“When Too Many Become Too Much”: Social Crowding and Its Consequences for Social Exclusion

Given the dearth of research on the psychological mechanisms underlying social exclusion behaviour in crowded environments, the present study delves into the psychological implications of social crowding, examining its consequential effects on social exclusion behaviour. Utilising a stigmatisation induction Cyberball paradigm, two experiments were conducted to explore how social crowding affects exclusionary actions and the moderating role of group type. Experiment 1 revealed that social crowding significantly increases both the frequency of exclusions and the subjective sense of exclusion, with perceived control and negative emotions mediating this relationship in a sequential chain. Experiment 2 extended these findings by demonstrating that the crowding-induced increase in social exclusion behaviour is moderated by the type of group; specifically, the effect was pronounced when the crowd consisted of strangers but not when composed of acquaintances. These results provide a clearer understanding of how environmental factors can influence social dynamics, suggesting potential interventions to reduce social exclusion in crowded environments. Please refer to the Supporting Information section to find this article's community and social impact statement.