Perceived Crowding

What it measures

Five semantic differential items measure the perceived density and spatial restriction of people in a service or retail environment, with crowding conceptualised as an unpleasant subjective experience.

Response format

7-point semantic differential

Scale items

• Not stuffy / Stuffy
• Uncrowded / Crowded
• Uncramped / Cramped
• Restricted / Free to move (r)
• Confined / Spacious (r)

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

First used by Bateson and Hui (1987). Alphas .86 (Bateson and Hui 1992) and .90 (Hui and Bateson 1991); also used by Grewal et al. (2003). Items 4 and 5 present positive poles first (Restricted/Free to move; Confined/Spacious)—scoring direction varies.

Citation

Bateson, J. E. G., & Hui, M. K. (1992). The ecological validity of photographic slides and videotapes in simulating the service setting. Journal of Consumer Research, 19(2), 271–281.

Keywords