Touch avoidance is a nonverbal communication predisposition that consists of same sex touch avoidance and opposite sex touch avoidance. It is related to communication apprehension, self-disclosure, self-esteem, and a series of cultural role variables. These seem to have the greatest relationship with the measures of touch avoidance. (Author)

The Facial Action Code (FAC) was derived from an analysis of the anatomical basis of facial movement. The development of the method is explained, contrasting it to other methods of measuring facial behavior. An example of how facial behavior is measured is provided, and ideas about research applications are discussed. (Author)

Preschool-age children drew, decoded, and encoded facial expressions depicting five different emotions. Accuracy of drawing, decoding and encoding each of the five emotions was consistent across the three tasks; decoding ability was correlated with drawing ability among female subjects, but neither of these abilities was correlated with encoding…

Emphasis was directed toward three factors: (1) social density; (2) spatial density; and (3) overall institutional population level. In prisons, higher population years yielded higher death rates and higher rates of psychiatric commitments. Blood pressure was higher in more crowded housing. Degree of perceived crowding was related to space per…

Two studies were conducted in order to test the hypothesis that the afereffects of stress on both performance and social behavior are attributable to a depletion of attentional capacity. This depletion, or "cognitive fatigue," was predicted to increase with both the attentional load and duration of an activity. Results were positive. (Author)

Observations were made of the visible territorial markers of elderly homeowners. Attitudinal measures of their fear of crime indicated that high-territorial elderly were less fearful of being victimized than were low-territorial elderly. Strong sex differences in the amount of fear were also found. (Author)

This study manipulated norms governing interaction levels in crowded groups of women. Results indicated norms influenced reactions to crowding as predicted. Women reacted most positively when interaction levels were high and most negatively when interaction levels were low. (Author)

This paper presents the rationale for a questionnaire measure of individual differences in stimulus screening--namely, individual differences in automatic screening of irrelevant stimuli and rapid habituation to distracting, irrelevant stimuli. All components of the questionnaire were intercorrelated and represented a unitary dimension of…

Gaze at objects, another person, and background was measured for 15 days which constituted five different experimental groups in which task and situational factors were varied. Background stimuli had an unreliable effect on gaze. A simple object attracted a great deal of gaze and reduced gaze at the other person. (Author)

The effects of social density on the behaviors and perceptions of five-year-old children in four- and eight-person groups were investigated. Differential effects of density for sex and for preferred personal space were examined. Five factors emerged and were examined: Activity-Aggression-Anger, Positive Interactions, Distress-and-Nonplay, Feeling…

A behavioral setting termed "free time" was identified in the day room of an institution for the retarded. The behavioral mapping technique was used to record behavior and spatial use within this setting. During treatment patients engaged in active and socially involved behavior. (Author)

Behavior of children was monitored during unstructured playground activity in areas of differing size. Frequency of fighting increased significantly in the smaller area, although aggressive episodes were of briefer duration. Style of aggression differed significantly between the two conditions. (Author)

College students seated outdoors and alone on a university campus were approached by a same-sexed "invader" who sat nine inches or 18 inches away. The "invader" asked permission before sitting down or said nothing. Findings agree with equilibrium theory. Presented as the 1976 conference of the American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C.…

Black first-and second-grade students (N=40) were given instructions intended to induce possessiveness for both a designated toy and a play area. Each subject then surreptitiously observed an experimental confederate dressed in a clown costume play with either the designated toy or another toy. Results are discussed. (Author)

Presents a study on the relationship between visual interaction and interpersonal distance as related to an equilibrium theory of social interaction. Differential boundaries were found to exist for the effect of distance on five highly related male and female visual behaviors, exemplifying different overall equilibrium levels for the sexes.…