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Environmental Psychology

Personal space and proxemics

  • 4 things to know
  • Component 03

Overview

Recall questions on personal space and its functions, Hall's four proxemic zones, factors affecting personal space, contact cultures, compensatory behaviour and consequences when personal space is invaded, and equilibrium theory.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

Define personal space.

Key term

Which zone is normally used for everyday interactions with work colleagues?

Key term

Name three factors that affect how much personal space a person needs.

Key term

Give two consequences of having personal space invaded.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Define personal space.

    Model answer

    Personal space is the invisible, portable boundary that people maintain around themselves, into which others may not enter without causing discomfort.

  2. 2

    State two functions of personal space.

    Model answer

    It protects the person from physical and emotional threat, and it regulates how intimate communication with another person is.

  3. 3

    Name Hall's four proxemic zones and give the approximate distance of each.

    Model answer

    Intimate space up to about 0.5 m, personal space from about 0.5 to 1.2 m, social space from about 1.2 to 3.7 m, and public space beyond about 3.7 m.

  4. 4

    Which zone is normally used for everyday interactions with work colleagues?

    Model answer

    Social distance, roughly 1.2 to 3.7 m, is used for formal and business interactions.

  5. 5

    Name three factors that affect how much personal space a person needs.

    Model answer

    Culture, status and personality all affect the size of a person's personal space.

  6. 6

    What is a contact culture?

    Model answer

    It is a culture in which people habitually stand closer, touch more and hold more eye contact during conversation than people in non-contact cultures do.

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