Spatial Behavior of University Undergraduates in Double‐Occupany Residence Rooms: An Inventory of Effects

The spatial behavior of 116 male and 190 female pairs of university under‐graduates was examined in the context of their self‐reported own and shared territories within double‐occupany residence rooms. The variables were divided into a number of conceptual categories, R ‐squared calculated for the contribution of each category to own and shared territory estimates, and finally regressions for the entire set of variables were calculated for each gender on these estimates. The conceptual categories used were: personality; subjects' physical characteristics; distal or past environments; behavior in the room; sports, social, outdoor, and aesthetic behaviors; attitudes toward room and roommate; and physical characteristics of the room. The entire set of variables accounted for 53% of the variance in the own territory and 42% of the variance in public territory for the males, while the figures for the females were 46% and 39% respectively. Generally, the males' reported spatial behaviors were more influenced by “internal” variables, such as personality and attitudes, than were the females' spatial behaviors, which were more influenced by “external” variables, such as the physical characteristics of the room and the social situation.