This study was designed to test the effects of high densities in a field setting on complex cognitive and behavioral tasks and on affective responses. We also hypothesized that by providing subjects with increased cognitive control of the situation by giving them information about the effects of crowding, the aversive effects of the high-density situation would be ameliorated. We predicted that not only would subjects feel more comfortable, behave more effectively, experience less interference from others, and feel less crowded when provided with such information, but they would also perform complex cognitive tasks more effectively. Subjects were recruited in New York City supermarkets during crowded and uncrowded times and given a grocery list; their task was to select the most economical product for each item. Task performance and questionnaire measures of emotional reactions were taken Results strongly confirmed the predictions. The provision of information also improved performance and emotional reactions not only in the crowded conditions but in the uncrowded ones as well.Several early studies of crowding seem to indicate that the experience of high densities has little or no effect on people in these situations (Freedman, Klevansky, & Ehrlich, 1971). These findings are surprising in light of the extremely severe negative social and physiological consequences of high densities that have been observed for animal populations (cf. Calhoun, 1962;Christian, 1970;Davis, 1971). Working on the idea that crowding would be stressful and therefore arousing, investigators focused on measures of task performance, expecting that such arousal would be reflected in improved performance on simple tasks and less successful performance on complex ones. However, these task effects failed to occur (Freedman et al., 1971; Stokols, Rail, Pinner, & Schupler, 1973). Epstein and Karlin (1975) have demonstrated the expected improvement in simpleWe would like to thank Cynthia Weinman and also Robert Redfield and Michele Rosenblatt for their careful execution of this research. In addition, we are grateful to Judy Rodin, Helen Newman, Reuben Baron, and Andrew Baum for having read and commented on an earlier draft of the manuscript.Requests for reprints should be sent to Ellen

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Social disorganization at the neighborhood and community levels has been consistently linked to various forms of criminal activity. However,a very much smaller body of literature addresses the effects of crime on community organizations. In some studies, crime appears to energize communities while in others, crime leads to withdrawal from community life. Using department of health crime victimization data and interviews with 2,985 low-income inner city residents living in 487 multi-family dwellings, a multi-level model examined the relationships among crime victimization, social organization, and participation in neighborhood organizations. Social organization at the individual and building levels was measured using recent formulations of social capital theory. Findings regarding crime suggested more signs of a chilling effect on participation than of an energizing effect, especially at the building level. Social capital at the building level was more strongly and consistently related to participation in community organizations than was crime.

The authors provide data on mental health sequelae of residential crowding among children, demonstrating significant associations between the number of persons per room and an index of psychological health. These relations are shown in two independent samples of urban and rural children living in poverty. The density–mental health link among the rural, low-income sample is qualified by a gender interaction indicating that boys are more vulnerable to negative outcomes. This interaction was not found among the smaller, inner-city sample. In both samples, children from higher density homes are less likely to persist in an achievement, problem-solving context. The authors did not find support for their hypothesis that learned helplessness would at least partially account for the relation between residential crowding and mental health among children.