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Abstract This is report is about the reactions of personal space when invaded. A total of 20 strangers were tested to see how different genders and ages react to strangers coming to close. The experiment took place in Woden plaza where a student stood behind a subject and watched there reaction from the closeness. It was found that 60% of the subjects did react to the close proximities. This reports also shows different theories to why people act the way they do when they feel violated. Introduction The effect of violating the personal space of solitary individuals.
According to Paatjes and Shwartz(1993) personal space is an invisible barrier that humans extend around themselves which they like to keep others from entering. The barrier can extend and contract depending on who they are around, for example if they are with friends the barrier seems to lesson and we allow them to be closer then if they are by them selves and a stranger comes and sits next to them, it also depends on the environment around them, if it is busy the barrier lessons allowing people to be closer.
When personal space is invaded people tend to bring up barriers such as folding there arms or moving away from the invaders (1993). According to Katherine (1991), the boundary that surrounds humans is what makes them individuals and unique. If the boundary is being invaded the pupil becomes hostile or uncomfortable. Everybody has different emotional, sexual, spiritual and relational boundaries and they all have different feelings to what is “safe”. There is said to be by hall (1966) that there are four different primary zones within an individual’s personal space, the zones include: 1.
Public distance-An area around 4 metres is placed between people or groups while in public. 2. Social Distance- interaction is carried out over a 1 metre distance. This usually occurs at social gatherings where conversations carry out. 3. Personal distance- acquaintances usually stand 0. 5 metres away from each other. Individuals are comfortable with one another and so they are not threatened when standing so close. 4. Intimate distance- this space is between the 0. 5 metres and the body and is usually set for family and close friends. The individual feels comfortable and elaxed enough for someone to be that close. The purpose of this study is to know and record different people of all age’s reaction to personal space being invaded by strangers. There had been another research conducted on the same topic and both this report and the other are similar as they both get similar results. The results have been predicted to vary among different age groups and different times. METHOD Participants This experience consisted of 20 subjects from Woden plaza varying of age and gender. It also included one student who was going to conduct the experiment.
Materials The Materials that were used to measure the experiment where a pen and paper to record the reactions of the subjects being tested, and the subjects themselves. Procedure The participants that were going to test the subjects, rode an escalator up and down and stood behind someone and waited until the person noticed they were there then the subject waited until off the escalator and noted what happened. This happened with all 20 people. Results Table 1: Personal space reaction timetable. ParticipantAGE approxgender (F & M)reaction 120-25Fmoved forward 20Mno reaction 360-70Mlooked around 445MNo reaction 520-30Fwalked away 650-60Fno reaction 740Mno reaction 860-70Fdidn’t notice 935-40Mno reaction 1018Mno reaction 1216Mmoved away 1320Ffidgeted 1440-50Mmoved away 1520Mwinked 1640Fmoved away 1728M”do you mind? ” 1818Mmoved up a step 1919Fno reaction 2030Mmoved away In this table it is clearly seen the results of what happened to the subjects being tested. Its seen that the majority of them did the same thing eg. No reaction. 60% of all participants did react. 41. 6% of men had no reaction 42. % of females had no reaction DISCUSSION The purpose of this experiment was to see how different people reacted to strangers violating there personal space. The subjects in the experiment varied in there reactions (table 1). The variables in the experiment could have been different genders because the person who did the test may have been a female and was testing on a male, it could have made the reaction different because there could have been an attraction or the male could of felt uncomfortable to be in such close proximity(table 1: participant 17).
When people feel like they are being violated they turn ‘aggressive or vulnerable’ (Katherine,1991). That could explain why most females in the experiment walked away because they felt uncomfortable with someone standing so close even though they were the same sex. Another Variable in the experiment is that if the subjects knew what was going on they know that the person is being intimidating and that he or she is trying to complete a task. It is important to know what variables can happen while completing an experiment because they can alter your results.
The Zone that this experiment was conducted under was the zone of public distance, 4 metres; it didn’t change on the escalator because it wasn’t a busy time of the day. Mistakes that could have been made was misinterpreting the reactions of what they do. What the results prove is that most people do react when noticing somebody is lingering to close to them. The experiment did turn out how it was expected. In conclusion the experiment was a success on peoples reactions. Bibliography RICE, BECKY K, DYSON,JENNIFER N.
PERSONAL SPACE INVADERS DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY Missouri Western State University http://clearinghouse. missouriwestern. edu/manuscripts/180. php (references from site below) Freedman, J. (1975). Crowding and behavior. New York: The Viking Press, Inc. Hall, Edward T. (1966). The Hidden Dimension. Anchor Books. Katherine, A. (1991). Boundaries: Where you end and I begin. Illinois: Parkside Publishing Corp BOOK Development of behaviour Paatjes, Michelle- Schwartz, Lorraine 1993 Edward Arnold Australia-Victoria