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what is personal space in communication

by Ms. Grace Johnston IV Published 1 year ago Updated 1 year ago
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Personal space or proxemics, a form of non-verbal communication, is the space surrounding each person. Zones: Broadly, the four distinct zones are: Intimate (0-2 ft.), Personal (2-4 ft), Social (4-12 ft.) and Public (more than 12 ft.). When strangers enter the wrong zone, we feel uncomfortable.Aug 3, 2007

Full Answer

What is an example of personal space?

Personal space is a private, intimate, and exclusive territory which nobody can invade or claim. The term personal space not only refers to the physical component but also has to do with the invasion of this area by other stimuli. For example, such as the constant interruptions of our moments of solitude and privacy.

What is the importance of personal space?

Personal Space as Protection. Our personal space protects us from potential aggression, and, ultimately, it helps protect us from stress. Via Social Psychology: Theories, Research, and Applications: “An alternative – though not mutually exclusive – approach to explaining the functions of personal space suggest that personal space zones serve to protect us from stress.

How do you teach personal space?

Three rules apply when trying to teach any new social skill to young children:

  • Patience, patience, patience. Preschool children have a short attention span and may need to be reminded many times about the same thing.
  • Be consistent. If it is not okay to barge into the bathroom without knocking, the rule should apply to everyone in the family. ...
  • Be positive. Catch a child respecting someone’s personal space and comment on it. ...

How can people communicate in space?

Today, almost all conventional communication in space is conducted using radio waves, which travel at the speed of light through the vacuum of space. Optical (Laser) communication technology is currently being introduced, but this is still in the development phase. Warping wormholes

What is personal space?

What is the difference between personal and social zones?

What is communication training?

What does the word "sender" mean in a communication?

How to improve your communication?

What is interpersonal cooperation?

How many zones are there in a person?

See 2 more

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What is considered personal space?

2. Personal distance begins about an arm's length away; starting around 18 inches (46 cm) from the person and ending about 4 feet (122 cm) away. This space is used in conversations with friends, to chat with associates, and in group discussions. 3.

Why is communicating personal space important?

Personal space is the region into which you allow people with whom you have good rapport. People value their personal space and they feel irritation, antagonism, or anxiety whenever someone they don't know invades their space. When you allow someone to enter your personal space, you are socially promoting them.

How can personal space affect communication?

For example, when trying to demonstrate immediacy, or the ways that we communicate a desire or willingness to communicate with others, space can be used to show openness and friendliness. In the same way, the use of space can also indicate territoriality, the nonverbal communication of ownership.

What are the 4 zones of personal space?

Hall (1969) delineated four zones of interpersonal distance that characterize Western culture: intimate (up to 18 inches), personal (18–48 inches), social (48 inches to 12 feet), and public (greater than 12 feet).

What are the 3 types of personal space?

Personal space or proxemics, a form of non-verbal communication, is the space surrounding each person. Zones: Broadly, the four distinct zones are: Intimate (0-2 ft.), Personal (2-4 ft), Social (4-12 ft.) and Public (more than 12 ft.).

What factors affect personal space?

Four categories of personal space have been identified: public, social, personal, and intimate. Hall (1966) argues that cultural norms are the most important factor influencing a person's preferred social distance in each of these social situations.

How do you maintain your personal space?

5 Ways to Protect Your Personal SpaceIdentify and accept your personal boundary needs: If you don't protect your personal space, you are more likely to feel drained. ... Be polite but firm. ... Start with something small. ... Know what you mean when you say “yes” ... Stop feeling guilty.

What is another name for personal space?

What is another word for personal space?personal distancealone timeprivacyprivate lifeproximity

Why is personal space important in a conflict situation?

The Science of Personal Space The closer towards a person moves towards another, the more intimate space it becomes. Meaning that a good understanding of personal space, firstly allows you to judge distance from an attack and secondly can defuse or escalate a situation, depending on where you are.

What is considered a violation of personal space?

the intrusion by one person into the personal space of another. The intruder inappropriately and uncomfortably crowds the other person.

Why is personal space important at work?

Personal space is very important in the workplace because when you have no privacy, you get stressed out and stress will end up in poor output. It is very important that a person should take time off to rest from overworking. If there is no personal space then taking a break will also be difficult and uncomfortable.

Why personal space is important in a conflict situation?

The Science of Personal Space The closer towards a person moves towards another, the more intimate space it becomes. Meaning that a good understanding of personal space, firstly allows you to judge distance from an attack and secondly can defuse or escalate a situation, depending on where you are.

Personal Space And Body Language Essay - 1142 Words | Bartleby

“Personal space is a region of defended space surrounding someone. Trends of personal-space utilization might differ across human societies. Personal space varies from other kinds of defended space by being an encompassing bubble, which progresses with the person” (Psychology Dictionary).

What is personal space in Schramm's model?

