Territoriality

Abstract

Students' degree of territoriality based on gender and seat preferences in different types of classroom arrangements was studied. The types of classroom arrangements included rows of tablet-arm chairs, U-shaped, clusters, and rows of tables with individual chairs. The study was carried out through a survey at a large public institution in the southeast region of the United States. Results indicate that students who preferred seats at the end of rows of tables with individual chairs and tablet-arm chair arrangements had higher scores on claiming a particular seat than those who preferred middle seats in a row. In the rows of tables with individual chair arrangement, students who preferred seats at the end of rows also had more need to define their own territory than students who preferred middle seats in a row. No significant results were found in the U-shaped and cluster layouts. Females had higher scores on claiming a particular seat than males regardless of seating arrangement.