system
Context: Many of us use them several times a day without really noticing.And yet the way we in lifts,or elevators as they are known in the US,reveals a hidden anxiety. 

Passengers seem to know instinctively how to arrange themselves in an elevator,like the dots on a die.With each additional passenger, the bodies shift,going into the open spaces. 

On your own,you can do whatever you want--it's your own little box.If there are two of you,you take different corners, creating the greatest distance. When a third person enters, you will unconsciously form a triangle .And when there is a square, with someone I every corner.A fifth person is probable going to have to stand in the middle. 

Why are we so awkward in lifts? 

"You don't have enough space," says Professor Babette Renneberg, a clinical psychologist at the Free University of Berlin."Usually when we meet other people we have about an arm's length of distance between us. And that's not possible in most elevators, so it's a very unusual setting. It's unnatural." 

But perhaps there is more to it than just social awkwardness. 

"In the back of our minds we are a little anxious," says Nick White,an office in New York who was unfortunate enough to be trapped in a lift for41 hours. "We don't like to be locked into a place.We want to get out of the elevator as soon as possible, you know, it's a frightening place to be." 

During his terrible experience, he began to think of another encloses space-a tomb. 

Dr.Lee Gray agrees that a sense of disempowerment is the main cause of life anxiety. 

"You're in a machine that's moving, over which you have no control. You cannot see the elevator engine, you don't know how it's working," he says.
human
What is the primary device mentioned here?
gpt
lifts,or elevators
human
What can you do when you're in one alone?
gpt
whatever you want
human
Do two folks generally hang out close to each other?
gpt
you take different corners
human
What about three folks?
gpt
you will unconsciously form a triangle
human
And four?
gpt
a square
human
What happens to a 5th?
gpt
stand in the middle
human
Why is it weirder than in other social places?
gpt
You don't have enough space
human
According to whom?
gpt
Babette Renneberg
human
Are there any other reasons it's uncomfortable?
gpt
we are a little anxious
human
Who said that?
gpt
Nick White
human
What can one of these devices feel like?
gpt
a tomb
human
How controlling can you be in one?
gpt
you have no control.
human
Do you feel empowered?
gpt
a sense of disempowerment
human
Who makes this claim?
gpt
Dr.Lee Gray
human
How often to a lot of folks ride these devices?
gpt
several times a day