Abstract
Violations of personal space are associated with discomfort. However, the exact function linking the magnitude of discomfort to interpersonal distance has not yet been specified. In this study, we explore whether interpersonal distance and discomfort are isotropic with respect to uncomfortably far or close distances. We also extend previous findings with regard to intrusions into personal space as well as maintenance of distances outside of personal space. We presented subjects with 15 interpersonal distances ranging from 40 to 250 cm and obtained verbal and joystick-based ratings of discomfort. Whereas discomfort rose immediately when personal space was entered, the gradient was less steep for distances that exceeded the comfort region of personal space. Thus, personal space is anisotropic with regard to experienced discomfort.
Highlights
As a stranger approaches us, there comes a point where we start to feel uncomfortable and intruded upon
This indicates that the variation within subjects between repetitions was unrelated to the variation between subjects, and withinsubjects variation was probably unsystematic
Our data do not support the notion of a tolerance zone around the preferred IPD where intrusion or extrusion is acceptable in the sense that it leaves comfort ratings unaffected
Summary
As a stranger approaches us, there comes a point where we start to feel uncomfortable and intruded upon. Hall [3] took up the idea of interaction distances and proposed four distinct spaces by their radius, mainly based on the appropriateness of potentially available sensory perceptions: intimate space (0–45 cm), personal space (45–120 cm), social space (120–365 cm), and public space (365–762 cm). These ranges have been replicated within a large set of different nationalities and cultures [4], in various measures of interpersonal distance (IPD, [5]) as well as in virtual environments [6,7,8,9]
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