Hall (1966) describes personal space as the “small protective sphere or bubble that an organism maintains between itself and others” (Hall 1996: p112). In the book ‘The Silent Language’, Hall proposed that while animals use their urine and physical posturing to mark their territory, humans do something similar using our personal space. The proxemics theory suggests that the distance between individuals help to control the amount of sensory information exchanged and thus, helping to control the level of intimacy. Individual personal space is influences by many situational as well as dispositional factors such as age, sex, cultural norms, and acquaintance level. Hall’s theory of proximity outlined these core concepts:
i. There are four types of personal space, the intimate which ranges from 0 to 18 inches, personal from 18 inches to 4 feet, social from 4 to 10 feet, and public from over 10 feet. Personal space includes the distance individuals personally chosen during an interaction, forced closeness does not account as proxemics. ii. Proxemics behaviours are mostly learned by observations of other individuals of our community. These behaviours are not …show more content…
Furthermore, cultures can be categorized into two basic groups: non-contact or contact cultures. In contact cultures, physical touching is allowed between individuals, and some actions might be even necessary to establish an interpersonal relationship. Individuals from contact cultures tend to stand closer and touch more frequently when they interact. For non-contact cultures, touching is only permitted for the closest and most intimate acquaintances, for instance close relatives and family. These individuals keep their interpersonal distance and often do not touch the people they’re interacting
i. There are four types of personal space, the intimate which ranges from 0 to 18 inches, personal from 18 inches to 4 feet, social from 4 to 10 feet, and public from over 10 feet. Personal space includes the distance individuals personally chosen during an interaction, forced closeness does not account as proxemics. ii. Proxemics behaviours are mostly learned by observations of other individuals of our community. These behaviours are not …show more content…
Furthermore, cultures can be categorized into two basic groups: non-contact or contact cultures. In contact cultures, physical touching is allowed between individuals, and some actions might be even necessary to establish an interpersonal relationship. Individuals from contact cultures tend to stand closer and touch more frequently when they interact. For non-contact cultures, touching is only permitted for the closest and most intimate acquaintances, for instance close relatives and family. These individuals keep their interpersonal distance and often do not touch the people they’re interacting