Deserted (and Nondeserted) Aisles

Territorial Intrusion Can Produce Persistence, Not Flight

Bibliographic Data

ID11325329
AuthorsR Barry Ruback (corresponding author)
Year1987
Volume50
Issue3
Pages270
Publication date1987-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Psychology Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0190-2725 • E-ISSN: 1939-8999
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2307/2786828
OpenAlexW2121589102
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited10

In a prior questionnaire study, subjects said they would feel more comfortable in a library aisle if they were alone than if another person were present. Based on these results, it was expected that intruded-upon subjects would leave a library aisle quicker than would nonintruded-upon subjects. The results of two studies, however, conflicted with this prediction. In the first study, an observer measured the amount of time 74 individuals spent in library aisles. Individuals who were by themselves spent significantly less time in the aisles than did individuals who were intruded upon by one or more other persons. The second study was an experimental investigation of the effect of a confederate on the amount of time 80 subjects spent in library aisles. Subjects who were not intruded upon spent significantly less time in the aisle than did subjects who were joined by the confederate. The intrusion might have led to persistence because of distraction, arousal, or reactance

Aisle · Cognitive psychology · Distraction · Intrusion · Persistence (discontinuity · Reactance · Engineering · Evacuation and Crowd Dynamics · Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence · Psychology · Psychology of Social Influence · Social Psychology

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