Crowding, Attribution, and Task Performance

Subjects performed a complex maze task in mixed-sex groups of four under noisy and crowded conditions. Subjects were given information leading them to attribute any anxiety or discomfort experienced to either the crowded conditions, the noise, or both crowding and noise, or they were given no such information. Control groups worked the task under uncrowded, quiet conditions and with no information. Subjects given either crowding or noise information performed better on the maze task than subjects who were given both crowding and noise information or no information. The performance of the control group subjects was similar to that of the crowding information and the noise information groups. The results of the study suggest that any reasonable information about the specific source of arousal in a crowded setting (whether the source is social or nonsocial) will reduce the negative impact of being crowded. The implications of these findings for current theories of crowding that emphasize attribution or perceived control were examined.