 Personal space is the space immediately around you that you claim as your own. It is an invisible volume of space, sort of like a space-suit that you wear; it's close to you at the back, a little wider at the sides, and bigger in front. When people enter this space, you may feel uncomfortable. The size of your personal space can change, depending on whom you're with.  How big is your space? For strangers that you meet in a hallway, it could be as much as one metre. For close friends, it can be a lot less. Personal space is also cultural; people in Japan have a larger personal space than North Americans, while people from Italy have a much smaller one. What is always true is that when someone, even a friend, gets inside your personal space, you feel uncomfortable.This has sociological effects. Nationalities with large personal spaces can seem 'cold' and 'distant' to us; others with small ones may seem 'pushy' or 'aggressive'. It's all subconscious, but it definitely has a noticeable affect on how we react to others, especially those with whom we are not familiar. A police officer or other person in authority understands this. When questioning a suspect, he or she may get very close, or 'in their face', in order to, psychologically, seem intimidating. You can determine how big your own personal space is for friends. Have a friend stand a few metres away, and watch your neck (to avoid looking you in the eye) while he or she slowly walks toward you. The friend should not smile, laugh, or look you in the eye, just move slowly towards you. Tell your friend to stop when you feel uncomfortable, and mark the distance. Repeat this several times for a few of your other friends, and average the distances. This will give you a good idea of your own personal space for friends. You might want to investigate how this distance changes for other groups of people. Do you have a different 'comfort zone' for the opposite sex? For parents? For teachers? See if you can find out what yours are. Get a friend to make the measurements, and see if there is a difference between your personal space sizes for various groups. Do older people have different personal space sizes? Are they bigger or smaller than yours? What other questions can you think of, that you could discover through an experiment? |