact, distance and affiliation. Sociometry, 28, 289–304.
Barker, R.G. & Barker, L.S. (1961). Behaviour units for the comparative study of culture. In A. Burton & R. Harris (eds.), Studying Personality Cross-Culturally, pp. 457–476. New York: Harper & Row.
Baron, R.M. (1979). Ecological approaches to understanding human crowding. Journal of Population, 2, 235–258.
Baron, R.M. & Mandel, D.R. (1978). Toward an ecological model of density effects in dormitory settings. In A. Baum & Y. Epstein (eds.), Human Response to Crowding, pp. 303–324. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Baron, R.M. & Rodin, J. (1978). Personal control as a mediator of crowding. In A. Baum, J.E. Singer & S. Valins (eds.), Advances in Environmental Psychology, Volume 1. The Built Environment, pp. 145–190. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Baron, R.M., Mandel, D.R., Adams, C.A. & Griffen, L.M. (1976). Effects of social density in university residential environments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34, 434–446.
Baum, A. & Epstein, Y. (eds.) (1978). Human Response to Crowding. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Baum, A. & Valins, S.S. (1978). Architecture and Social Behaviour: Psychological Studies of Social Density. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Baum, A., Aiello, J.R. & Calesnick, L.E. (1978). Crowding and personal control: social density and the development of learned helplessness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 1000–1011.
Bell, R.A., Fisher, J.D. & Loomis, R.J. (1978). Environmental Psychology. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders.
Bernard, V.W., Ottenberg, P. & Redl, F. (1971). Dehumanization. In N. Sanford & C. Comstock (eds.), Sanctions for Evil, pp. 102–134. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Boles, W. & Hayward, S.C. (1978). Effects of urban noise and sidewalk density on pedestrian competition and tempo. Journal of Social Psychology, 104, 29–35.
Booth, A. (1976). Urban Crowding and Its Consequences. New York: Praeger.
Bossley, M. (1976). Privacy and crowding: an interdisciplinary analysis. Man-Environment Systems, 6, 8–19.
Brehm, J.W. (1966). A Theory of Psychological Reactance. New York: Academic Press.
Burgoon, J.K. & Jones, S.B. (1976). Toward a theory of personal space expectations and their violation. Human Communication Research, 2, 131–146.
Calhoun, J.B. (1971). Space and the strategy of life. In A.H. Esser (ed.), Behaviour and Environment: The Use of Space by Animals and Men, pp. 329–387. New York: Plenum Press.
Choi, S.C., Mirjafari, A. & Weaver, H.B. (1976). The concept of crowding: a critical review and proposal of an alternative approach. Environment and Behavior, 8, 345–362.
Choldin, H. (1978). Urban density and pathology. Annual Review of Sociology, 4, 91–115.
Cohen, S. (1978). Environmental load and the allocation of attention. In A. Baum, J.E. Singer & S. Valins (eds.), Advances in Environmental Psychology, Volume 1, The Urban Environment, pp. 1–29. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Collette, J. & Webb, S. (1976). Urban density, household crowding and stress reactions. Australia and New Zealand Journal of Sociology, 12, 184–191.
Dean, L.M., Pugh, W.M. & Gunderson, E.K.E. (1978). The behavioural effects of crowding: definitions and methods. Environment and Behavior, 10, 419–432.
Desor, J.A. (1972). Toward a psychological theory of crowding. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 21, 79–83.
Dooley, B. (1975). Crowding stress: the effects of social densities on men with ‘close’ or ‘far’ personal space. Man-Environment Systems, 5, 306.
Duke, M. & Nowicki, S. (1972). A new measure and social learning model for interpersonal distance. Journal of Experimental Research in Personality, 6, 119–132.
Edney, J.J. & Uhlig, S.R. (1977). Individual and small group territories. Small Group Behavior, 8, 457–468.
Edwards, D.J.A. (1977). Perception of crowding and personal space as a function of locus of control, arousal seeking, sex of experimenter, and sex of subject. Journal of Psychology, 95, 223–230.
Eoyang, C.K. (1974). Effects of group size and privacy in residential crowding. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 30, 389–392.
Epstein, Y.M. & Baum, A. (1978). Crowding: methods of study. In A. Baum & Y.M. Epstein (eds.), Human Response to Crowding, pp. 141–164. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Esser, A.H. (1972). A biosocial perspective on crowding. In J.F. Wohlwill & D.H. Carson (eds.), Environment and the Social Sciences, pp. 15–28. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Evans, G.W. (1978). Human spatial behavior: the arousal model. In A. Baum & Y.M. Epstein (eds.), Human Response to Crowding, pp. 282–302. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Evans, G.W. & Eichelman, W. (1976). Preliminary models of conceptual linkages among proxemic variables. Environment and Behavior, 8, 87–116.
