Hallway to heaven

PRIVACY

Overcrowding is more than an inconvenience. It can lead to such problems as social withdrawal--an attempt to achieve some sort of privacy, even if it's pathological.

But if you can't add more living space to your abode, you can at least add more psychological space, reports Cornell University's Gary Evans, Ph.D. The key is to provide "architectural depth"--walls, subdivisions. and hallways between rooms. Each distinct space you must pass through as you move through your home buffers you from overcrowding, he reports in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Vol. 70, No. 1). Says Evans: "This may explain why children in crowded homes who have a space where they can retreat suffer fewer ill effects from residential crowding."