Perceptions of Crowding and Pleasantness in Public Settings

Abstract

Sixty-one college students viewed 139 slides of public settings (restaurants, stores, airports, libraries) and rated each slide on crowding or pleasantness. the slides varied, and were rated by experts, on 12 dimensions thought to be important in determining perceptions of crowding. Scenes are rated as more crowded if they picture more people in less space with smaller interpersonal distances, if the people are working rather than playing, and if more of the people are standing or waiting. Social density is more strongly related to crowding ratings than is spatial density. The negative correlation between crowding and pleasantness is large only for shopping and work settings, but crowding does predict low pleasantness ratings when coupled with other variables-in the multiple regressions. Other predictors of pleasantness include work-play, amount of space, waiting, and percent of people alone or unaccompanied.