The experience of crowding has the following features:
(A) Increase in privacy
(B) Feeling of loss of control over social interactions
(C) Feeling of discomfort
(D) Negative view of the space around the person
(E) Increase in motivation
Choose the correct answer from the options given below :
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → (B), (C), (D) only
Crowding is a feeling of discomfort because there are too many people or things around us, giving us the experience of physical restriction and sometimes the lack of privacy. It is another example of an environmental stressor.
(A) Increase in privacy Incorrect. Crowding brings a loss or decrease in privacy, not an increase: with many people around, there is no space of one’s own.
(B) Feeling of loss of control over social interactions Correct. In a crowd a person cannot choose with whom and how much to interact, so the feeling of control over social interaction is lost.
(C) Feeling of discomfort Correct. Crowding is, in the first place, a feeling of discomfort caused by too many people or things around.
(D) Negative view of the space around the person Correct. The person comes to see the surrounding space negatively, as too small and restricting.
(E) Increase in motivation Incorrect. Crowding is an environmental stressor, and stress is an unpleasant psychological state that creates tension and anxiety. The experience of crowding is one of discomfort and lost control, which drains a person rather than raising her or his motivation.
Note: The features of the experience of crowding were explained in the chapter ‘Psychology and Life’ of the pre-rationalised NCERT, which NTA followed in 2022, and are not there in the NCERT book (2025-26) or in the 2023-24 NCERT.
NCERT (Pre-rationalised): “Crowding … Crowding is the person’s reaction to the presence of a large number of persons within a particular area or space. … The experience of crowding has the following features :
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