On crowds and crowding

According to Le Bon (1895), a crowd is a mass of individuals, composed of normal people. The uniqueness of crowds however, is the fusion of individuals into a common mind and emotion, which can be spontaneous, anarchic, or sporadic. A crowd is not just a crowd that only comprised of a large number of persons gathered closely together. In reality, each crowd has a life of its own. While some may be closely related, each crowd is relatively distinctive from another. Without understanding the crowds and crowd behaviour, Berlonghi (1995) argued that we are left with random attempts at crowd control and crowd management which may result in serious losses of life, health, property, and money. He emphasized that those involved in crowd management and crowd control must foresee the nature of the crowd that will be in attendance and must be able to observe the behaviour of a crowd while an event is taking place, and make timely decisions for effective action. Problems can arise if we do not foresee and prepare for a variety of crowd situations.

Crowding whereas, is often equated as having too many people in one place at the same time and the result of it, is the feeling of uncomfortable and edgy. More extant definitions of crowding are offered in three alternative definitions:

1. A demographic condition of high population density where crowding is a function of the number of people and the area available per person. Hence, the less space per person, the more crowded the situation.
   
2. A phenomenological reaction to spatial restriction where crowding is related to the perception of too many people or too little space.
3. A social condition of high interpersonal stimulation where crowding is a function of the unwanted, unnecessary and interfering potential or actual interactions (Aiello et al., 1974).

The first two definitions share a common assumption that crowding is related to spatial restriction, interference, and territorial infringement (Knowles, 1978) (an assumption agreed by Stokols (1972) who suggested that crowding will occur when the demand for space in a specific situation exceeds the available supply). Crowding is a personal and subjective to the individual. It is a motivational state that often results in goal-orientated behaviour which alleviates discomfort and centers on the feeling of having or controlling too little space.

The third definition on the other hand, regards crowding as a social phenomenon where an individual is affected by the presence of a crowd (or in other words the crowd influences the person). Among scholars who supported this definition is Desor (1972) as well as Valins and Baum (1973) who proposed that crowding phenomena resulted from overall level of stimulation from social sources and that feelings of being crowded are related to excessive stimulations or excessive/unwanted interactions.

To a certain extent, the social definitions of crowding are considered more appropriate because they define crowding as the influence of a large number of people gathered closely together on the responses of an individual. Correspondingly, characteristics that are important to the definition of a crowd such as their number and closeness together are the same dimensions that are important to the definition and experience of crowding.

Crowding has also been conceptualised as a psychological phenomenon. Under this view, it is described as the subjective feeling of unpleasantness due to the presence of other people. If the expectations on the use of space are violated by the presence of others, the feeling of being crowded is induced. Consequently, emotional distress may arise and some behavioural adjustments aimed at preserving one’s personal space may occur. In other words, crowding can be defined as a negative assessment of a certain density level in a given area.

Can we say then crowd and crowding have the same meaning? Kruse (1985) argued that both concepts seem to be unrelated as the analysis on masses, crowds or collective behaviour is almost totally disconnected from the research on the sources, forms, and effects of crowding. This is because, in a crowd, it is the emotional reaction which facilitated by the expressive behaviour such as facial expressions, gestures, shouts, hisses or murmurs of others whereas crowding is a complicated psychological construct. For example, people can feel crowded even in low-density conditions. If we take very general descriptions of crowds, they usually refer to large collections of people in more or less close proximity to each other with an equally general description of crowding i.e. “too many people in too little space,” it seems evident that at least some aspects of crowds could be described as crowding and explained by principles found valid in this area of research. Kruse (1985) further stated that if we acknowledge that the experience of crowding is not a function of objective (physical or social) conditions but of one’s individual perception and evaluation of such conditions, then we come close to the meanings of crowds.

The existing literature shows that crowd and crowding possess many dimensions and facets that require close examination and are ripe for investigation. There is little information however on whether the crowd itself (regardless of its size) could pose significant strain to people inside it. This gap has prompted a timely opportunity for development of a method or a tool that could identify and measure the dimensions in crowds.

References:
Aiello, J. R., Epstein, Y. M. & Karlin, R. A. (1974). Methodological and conceptual issues in crowding. Paper presented at the Western Psychological Association Convention, April 1974.
Desor, J. A. (1972). Towards a psychological theory of crowding. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 21: 79 – 83.
Knowles, E. S. (1978). The gravity of crowding : Application of social physics to the effects of others. In Baum, A. & Epstein, Y. (Eds.). Human Response to Crowding. New Jersey : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Kruse, L. (1985). Conceptions of crowds and crowdings. In Graumann, C. F. & Moscovici, S . (Eds.). Changing Conceptions of Crowd Mind and Behavior. New York : Springer.
Le Bon, G. (1895). La Psychologie des foules. Translated : The Crowd. London : Unwin, 1903.
Berlonghi, A. E. (1995). Understanding and planning for different spectator crowds. Safety Science, 18 : 239 – 247.
Stokols, D. (1972). On the distinction between density and crowding : Some implications for further research. Psychological Review, 79 : 275 – 277.
Valins, S. & Baum, A. (1973). Residential group size, social interaction and crowding. Environment and Behavior, 5 : 421 – 439.