Every day we come into contact with many people, with family and friends at home, on the way to work, on public transport, in the office.
We allow some to come very close and even hug us, while we unconsciously try to stay away from others, that is, we keep a certain distance from different people.
What are spatial communication zones and what impact does their violation have on us?
How to stop communicating with an unpleasant or intrusive person? Find out about this from our article.
Spatial zones of communication in psychology, what is it?
Protecting personal space is natural for every representative of the animal world, including humans, although with great reservations due to its socialization.
Depending on how we treat a person, what kind of relationship we have with him, we maintain a certain distance with him when communicating.
This feature was identified in the late 1960s by American psychologist Edward Hall , after which he developed the theory of communication distances.
He combined the laws by which individuals are positioned relative to each other in the process of communication into a separate section of social psychology, called proxemics, from the English word proximity, meaning “closeness.”
How did proxemics originate?
American psychologist and anthropologist Edward Hall was one of the first to study such an area of psychology as spatial relationships between people. He argued that each person strives to have his own personal physical space and organize it independently. This is his biological need.
Studying the features of spatial relationships between people, Edward Hall wrote the book “The Silent Language” in 1969, in which he highlighted issues related to spatial relationships. He also introduced the term “proxemics” into psychology, denoting the physical distance that people maintain in the process of communication.
Thus, proxemics is a field of psychology that studies the spatial conditions of human communication.
There are other sciences that study the features of nonverbal communication, for example, kinesics and takesika. The first explores human gestures, facial expressions and pantomime, the second - non-verbal communication of people carried out through touching each other.
Boundaries of interpersonal communication and their characteristics
Edward Hall identified 4 spatial boundaries for communication , each of which implies maintaining a certain distance from a person upon contact:
- Intimate . A person can be at a distance of 10-15 cm to 40 cm from us upon contact. Only our closest friends, family, and people with whom we have intimate relationships are allowed into this zone. She is characterized by frequent touching, hugs, a quiet voice, and trust.
- Personal. This zone has boundaries from 40-45 cm to 100 cm. It includes people with whom we most often come into contact during business communications with colleagues, meetings with friends and acquaintances.
Personal distance implies only confident visual contact with communicating people, and only sometimes socially determined touching.For example, shaking hands when meeting, patting the outside of the arm from the elbow to the shoulder.
- Social . The boundaries of this zone are from 1 m to 3-4 m. It is observed during business meetings in spacious rooms, usually of a distinctly official nature, as well as in classrooms and classrooms when in contact with students.
- Public . It has boundaries of 4 m. It is observed when speaking in front of a large group of people, for example, at a concert, rally, or in the so-called live audience.
The indicated boundaries of spatial communication zones may also vary somewhat depending on the following factors:
- From a person's self-esteem and confidence . In this case, a violation of the communication distance or its reduction occurs on the initiative of a more active person who is confident in his abilities. But people with low self-esteem tend to stay a little away from their interlocutor, sometimes even retreating, taking a step back.
- From the individual psychological characteristics of a person. Cholerics and extroverts also have more compressed boundaries of communication, while phlegmatic people and introverts strive to expand their intimate zone. At the same time, they tend not only to protect their own boundaries, but also not to violate the intimate area of their interlocutor.
- From the conditions of upbringing.
Those people who grew up without siblings and also had their own room in childhood, as a rule, in adulthood need more extensive personal space than children who grew up in cramped conditions. At the same time, the attitude laid down by parents towards a person’s personal boundaries is also greatly affected. - From nationality. Different peoples also have their own traditional distances for communication. For example, they are more extensive among the Japanese and residents of Northern Europe, who avoid touching when communicating and try to keep a respectful distance from the interlocutor, but the more temperamental peoples of the Caucasus, Italians, and Latin Americans allow closer contact with the interlocutor.
Types of distances during communication
Depending on the proximity of the relationship and the size of personal space, when communicating with each other, people unconsciously choose different distances between themselves and the interlocutor. Proxemics as a means of communication describes 4 types of distance.
intimate
Intimate distance is inherent in communication in which people are quite close to each other. These could be, for example, lovers, close friends, relatives, children and parents. A distance between people of 15 to 45 centimeters is considered intimate. In some cultures, a distance of up to 60 cm is considered intimate, while in others it is equal to the length of the arm from the tips of the fingers to the elbow.
In the intimate area, it is most convenient to communicate using body language, facial expressions, touches and gestures. When the intimate zone of people who are not close to you is invaded, a subconscious desire arises to move away from the interlocutor.
People who have problems with socialization do not like to be in large crowds of people, where contact and constant violations of the usual distance are inevitable. Such people often try to increase their personal space by any means: buying out neighboring seats in cinemas and transport, placing things around them that do not allow anyone to come closer than the person is comfortable.
An individual with a tendency toward aggression also tries to increase his intimate zone, but does this by reducing the personal field of his interlocutor. Such people approach excessively, spread their legs wide, wave their arms, and try to hover over the person they are talking to. There is an assumption that aggressiveness is a consequence of the fact that a person is endowed with a wide intimate space and perceives intrusion into it as a danger.
