The Socialbility of Commercial Exchange in Rural, Suburban, and Urban Locations: A Test of Urban Overload Hypothesis

In eight locations ranging from rural to urban in and around Philadelphia, interactions between clerks and customers were observed in a post office and a delicatessen for 2 days in the summer of 1979 and 1 day in the summer of 1980. Mean sociability of these interactions differed reliably across locations, both over days (r = 35) and over years (r = .78). As predicted from the urban overload hypothesis, more urban locations were busier with more customers and were also less sociable. But contrary to the hypothesis, the relation between urbanism and unsociability was not mediated by number of customers. A modified social overload hypothesis is suggested.