Waiting lines (queues) assume various functions in the allocation of urban resources, such as access to space, time, services or products. They vary from the typical line where people are standing one behind the other to such virtual ones as in telecommunication or the Internet. The paper looks at queues as social systems, and focuses on the presential configuration, paying special attention to the fact that, while ubiquitous, queues are not receiving much attention in the social psychological literature. Thus this article (a) analyzes the general features of queues, (b) offers a short review of the concept of queues in the formal, biomedical and applied social sciences, (c) reviews the social psychological literature about queues, (d) indicates how queues may serve both as a topic of research, as well as an environmental scenario for research in psychology.
Waiting line/queue; social system; urban environment