The role of space and distance
in human communication
Space matters
 Metaphors, expressions
related to space
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“I feel close to you.”
“I need some space right now.”
Three’s a crowd
Keeping someone at arm’s
length
“Don’t back me into a corner.”
Getting in someone’s grill.”
“Don’t be trying to get all up in
here.”
“I need some elbow room.”
“You’re on my turf now.”
Territory vs. Personal Space
 Territory is the physical area
we claim as our own.
 graffiti is used to mark a gang’s
turf.
 “keep out,” “private property,”
“no trespassing” signs
 Territory is defined by
boundaries, occupancy, and
ownership
Personal Space
 Personal space is the
social bubble we carry
around with us.
 Personal bubbles vary by
gender, culture, situation
 Personal space is dynamic,
portable, situational or
contextual
Space violations
 President Lyndon B.
Johnson was known
for violating others’
personal space
Territory or space?
Types of space
 Physical space
 Borders, walls, cubicles
 Your room
 Psychological space
 The effect of spaces on mood
 Your sense of privacy
 Virtual space
 Facebook
 Privacy violations on the web
 Identity theft/information
privacy
TSA scanner controversy
 TSA’s practice of using body
scanners or full body pat downs
outraged many airline
passengers.
 Anger over privacy violations
 Fears about health risks from
radiation
 Concerns about storing and
sharing images
Some companies
sell scanner
blocking underwear,
but TSA warns this
may result in a pat
down.
Status and power
 People with higher status may
literally be higher
 Top floor, corner office
 Higher chair
 People with higher status
occupy more space.
 High status people sit at the
head of the table
 High status people have
greater permission to violate
others’ space
 Higher status people touch
more objects, including other
people’s.
Power and status--continued
 Segregation in the 1950s
and 1960s
 May use desks or other
furniture as barriers
 Seating arrangements at
weddings or other formal
occasions may imply status
differences
 “Sorry Jane, you’re at the
little kids table.”
 Police interrogations—
suspect is seated;
detectives free to move
about.
Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back
of the bus, as segregation laws in
the pre-civil rights era required.
Power in the professor’s office
 Instructors’ offices:
Where does teacher sit
relative to students?
 Instructors’ office doors;
open, closed, open a
crack?
 Students who remain in
the doorway versus
students who come in
and sit down
Seating arrangements and
communication
 Opposite
 adversarial/competitive
 Adjacent
 cooperative
 Corners
 cooperative
 Power
 head of rectangular table,
facing the door
culture, gender,
& situational differences
 Women’s space is
invaded more frequently
than men’s
 Men who have just met
stay farther apart than
women who have just
met.
 Holds true even for
virtual environments
(Second Life)
Space invaders
 Tailgaters on the freeway
 A parent searches a teen’s
dresser or reads his/her
diary.
 You leave the room at a
social event. While you’re
gone someone takes “your”
seat.
 At the beach, some people
plop their towels, cooler,
boogie board right next to
you.
 At the ATM someone is
standing too close behind
you.
 People who play loud
music
Guarding our space
 On the freeway; we don’t
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want to let that “jerk” merge
in front of us.
Armrests in movie theaters
and on airplanes.
Gang graffiti to mark turf.
Grumpy homeowners; “You
kids get off my lawn.”
At the gym; occupying an
exercise machine
A teen puts a sign on his/her
bedroom door that says
“Private” or “Keep Out.”
No trespassing signs
 Parking spaces—a study of
400 drivers at a mall in
Atlanta found that drivers
protect their parking space.
They leave more slowly if
another motorist is waiting
for their spot.
Edward T. Hall’s space zones
 Intimate: 6-18 inches
 close friends, family
 Personal: 18 inches to 4 feet
 common for most Westerners in
everyday conversations.
 touching possible, but only permissible
touch
Social space
 Social: 4 to 12 feet:
 business environments, retail stores
 Public: 12 feet or more:
 public speaking, presentations
 Lots of socially necessary exceptions
 elevators, MD exams, crowded bus, train,
concerts
When social space is violated,
people compensate in other
ways
Space violations can trigger
reactions
 Prevention
 staking out territory
 territorial markers
 Defense
 standing your ground
 challenging the
violation
 Insulation
 hoodie, earbuds,
sunglasses
 Withdrawal
Types of encroachment
 Violation: unwarranted use
of someone’s property
 Walking into someone’s
home without knocking
 Borrowing a roommate’s
clothes without asking
 Mentally undressing
someone with your eyes
 Invasion
 Permanent takeover
 Parents or grandparents on
Facebook
 Sexual assault
 Tagging
 Contamination
 Detritus left behind
 littering
 Smoking in someone’s car
 Dog poop on your neighbor’s
lawn
 Using someone else’s
toothbrush or deodorant
Physical distance implies social
distance
Too close, too far, or just right?