Crowding and Privacy
Chapters 7 and 8
When an individual already feels crowded or is in a high density setting…
Physiological stress & health – Physiological stress rises faster as density increases for those with large interpersonal distance preferences • Shown in high blood pressure & cardiac issues, sweating • High density can precipitate illness due to easier disease transmission • Feeling crowded can cause poor health regardless of density
Psychological stress & mental health – Issue – high density areas differ in other qualities • More industrialized, different population demographics
Alcohol use: – People in groups drink more than those alone – Higher household density, more cirrhosis of liver – More students sharing a dorm room, drinking – People in US states with population density, liver cirrhosis – Women in Norway in higher density areas, drinking
Child development – In many ethnic groups & areas, children in density households: more endangered – health, psychomotor development, physical & cognitive growth
Performance – Simple versus complex tasks:
Density seems to worsen performance on complex tasks Tasks that require physical interaction: density impairs performance on tasks that require physical interaction – Observers: slower learning but less forgetting with higher density & larger audience size
– Aggression -Increases with higher density, especially for males & longer exposure to high density -Short-term lab studies show density is related to mild aggression -Prisons & crowding – men in long term, high density situations, aggression – but results are inconsistent • social density, fewer resources, aggression?
Social / anti-social behaviour – Dislike & hostility – density, negative social outcomes, especially when density is not desirable -Unhelpfulness - high spatial density, less helpfulness • Studied from preschool through college age • Less consistency with adults – Social withdrawal common in density
When an individual already feels crowded or is in a high density setting…
Physiological stress & health – Physiological stress rises faster as density increases for those with large interpersonal distance preferences • Shown in high blood pressure & cardiac issues, sweating • High density can precipitate illness due to easier disease transmission • Feeling crowded can cause poor health regardless of density
Psychological stress & mental health – Issue – high density areas differ in other qualities • More industrialized, different population demographics
Alcohol use: – People in groups drink more than those alone – Higher household density, more cirrhosis of liver – More students sharing a dorm room, drinking – People in US states with population density, liver cirrhosis – Women in Norway in higher density areas, drinking
Child development – In many ethnic groups & areas, children in density households: more endangered – health, psychomotor development, physical & cognitive growth
Performance – Simple versus complex tasks:
Density seems to worsen performance on complex tasks Tasks that require physical interaction: density impairs performance on tasks that require physical interaction – Observers: slower learning but less forgetting with higher density & larger audience size
– Aggression -Increases with higher density, especially for males & longer exposure to high density -Short-term lab studies show density is related to mild aggression -Prisons & crowding – men in long term, high density situations, aggression – but results are inconsistent • social density, fewer resources, aggression?
Social / anti-social behaviour – Dislike & hostility – density, negative social outcomes, especially when density is not desirable -Unhelpfulness - high spatial density, less helpfulness • Studied from preschool through college age • Less consistency with adults – Social withdrawal common in density