The concept of personal space is intuitively straightforward for most students of psychology. However, some of the functions personal space serve in regulating intimacy among individuals are not so readily apparent. The demonstration described in this article allows students to see that personal space is one of a number of interacting nonverbal cues used by people to regulate intimacy, and it encourages discussion of these nonverbal mechanisms.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AielloJ. R. (1972). A test of equilibrium theory: Visual interaction in relation to orientation, and sex of partner. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 49, 85–86.
2.
AielloJ. R.ThompsonD. E. (1980). When comparison fails: Mediating effects of sex and locus of control at extended interpersonal distances. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 1, 65–82.
3.
ArgyleM.DeanJ. (1965). Eye-contact, distance and affiliation. Sociometry, 28, 289–304.
4.
BakerE.ShawM. E. (1980). Reactions to interpersonal distance and topic intimacy: A comparison of strangers and friends. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 5, 80–91.
5.
BurzynskiP. R. (1990). The personal space violation demonstration. In MakoskyV. P.SileoC. C.WhittemoreL. G.LandryC. P.SkutleyM. L.Activities handbook for the teaching of psychology (Vol. 3, pp. 136–137). Washington DC: American Psychological Association.
6.
FerraroF. R. (1990). Field experiments in personal space invasion for introductory psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 17, 124–126.
7.
HallE. T. (1966). The hidden dimension. New York: Doubleday.
8.
PattersonM. L. (1976). An arousal model of interpersonal intimacy. Psychological Review, 83, 235–245.
9.
PattersonM. L. (1977). Interpersonal distance, affect, and equilibrium theory. Journal of Social Psychology, 101, 205–214.
10.
TennisG. H.DabhsJ. M. (1975). Sex, setting and personal space: First grade through college. Sociometry, 38, 385–394.
