Proxemics is the study of human use of space and the effects that it has on behavior, communication, and social interaction.
The four main proxemic distances identified are:
1. Intimate distance (0-18 inches): Reserved for close relationships and interactions involving physical contact
2. Personal distance (1.5-4 feet): Used for conversations among friends and family
3. Social distance (4-12 feet): Appropriate for more formal interactions like business meetings
4. Public distance (12+ feet): Used for public speaking or when addressing groups
It varies significantly across cultures, with some societies preferring closer interpersonal distances than others during interactions.
Proxemics is a subcategory in the study of nonverbal communication, which includes haptics (touch), kinesics (body movement), vocalics (paralanguage), and chronemics (structure of time).
Proxemics uses space as a specialized elaboration of culture.
Proxemics evaluates not only the way people interact with others in daily life, but also the organization of space in their houses and buildings, and ultimately the layout of their towns.
Proxemics remains a hidden component of interpersonal communication that is uncovered through observation and strongly influenced by culture.
The distance surrounding a person forms a space, and within intimate distance personal distance is called personal space.
The space within social distance and out of personal distance is called social space, and the space within public distance is called public space.
Personal space is the region surrounding a person which they regard as psychologically theirs.
Most people value their personal space and feel discomfort, anger, or anxiety when their personal space is encroached.
Permitting a person to enter personal space and entering somebody else’s personal space are indicators of perception of those people’s relationship.
An intimate zone is reserved for close friends, lovers, children and close family members: Another zone is used for conversations with friends, to chat with associates, and in group discussions.
A further zone is reserved for strangers, newly formed groups, and new acquaintances.
A fourth zone is used for speeches, lectures, and theater; essentially, public distance is that range reserved for larger audiences.
Entering somebody’s personal space is normally an indication of familiarity and sometimes intimacy.
In modern society, especially in crowded urban communities, it can be difficult to maintain personal space, for example when in a crowded train, elevator or street.
Many find such physical proximity to be psychologically disturbing and uncomfortable, though it is accepted as a fact of modern life.
Even in a crowded place, preserving personal space is important, and intimate and sexual contact.
A personal space is carried with them everywhere they go, and is the most inviolate form of territory.
Body spacing and posture, are unintentional reactions to sensory fluctuations or shifts, such as subtle changes in the sound and pitch of a person’s voice.
Social distance between people is reliably correlated with physical distance, as are intimate and personal distance.
Proxemics is a system for gauging the effect of distance on communication and how the effect varies between cultures and other environmental factors.
Hall described the interpersonal distances of humans (the relative distances between people) in four distinct zones:
Intimate distance for embracing, touching or whispering Close phase – less than one inch (0.01 to 0.02 m) Far phase – 6 to 18 inches (0.15 to 0.46 m)
Personal distance for interactions among good friends or family Close phase – 1.5 to 2.5 feet (0.46 to 0.76 m) Far phase – 2.5 to 4 feet (0.76 to 1.22 m)
Social distance for interactions among acquaintances Close phase – 4 to 7 feet (1.2 to 2.1 m) Far phase – 7 to 12 feet (2.1 to 3.7 m)
Public distance used for public speaking Close phase – 12 to 25 feet (3.7 to 7.6 m) Far phase – 25 feet (7.6 m) or more.
The distances mentioned above are horizontal distance.
Vertical distance is often understood to convey the degree of dominance or sub-ordinance in a relationship.
Looking up at or down on another person can be taken literally in many cases, with the higher person asserting greater status.
Individuals who work with small children, should realize that students will interact more comfortably with a teacher when they are in same vertical plane.
Kinesthetic factors deal with how closely the participants are to touching, from being completely outside of body-contact distance to being in physical contact, which parts of the body are in contact, and body part positioning.
Haptic code behavioral category concerns how participants are touching one another, such as caressing, holding, feeling, prolonged holding, spot touching, pressing against, accidental brushing, or not touching at all.
Visual code denotes the amount of eye contact between participants:
Four sub-categories are defined, ranging from eye-to-eye contact to no eye contact at all.
