The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 41, No. 2 & Volume 42, No. 1 - 64

1982; Zuckerman, Schmitz, & Yosha, 1977),
though tripling continues to be a common
practice on college campuses across the United
States (Clark, Jackson, & Everhart, 2012). Additional research is needed to understand how
tripling affects today's college student. The
ﬁndings would assist student affairs administrators in identifying ways to support students
who are involuntarily assigned to triples.

THE EFFECTS OF TRIPLING
IN RESIDENCE HALLS
Research on tripling has primarily focused on
the perception of crowding (Aiello et al., 1981;
Baron et al., 1976; Baum et al., 1979; Kaya &
Erkip, 2001; Reddy et al., 1981; Zuckerman et
al., 1977), how those perceptions are mediated
by the social and physical environments (Aiello
et al., 1981; Baron et al., 1976; Baum et al., 1979;
Kaya & Erkip, 2001; Zuckerman et al., 1977),
and gender differences (Aiello et al., 1981).

et al., 1979), and physical characteristics such
as corridor length and ﬂoor height (Baum et
al., 1978; Kaya & Erkip, 2001; Zuckerman et
al., 1977). Desor (1972) found that the social
context inﬂuences perceptions of crowding. For
instance, a physical space with the same social
density would be perceived differently if it were
a cocktail party rather than an airport waiting
area. In addition, research found that previous
experience in high-occupancy environments can
mediate perceptions of crowding; college students who came from larger families perceived
their residence hall to be less crowded than
those who came from smaller families (Karlin
et al., 1979). Regarding the physical environment, there is a positive relationship between
perceived crowding and corridor length (Baum
et al., 1978; Zuckerman et al., 1977) and a negative relationship between perceived crowding
and ﬂoor height (Kaya & Erkip, 2001).

The Perception of Crowding
Valins and Baum (1973) deﬁned crowding
as continual exposure to unwanted social interactions. When people are placed in spaces
smaller than the personal space they are used
to, crowding can cause stress, which can lead
to multiple negative outcomes in a person's behavior, depending on the context and the permanence of the situation. Speciﬁcally, crowding
might result in abated sense of control (Baron
et al., 1976; Baum et al., 1979; Hughey, 1983),
social withdrawal (Baum, Aiello, & Calesnick,
1978), and social tensions (Aiello et al., 1981;
Baron et al., 1976; Karlin et al., 1979).
Factors that mediate perceptions of crowding include context (Desor, 1972), previous experience with crowded environments (Karlin

64

The individual residents of
triples might experience
crowding effects differently,
and two residents might form
a coalition (or dyad), thus
isolating the third resident. The
third person in a triple, the
isolate, tends to report greater
perceptions of crowding, less
control, and less satisfaction than

THE JOURNAL OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY STUDENT HOUSING
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 41, No. 2 & Volume 42, No. 1

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