Fischer, C.S., Baldassare, M. & Ofshe, R.J. (1975). Crowding studies and urban life: a critical review. Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 41, 406–418.
Fisher, S. (1973). Body Consciousness. London: Calder & Boyars.
Freedman, J.L. (1975). Crowding and Behavior. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman.
Galle, D.R., Gove, W.R. & McPherson, J.M. (1972). Population density and pathology: what are the relations for man? Science, 176, 23–30.
Gillis, A.R. (1977). High-rise housing and psychological strain. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 18, 415–421.
Gillis, A.R. (1979). Household density and human crowding: unravelling a non-linear relationship. Journal of Population, 2, 104–116.
Glassman, J.B., Burkhart, B.R., Grant, R.D. & Vallery, G.G. (1978). Density, expectation, and extended task performance: an experiment in the natural environment. Environment and Behavior, 10, 299–316.
Goffman, E. (1971). Relations in Public: Microstudies of the Public Order. London: Allen Lane, The Penguin Press.
Goldberg, C. (1976). Prediction and control as mediators of causal attribution. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 42, 183–195.
Gurin, P., Gurin, G. & Morrison, B.M. (1978). Personal and ideological aspects of internal and external control. Social Psychology, 41, 275–296.
Hackworth, J.R. (1976). Relationships between spatial density and sensory overload, personal space, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 43, 867–872.
Harrison, G.A. & Gibson, J.B. (eds.) (1976). Man in Urban Environments. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Heilman, M.E. & Toffler, B.L. (1976). Reacting to reactance: an interpersonal interpretation of the need for freedom. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 12, 519–529.
Hutt, C. & Vaizey, M.J. (1966). Differential effects of group density on social behaviour. Nature, 209, 1371–1372.
Insel, P.M. & Lindgren, H.C. (1978). Too Close for Comfort: The Psychology of Crowding. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Kahn, A. & McGaughey, T.A. (1977). Distance and liking: when moving close produces liking. Sociometry, 40, 138–144.
Karlin, R.A., McFarland, D., Aiello, J.R. & Epstein, Y.M. (1976). Normative mediation of reactions to crowding. Environmental Psychology and Behavior, 1, 30–40.
Kirmeyer, S.L. (1978). Urban density and pathology: a review of research. Environment and Behavior, 10, 246–270.
Knowles, E.S. (1978). The gravity of crowding: applications of social physics to the effects of others. In A. Baum & Y.M. Epstein (eds.), Human Responses to Crowding, pp. 183–218. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Langer, E.J. & Saegert, S. (1977). Crowding and cognitive control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35, 175–182.
Lawrence, J.E.S. (1974). Science and sentiment: overview of research on crowding and human behaviour. Psychological Bulletin, 81, 712–720.
Lazarus, R.S. & Cohen, J.B. (1977). Environmental stress. In I. Altman & J.F. Wohlwill (eds.), Human Behavior and Environment, Advances in Theory and Research, Volume 2, pp. 87–127. New York: Plenum Press.
Lefcourt, H.M. (1973). The function of the illusions of control and freedom. American Psychologist, 28, 417–425.
Loo, C.M. (1977). Beyond the effects of crowding: situational and individual differences. In D. Stokols (ed.), Psychological Perspectives on Environment and Behavior. New York: Plenum Press.
McCarthy, D. & Saegert, S. (1978). Residential density, social overload and social withdrawal. Human Ecology, 6, 253–272.
McGrath, J.E. (ed.) (1970). Social and Psychological Factors in Stress. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Mercer, C. (1975). Living in Cities: Psychology and The Urban Environment. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Milgram, S. (1970). The experience of living in cities. Science, 167, 1461–1468.
Newman, J. & McCauley, C. (1977). Eye contact with strangers in city, suburb and small town. Environment and Behavior, 9, 547–558.
Nisbett, R.E. & Wilson, T.D. (1977). Telling more than we know: verbal reports on mental processes. Psychological Review, 84, 231–259.
Patterson, M.L. (1976). An arousal model of interpersonal intimacy. Psychological Review, 83, 235–245.
Proshansky, H.M., Ittelson, W.H. & Rivlin, L.G. (1970). Freedom of choice and behaviour in a physical setting. In Environmental Psychology: Man and His Physical Setting, pp. 183–194. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Rapoport, A. (1975). Toward a redefinition of density. Environment and Behavior, 7, 133–158.
Rodin, J., Solomon, S.K. & Metcalf, J. (1978). Role of control in mediating perceptions of density. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 988–999.
Rotter, J.B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80, 1–28.
Sadalla, E.K., Burroughs, W.J. & Staplin, L.J. (1978). The experience of crowding. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 4, 304–308.
Saegert, S. (1978). High-density environments: their personal and social consequences. In A. Baum & Y.M. Epstein (eds.), Human Response to Crowding, pp. 257–281. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Schiffenbauer, A. & Schiavo, R.S. (1976). Physical distance and attraction: an intensification effect. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 12, 274–282.
