Introduction
Density has been defined as the number of people occupying a given area. It is the measure of the physical space that one occupies within a dwelling. Density can however be differentiated from psychological experience in the sense that while the former is an observable feature, the later is perceptual. . It is said that overcrowding is relative in the sense that one person would have feelings that a given area has a lot of people in relation to the size of the area; while other s would feel that there is no overcrowding (Barker, 1999). The conceptualization of the overcrowding is therefore determined by the perception of the person depending on where they come from.
The perception of overcrowding also differs in terms of gender. Density is however physical and is not influenced by gender. While the males are more concerned with the spatial crowding, the female on the other hand are disturbed by the social crowding. It is said that when men are exposed in overcrowded places with limited space, they experience anxiety more than their female counterparts (Ittelson 1994). The opposite is however true, in that women are more uncomfortable in crowded areas than the men.
Psychological experience relates to the mind of an individual whereas the density relates to the physical surrounding of an individual. Density will tend to focus on the number of people in a given area. Contrary, psychological experience will tend to focus on how the mind perceives a particular setting. The mind may transfer impulses to the brain thereby creating an impression of overcrowding. This implies that the psychological experience of individuals will vary in relation to the mind perceptions they will have. Density will not be based on the functions of the mind but the actual presence of individuals in a particular setting.
The environment is composed of different aspects which will result to different sounds. The environment may have some common sounds whereas at some point queer sounds may be heard. It can be difficult for a person to analyze and distinguish between the different sounds in the environment (Meyers, 2009). Some of the common sounds heard from the environment include squeaking birds, hooting from cars, swaying of the trees, sound from low flying aircrafts, sound from moving vehicles, sound from people talking, the sound of music from retail stores amongst others. Some of the unusual sounds that may be heard would include sound from guns, big blasts from fatal accidents and the sound of minor explosions amongst others.
Unusual sounds from unusual happenings appear to be surprising because they are unexpected. For instance the sound of a gun may be very surprising because it is not regarded as a normal occurrence. A big blast from colliding vehicles may as well be very surprising because the accidents are not positively perceived. These unusual sounds result to confused reactions from the crowds in a given area. Crowds may begin to get scattered in a way to get away from the source of the unusual sound. According to Straub (2007), the sounds from the environment result to different reactions or behavior from the crowds. Crowds will show different behavior in case of a strange sound. A normal sound will not make a crowd depict behavior that is unusual.
Conclusion
The environment is composed of different characters which tend to influence human behavior in different ways. The human mind will have different perceptions and this is the reason why there will be differences between density and psychological perception of the environment. The sounds produced from the environment will relate to the behavior depicted by human beings. In most cases, abnormal sounds will result to abnormal behavior from human beings.
Reference:
Straub, P. (2007). Environmental Psychology: Principles and Practice. Colville: WA: Optimal Books.
Meyers, M. (2009). "The field of environmental psychology: securing its future." Handbook of environmental psychology.’ New York: John Wiley & Sons.