Knowing the laws of proxemics, you can identify the attitude of others towards you. To do this, you just need to carefully observe the distance they try to maintain. The closer they are physically, the closer they will be mentally. If there is a clear desire to distance oneself, a person is most likely not ready to communicate openly.
Personal
Personal distance is typical for business and friendly communication, its size is from 0.5 to 1.2 meters. At this distance, people communicate with business partners, friends, colleagues and not too close relatives.
People's personal space may vary depending on their type of nervous activity, age, gender and character. Sanguine and choleric people tend to shorten the distance with the interlocutor, melancholic and phlegmatic people tend to stay a little further from those with whom they are talking. People who feel defenseless, such as children and the elderly, try to be closer to the interlocutor. More independent and confident individuals respect the personal boundaries of others and do not get too close. The distance between women is often shorter than between men or representatives of different sexes.
Social
Social distance is 1.2–3.7 meters. This distance is usually maintained when communicating between strangers and business partners who are distant in status.
Public
This is a distance intended for public speaking. Its size depends on the size of the room in which the speaker is located. In small audiences this can be 3.5–7.5 meters, at large events - at a concert or in a theater, the distance between the speaker and the audience can be more than 7.5 meters. Communication at such a distance does not imply personal acquaintance of the interlocutors with each other; usually only the one who is going to speak introduces himself.
How does the violation of these distances affect a person?
Violation of spatial boundaries occurs quite often , for example, in public transport or an elevator, when strangers are forced to stand very close and sometimes touch each other.
At the same time the reaction is almost always the same ; people tend to express a minimum of emotions and avoid eye contact.
In an elevator, people look at the floor indicator, and in public transport, at the windows, while everyone makes a minimum of movements.
This is due to the fact that even a forced violation by another person of the permissible boundaries of communication leads to discomfort. Invasion of personal space is unconsciously perceived as a threat.
The heart rate and blood pressure increase, blood rushes to the head, and the body instinctively prepares to protect itself from an intruder of personal territory.
Incorrect violation of distance during communication can lead to rejection by the interlocutor . If you allow yourself to touch a new acquaintance a few minutes after meeting him, he may view this as an invasion of his personal space and henceforth try to avoid you.
As a result, this can hinder the building of trusting relationships not only in the business sphere, but also in the personal sphere.
How to maintain the correct distance?
Correctly determining the optimal distance between you and your interlocutor can significantly increase the level of communication .
In this case, neither you nor your partner will experience discomfort.
learn to maintain the correct distance between you and your interlocutor by paying attention to the following features.
intimate
To determine the intimate communication zone, just briefly move closer to your partner and look at his reaction. If the interlocutor does not move away, does not try to step aside , this may mean that you are one of the people who are allowed to be at such a distance.
The opposite state of affairs can be evidenced by a number of unconscious movements, nervous tapping of fingers on the table, raising of shoulders and retraction of the neck, closing of eyes, looking to the side, fidgeting in place, crossing legs.
Thus, the interlocutor’s body will tell about the violation of the boundaries of intimate space even if he himself correctly remains silent about it.
It should also be remembered that violating intimate distance can be perceived as flirting if your partner is of a different gender or as familiarity.
If you do not intend to make such an impression on your interlocutor, it is categorically not recommended to invade his intimate space to such an extent.
Sometimes violation of the boundaries of the intimate zone is intentionally carried out by managers, as well as aggressive people, in order to suppress the will or show their dominant position .
In some cases, for example, during congratulations , violations of the intimate distance between those people who usually stay in a personal zone when communicating are acceptable.
However, the kiss of a male colleague to his employee when congratulating her on her birthday and the kiss of two lovers are strikingly different, if in the first case a distance of 10-15 cm should be maintained between the bodies, then the lovers usually press their bodies against each other.
Personal
The personal spatial zone is the most universal in communication. However, its boundaries may vary in some cases. For example, older people and children try to be closer to their interlocutor than teenagers and middle-aged people.
Also, the boundaries of the personal zone depend on social status; a subordinate will strive to be further from his leader, but the latter, on the contrary, may violate this distance.
also matters . Taller people tend to want to be closer to their partner, while a shorter person tends to keep a more respectful distance.
However, in women the opposite tendency may be observed: a short woman will move closer to a tall man upon contact, while a tall woman will move away at some distance.
This is due to mental attitudes that a man should be bigger, larger than a female representative, so tall women increase their personal area when talking with short men, as if trying to hide their shortcomings.
It is also worth paying attention to the emotional state of the person with whom you are communicating; a confident, calm person will not be as busy maintaining his own personal boundaries as a partner who is depressed about something.
Aggressive people prone to conflicts, on the contrary, expand their personal communication zone.
This is signaled by sweeping movements and gestures, which seem to show that this distance is controlled by me , and accordingly, its violation can be perceived as an act of aggression.
Social
The social zone of communication is maintained if you do not need to establish a personal relationship with your interlocutor, that is, when only official communication takes place and personal motives are not affected.
In this case, it is specific business aspects that are discussed, and not any specific person.
In this case, there may be a desk between the people communicating, or the interlocutors may be at different ends of the office, not trying to shorten the distance .
The conversation itself is not confidential, is not emotionally charged, and is conducted in a calm, clear, even voice.