Thermal code category denotes the amount of body heat that each participant perceives from another.
Four sub-categories are defined: conducted heat detected, radiant heat detected, heat probably detected, and no detection of heat.
Olfactory code category deals in the kind and degree of odor detected by each participant from the other.
Voice loudness category deals in the vocal effort used in speech.
Seven sub-categories are defined: silent, very soft, soft, normal, normal+, loud, and very loud.
Te field of neuropsychology describes personal space in terms of the kinds of nearness to an individual.
Extrapersonal space: The space that occurs outside the reach of an individual.
Peripersonal space: The space within reach of any limb of an individual.
Pericutaneous space: The space just outside our bodies but which might be near to touching it.
Visual-tactile perceptive fields overlap in processing this space.
Focal-extrapersonal space is located in the lateral temporo-frontal pathways at the center of our vision.
Focal-extrapersonal space is retinotopically centered and tied to the position of our eyes, and is involved in object search and recognition.
Action-extrapersonal-space is located in the medial temporo-frontal pathways, and is involved in orientation and locomotion in topographical space.
Ambient-extrapersonal space initially courses through the peripheral parieto-occipital visual pathways before joining up with vestibular and other body senses to control posture and orientation in earth-fixed/gravitational space.
The peripersonal space is located dorsally in the parietal lobe whereas extrapersonal space is housed ventrally in the temporal lobe.
The amygdala is suspected of processing people’s strong reactions to personal space violations since these are absent in those in which it is damaged and it is activated when people are physically close.
The amygdala is linked with emotional reactions to proximity to other people, and is activated by such proximity, and in those with complete bilateral damage to their amygdala, there is a lack a sense of personal space boundary.
The amygdala may mediate the repulsive force that helps to maintain a minimum distance between people.
Personal space describes the immediate space surrounding a person, territory refers to the area which a person may lay claim to and defend against others.
There are four forms of human territory in proxemic theory.
Public territory: a place where one may freely enter.
Home territory: a place where people continuously have control over their individual territory
Body territory: the space immediately surrounding us
These different levels of territory involving personal space, suggest ways for us to communicate and produce expectations of appropriate behavior.
Interpersonal territories between conversants.
Personal space is highly variable, due to cultural differences and personal preferences.
The cultural practices of the United States show considerable similarities to those in European regions, in personal territories.
Greeting rituals in the United States, consist of minimal body contact—often confined to a simple handshake.
The main cultural difference in proxemics is that residents of the United States like to keep more open space between themselves and their conversation partners (roughly 4 feet (1.2 m) compared to 2 to 3 feet (0.6–0.9 m) in Europe).
Different expectations of personal space can lead to difficulties in intercultural communication.
Recognizing these cultural differences improves cross-cultural understanding, and helps eliminate discomfort people may feel if the interpersonal distance is too large (stand-offish) or too small (intrusive).
Relationships may allow for personal space to be modified, including familial ties, romantic partners, friendships and close acquaintances, where there is a greater degree of trust and personal knowledge.
Personal space is affected by a person’s position in society, with more affluent individuals expecting a larger personal space.
Personal space also varies by gender and age.
Males typically use more personal space than females, and personal space has a positive relation to age-people use more as they get older.
Most people have a fully developed sense of personal space by age twelve.
When normal space requirements cannot be met, such as in public transit or elevators, personal space requirements are modified accordingly.
Methods of dealing with violated personal space includes dehumanization.
The mere-exposure effect originally referred to the tendency of a person to positively favor those who they have been physically exposed to most often.
Face-to-face interaction is often used as a tool to maintain the culture, authority, and norms of an organization or workplace.
Implementing appropriate proxemic cues improves success in monitored behavioral situations like psychotherapy by increasing patient trust for the therapist.
Instructional situations have increased success in student performance by lessening the actual or perceived distance between the student and the educator.
Those who do not have experience dealing with disabled persons tend to create more distance during encounters because they are uncomfortable.
Others may judge that the disabled person needs to have an increase of touch, volume, or proximity.
The focus of this study is on the subtle nonverbal exchanges that occur between a person and an embodied agent.