Abstract
In order to obtain evidence of the effects of demographic parameters and measurement techniques on personal space, several different assessments were used to determine the impact of subject age, race, and sex on interpersonal distancing. Thirteen different variables representing stimulation, paper-and-pencil, and behavioral techniques indicated that as age increased, personal space requirements decreased, particularly for whites. Blacks as compared to whites required less space at age 7, and mixed-sex dyads tended to require more space than same-sex dyads. The results thus indicate that while some previous findings appear to be measurement method specific, others show intermethod consistency.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aiello, J. R., & Aiello, T. D. C. The development of personal space: Proxemic behavior of children 6 through 16.Human Ecology, 1974,2, 177–189.
Aiello, J. R., & Jones, S. E. Field study of the proxemic behavior of young school children in three subcultural groups.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1971,19, 351–356.
Altman, I.The environment and social behavior. Monterey, Calif.: Brooks/Cole, 1975.
Bailey, K. G., Hartnett, J. J., & Glover, H. W. Modeling and personal space behavior in children.Journal of Psychology, 1973,85, 143–150.
Baxter, J. C. Interpersonal spacing in natural settings.Sociometry, 1970,33, 444–456.
Dabbs, J. M., Jr., Fuller, J. P. H., & Carr, T. S. Personal space when “cornered”: College students and prison inmates.Proceedings of the 81st Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, 1973,8, 213–214. (Summary)
Duke, M. P., & Nowicki, S., Jr. A new measure and social learning model for interpersonal distance.Journal of Experimental Research in Personality, 1972,6, 1–16.
Duke, M. P., & Wilson, J. The measurement of interpersonal distance in pre-school children.Journal of Genetic Psychology, 1973,123, 361–362.
Eberts, E. H., & Lepper, M. R. Individual consistency in the proxemic behavior of pre-school children.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1975,32, 841–849.
Evans, G. W., & Howard, R. B. Personal space.Psychological Bulletin, 1973,80, 334–344.
Fisher, J. D., & Byrne, D. Too close for comfort: Sex differences in response to invasions of personal space.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1975,32, 15–21.
Guardo, C. J. Personal space in children.Child Development, 1969,40, 143–151.
Hasse, R. F., & Markey, M. J. A methodological note on the study of personal space.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1973,40, 122–125.
Hall, E. T.The hidden dimension. New York: Doubleday, 1966.
Hartnett, J. J., Bailey, F., & Gibson, W. Personal space as influenced by sex and type of movement.Journal of Psychology, 1970,76, 139–144.
Hayduk, L. A. Personal space: An evaluative and orienting overview.Psychological Bulletin, 1978,85, 117–134.
Jones, S. E., & Aiello, J. R. Proxemic behavior of black and white first, third, and fifth grade children.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1973,25, 21–27.
Knowles, E. S., & Johnson, P. K. Interpersonal consistency in interpersonal distance.JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, 1974,4, 124. (MS No. 768)
Kuethe, J. L. Social schemas.Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1962,64, 31–38. (a)
Kuethe, J. L. Social schemas and the reconstruction of social object displays from memory.Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1962,65, 71–74. (b)
Leibman, M. The effects of sex and race norms on personal space.Environment and Behavior, 1970,2, 208–246.
Little, K. B., Ulehla, Z. J., & Henderson, C. Value congruence and interaction distances.Journal of Social Psychology, 1968,75, 249–253.
Markey, J. J. The ontogenesis of proxemic behavior among school-aged children.Dissertation Abstracts, 1971,32 (3B), 1851.
Meisels, M., & Guardo, C. J. Development of personal space schemata.Child Development, 1969,49, 1167–1178.
Pederson, D. M. Developmental trends in personal space.Journal of Psychology, 1973,83, 3–9.
Scherer, S. E. Proxemic behavior of primary school children as a function of their socioeconomic class and subculture.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1974,29, 800–805.
Sommer, R.Personal space. Englewood Cliffs: N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1969.
Tennis, G. H., & Dabbs, J. M., Jr. Sex, setting and personal space: First grade through college.Sociometry, 1975,38, 385–394.
Tolor, A. Psychological distance in disturbed and normal children.Psychological Reports, 1968,23, 695–701
Willis, F. N., Jr. Initial speaking distance as a function of the speakers' relationship.Psychonomic Science, 1966,5, 221–222.
Reference Notes
Adler, L. L.Interpersonal distance as a function of task difficulty, praise, status orientation, and sex of partner. Paper presented at the meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Washington, D.C., May 1973.
McGaffey, C. N., & Trego, R. E.Personal space: A critical review. NASA Technical Report No. 16, NASA Grant NGR 44-009-008, January 1970.
Quick, A., & Crano, W. O.Effects of sex, distance, and conversation in the invasion of personal space. Paper presented at the meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, May 1973.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Severy, L.J., Forsyth, D.R. & Wagner, P.J. A multimethod assessment of personal space development in female and male, black and white children. J Nonverbal Behav 4, 68–86 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01006352
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01006352