Which of the following is not a feature of crowding?
A. Crowding may cause feeling of discomfort.
B. Crowding may lead to loss of privacy.
C. An individual may feel control over social interaction.
D. Crowding may result in positive view of space around the person.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → C, D only
Crowding refers to a feeling of discomfort because there are too many people or things around us, giving us the experience of physical restriction and sometimes a lack of privacy. The experience of crowding has four features: feeling of discomfort, loss or decrease in privacy, negative view of the space around the person, and feeling of loss of control over social interaction.
A. Crowding may cause feeling of discomfort. A feature of crowding (Incorrect). Discomfort is the first feature and the core of the definition.
B. Crowding may lead to loss of privacy. A feature of crowding (Incorrect). With too many people around, a person gets less privacy.
C. An individual may feel control over social interaction. Not a feature (Correct). In crowding the person has a feeling of loss of control over social interaction, unable to choose whom to meet or avoid. The statement says the opposite.
D. Crowding may result in positive view of space around the person. Not a feature (Correct). Crowding brings a negative view of the space around the person, who sees it as too small and restricting. The statement turns the feature round.
Note: The features of crowding were there in the chapter ‘Psychology and Life’ of the pre-rationalised NCERT, which NTA followed in 2023, and are not there in the NCERT book (2025-26), which only names crowding among the environmental stresses.
NCERT (Pre-rationalised): “Crowding … But crowding has a different meaning. It refers to 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. … The experience of crowding has the following features :
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