Schiffenbauer, A., Brown, J.E., Perry, P.L., Shulak, L.K. & Zanola, A.M. (1977). The relationship between density and crowding: some architectural modifiers. Environment and Behavior, 9, 3–14.
Schopler, J. & Stockdale, J.E. (1977). An interference analysis of crowding. Environmental Psychology and Nonverbal Behavior, 1, 81–88.
Schwarzwald, J., Kavish, N., Shoham, M. & Waysman, M. (1977). Fear and similarity as determinants of personal space. Journal of Psychology, 96, 55–62.
Seligman, M.E.P. (1975). Helplessness: On Depression, Development and Death. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman.
Sengel, R.A. (1978). A graph analysis of the relationship between population density and social pathology. Behavioral Science, 23, 213–224.
Seta, J.J., Paulus, P.B. & Schkade, J.K. (1976). Effects of group size and proximity under cooperative conditions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34, 47–53. Sherrod, D.R. (1974). Crowding, perceived control, and behavioural aftereffects. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 4, 171–186.
Steiner, I.D. (1970). Perceived freedom. In L. Berkowitz (ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Volume 5, pp. 187–248. New York: Academic Press.
Stockdale, J.E. (1978). Crowding: determinants and effects. In L. Berkowitz (ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Volume 11, pp. 197–247. New York: Academic Press.
Stockdale, J.E., Wittman, L.S., Jones, L.E. & Greaves, D. (1977). A multidimensional analysis of subjective crowding. Paper to Human Consequences of Crowding Symposium, Antalya, Turkey. Mimeo.
Stokols, D. (1972). On the distinction between density and crowding: some implications for future research. Psychological Review, 79, 275–277.
Stokols, D. (1976). The experience of crowding in primary and secondary environments. Environment and Behavior, 8, 49–86.
Stokols, D. (1978). A typology of crowding experiences. In A. Baum & Y.M. Epstein (eds.), Human Response to Crowding, pp. 219–255. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Stokols, D., Ohlig, W. & Resnick, S. (1978). Perception of residential crowding, classroom experience and student health. Human Ecology, 6, 233–252.
Storms, M.D. & Thomas, G.C. (1977). Reactions to physical closeness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35, 412–418.
Sundstrom, E. (1975). An experimental study of crowding: effects of room size, intrusion, and goal-blocking on nonverbal behavior, self-disclosure, and self-reported stress. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32, 645–654.
Sundstrom, E. (1978a). Crowding as a sequential process: review of research on the effects on population density on humans. In A. Baum & Y.M. Epstein (eds.), pp. 31–116. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Sundstrom, E. (1978b) A test of equilibrium theory; effects of topic intimacy and proximity on verbal and nonverbal behaviour in pairs of friends and strangers. Environmental Psychology and Nonverbal Behavior, 3, 3–16.
Sundstrom, E. & Altman, I. (1976). Interpersonal relationships and personal space: research review and theoretical model. Human Ecology, 4, 47–68.
Thayer, R.E. (1971). Personality discrepancies between verbal reports and physiological measures of private emotional experiences. Journal of Personality, 39, 57–69.
Ursin, H., Beade, E. & Levine, S. (eds.), (1978). Psychobiology of Stress: A Study of Coping Men. New York: Academic Press.
Veno, A. & Davidson, M. (1978). A relational model of stress and adaptation. Man-Environment Systems, 8, 75–89.
Vine, I. (1976). Review of ‘Crowding and Behavior’ by J.L. Freeman. Architectural Psychology Newsletter, 6(3), 58–60.
Vine, I. (1982). Crowding and stress: 2. A personal space approach. Current Psychological Reviews, 2.
Willems, E.P. & Campbell, D.E. (1976). One path through the cafeteria. Environment and Behavior, 8, 125–140.
Worchel, S. (1978). The experience of crowding: an attributional analysis. In A. Baum & Y.M. Epstein (eds.), Human Response to Crowding, pp. 327–351. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Worchel, S. & Andreoli, V.A. (1974). Attribution of causality as a means of restoring behavioural freedom. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 29, 237–245.
Worchel, S. & Teddlie, C. (1975). The experience of crowding: a two-factor theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34, 30–40.
Wortmann, C.B., Panciera, L., Shusterman, L. & Hibscher, J. (1976). Attributions of causality and reactions to uncontrollable outcomes. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 12, 301–316.
Zimbardo, P. (1969). The human choice: individuation, reason and order vs. deindividuation, impulse, and chaos. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, 18, 237–307.
Zuckerman, M. & Gerbasi, K.C. (1977). Dimensions of the I-E scale and their relationship to other personality measures. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 37, 159–176.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vine, I. Crowding and stress: 1. Review of variables and theories. Current Psychological Reviews 1, 305–323 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02684491
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02684491