The effects of crowding and sex on reactions to a side-to-side invasion of personal space were examined. Male or female experimenters violated the personal space of 40 male and 40 female subjects who were sitting at library tables that were either crowded (several persons present) or uncrowded (subjects sat alone). The subjects' body movements,…

Observes the seating arrangements by sex of three or more people seated at rectangular tables in 176 social and 150 nonsocial settings. Postulates the importance of situational context and learned sexual norms in the observed spatial behaviors. (RL)

This document discusses research in the context of four basic issues in the area of crowding and personal space. The research upon which the author draws is from a series of three laboratory studies of the effects of manning levels on group experiences, performance, and verbal interaction. In these studies, groups of male college students worked…

Direct measurement techniques of interpersonal distances for three groups of sixth graders showed that hard-of-hearing students intergrated into a normal public school for a year displayed similar personal space to that of a "normal" child, while hard-of-hearing children having limited interactions with "normal" children displayed greater personal…

A study of human personal space and flight distance in terms of the responses of college students to intrusions upon their presumed personal space. Investigates the elicitation of aggressive or defensive behavior. (LK)

The effects of induced status differences on (1) seating position and (2) interpersonal distance from a confederate of a given status level were investigated. Using behavioral measures, induced status differences were found to influence both the amount of interpersonal distance and the quality of space. The results suggest simulation techniques…

Expands an earlier model of personal space expectations and their violations by specifying primitive terms, constitutive definitions, and the propositional logic underlying the model. (MH)

Examines distance, axis, and tactility patterns of people engaged in dyadic communication in Germany, Italy, and the United States and concludes that contrary to Edward Hall's position, the cultures studied are too behaviorally diverse to be classified as strictly contact or noncontact cultures. (MH)

Deals with a study conducted in Costa Rica, Panama, and Columbia to determine whether Latin Americans have similar distance and contact orientations regardless of sex and nationality. Concludes that the differences in behavior between the Central and South Americans are significant enough to warrant further research. (MH)

Investigates various ethnic interpretations of appropriate distances for interaction. (MH)

The convergent validity between the following measures was investigated: use of accomplices, imaginary accomplices, feltboard, disguised questionnaire, and undisguised questionnaire. The first four measures yielded corresponding results. Subjects' awareness proved to be an important methodological consideration. Results were not affected by the…

Recent research on the role of personal space has demonstrated the effects of violating or not violating a spatial norm on the perceived persuasiveness, credibility, and attractiveness of the message source. The persuasive impact of personal space violations has been difficult to interpret because of the failure to effectively manipulate source…

This research project used 93 college students to study the correlation between neuroticism and interpersonal space. The study shows that stressed persons prefer larger social distances than do well adjusted persons. Results also revealed a proxemic difference related to sex of the experimenters, with subjects prefering to sit closer to female…

This book presents an analysis of the concepts of privacy, crowding, territory, and personal space, with regard to human behavior. Intended as an introduction to the environment-and-behavior field for undergraduate and graduate students, as a preliminary guide to research and theory for researchers, and as a model for integrating environmental and…