Coping mechanisms in spatial crowding This study focused on the importance of the coping process in crowding. It was predicted that the induction of a coping mechanism such as situation-redefinition would alleviate the experience of stress during crowding. The results support this hypothesis. It was found that situation-redefinition has a strong effect on interpersonal behaviour and subjects' experience of the physical conditions in the experimental situation. It was concluded that subjects respond to crowding with coping behaviour which serves to alleviate the stressful effects of such conditions. These findings were applied to some theories of crowding. Implications of these findings are briefly discussed.
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