Describe and evaluate Psychological research into Crowding and Density, and suggest ways in which Crowding can be reduced. Density refers to the number of people in a prescribed space, for example the number of people per square kilometre in a city, and is an objective measure. The psychological experience of density will vary according to person and situation. Crowding refers to our experience of the number of people in a given setting, and is a subjective, psychological concept.
There are many variables that will influence our experience of crowding. These will include our relationship with the people involved, the duration of the experience, the meaning of the experience and the choice we had on being there. Research on the effect of crowding on behaviour and experience has produced quite substantial evidence of a negative effect of crowding in many areas. Epstein, (1982) said crowding both in laboratory studies and in real world situation, leads to increased physiological arousal and stress.
Some research suggests that adults are likely to experience crowding at lower levels than children. Desor, (1972) did a study using the crowding perception test. This study consisted of a wooden box divided into two sections with a connecting door, and contained miniature furniture. Participants of the study used dolls as people and where asked to populate the space. In this study participants; adolescents and children where asked to imagine they were inviting people to a party. The children consistently introduced more people than the adolescents did.
There are of course problems of ecological validity with this type of study, it may have had high control but it was not real life; they were using dolls as people. The children could have seen the study as a game and not have fully understood the meaning of it. The adolescents would have understood that it was not a game and so for populated the house more realistically. However from the results of this study it would appear that we require more personal space as we get older. The design of living accommodation should take into account density, but even more importantly crowding.
One of the most often studied residential environments is the college dormitory. Some important effects of high residential density in this setting were reported by Baum and Valins (1977). They performed studies comparing the responses to students assigned to corridor-style dormitories and students assigned to suite-style dormitories. The density of the suite and corridor designs where identical in terms of space per person, however the difference in designs led to dramatic differences in the number of people that residents encountered constantly.