Scenario H

The effect of crowding on stress was investigated in a public men's room. A member of the research team followed a subject into the bathroom and occupied either the urinal directly adjacent to the subject's or the next one down the line. Subjects were unaware that they were participating in a study. On the assumption that increased stress would affect urination, the amount of time it took for the subject to begin to urinate and the total time spent urinating were recorded by another researcher hidden in one of the stalls. As predicted, subjects' urination was more disrupted when the immediately adjacent urinal was occupied (Middlernist, Knowles, & Matter, 1976).