Hall’s model of proxemics, personal space is dependent on the relationship of both the speaker and the audience; the relationship is founded on the common experiences between the two. Having said those facts, Hall’s model of proxemics is strongly related to Schramm’s model of communication. W. Schramm’s model of communication states that for every communication transaction happening, there is always a common field of experience between the speaker and the audience. It is represented by a venn diagram which signifies each other’s identity. The overlapping area at the center of the venn diagrams is the common field of experience. It can be implied that the greater the common field, the easier the communication transaction is. The experiences allow both the decoder and encoder to connect in a way that they can both relate making the transaction more…show more content…

Is being distant a snob?

Being distant could show off as cold or snob. It is important to know the situation of the possible audience’s culture to know how to adjust the personal distance depending on the relationship of the speaker and the audience. However, culture is just one of the factors that can affect your personal space adjustment. It is still a personal choice made on an individual level.

What is personal space?

Personal space is the region into which you allow people with whom you have good rapport. People value their personal space and they feel irritation, antagonism, or anxiety whenever someone they don't know invades their space. When you allow someone to enter your personal space, you are socially promoting them.

What does it mean when you allow someone to enter your personal space?

When you allow someone to enter your personal space, you are socially promoting them. And if you do not allow them to enter your space, (by moving backwards, in response to their approach), then you are socially rebuffing them. 3. Social space. This is the zone for normal professional relationships.

What are the sizes of the four spaces?

There are no absolute and fixed boundaries because different people have set their limits at different distances, but in general the vast majority of people seem to operate according to the following rules.

What is the study of how you feel and react under conditions of varying proximity?

You will probably feel and act differently in each situation. Proxemics is the study of how you feel and react under conditions of varying proximity. The origin of Proxemics was a book called, The Hidden Dimension, written in 1963, by an anthropologist Edward Hall.

What is the study of how people react to the varying amount of space between them?

Proxemics is the study of how people react to the varying amount of space between them.

What are the four spaces in a circle?

The four spaces are called: The intimate space, into which you allow only family and lovers. Personal space, into which you allow good friends and people with whom you have good rapport.

Why is it important to know about proxemics?

According to Hall, Proxemics is useful in thinking about the way people interact with others in daily life, and how this knowledge may affect the design of buildings and public spaces .

What does it mean when someone allows you into your personal space?

It follows that the degree up to which person A allows person B to enter his personal space is an accurate way of gauging how comfortable the former feels in the company of the latter. In simpler terms, the more you allow someone into your personal space the more comfortable you feel in their company.

What does physical proximity mean?

To make it even simpler- physical proximity also indicates emotional proximity i.e. the closer you bring a person towards your body the closer he is to you emotionally, except of course when you are deliberately trying to harm the person during the fighting, wrestling or kick-boxing.

Why do people take pictures of themselves with their cars?

A person who takes a picture of himself with his car is often seen leaning toward the car and touching it. The purpose is to show others that the car belongs to him.

Why do people touch each other?

Some people take learning to the next level. They actually touch their object of interest so that any kind of space between them and that object vanishes completely . When people touch each other, it is the height of intimacy, the highest level of comfort they can feel around each other.

What emotion do we feel for someone?

Either way, the emotion we feel for that person is the same- comfort. We like that person enough to feel comfortable being in their personal space or allowing them into our personal space. In short, when we are interested in someone, we seek to reduce the distance between us and them.

What Is Personal Space?

We all have a personal space, or the physical space surrounding us that encompasses the area that we feel safe, and where any threat to that personal space would make us feel uncomfortable. Some may call personal spaces their personal bubbles. Another thing is certain, the size of our personal bubbles depends very largely on our cultural background. People in the United States, for instance, have a larger personal space than people in Spain. But why do we have personal spaces, and why are they different across cultures?

What happens when someone violates your personal space?

When someone violates your personal space, your tendency may be to take a step back, or turn to regain your bubble. Defensive body language may ensue like crossed arms, a frown, reduced eye contact, or a downward gaze.

How are people in the United States comfortable speaking to each other?

It has been said that people in the United States are comfortable with speaking to people at an arm's length distance, while people in Europe are comfortable wrist-length distance apart. Furthermore, people in the Middle East can be comfortable speaking to each other within an elbow's length distance. Why are there differences in cultures regarding personal space?

How do cultures greet each other?

Some cultures greet each other by kissing on the cheeks twice, whereas others greet with just a handshake. Some cultures welcome open displays of physical touching like public displays of affection amongst couples (i.e. kissing in public) and women breastfeeding their children.

Why do people breathe in crowded cities?

People may be breathing, spitting while talking, or even rubbing sweat on each other! But in some cities that are overpopulated, busy, and crowded, this is the norm because people are used to sharing space in order to co-habitate in the city.

What is the meaning of personal space?

Most of our interaction with the world around us is defined by personal space, the immediate area around a person through which they feel ownership and safety. Our personal space is very important to us. Think of this as your personal bubble. You don't like just anybody coming inside your bubble; this can make you feel insecure, possible unsafe, and generally irritable.

How does personal space change?

They change based on the people you're around and the situation you're in. According to the equilibrium theory, personal space between people is defined by the level of intimacy. It's an inverse relationship: the greater the intimacy, the smaller the buffer. Say you don't know someone at all.

What is space and proximity?

Space and proximity often express attitude, feelings, and meaning in interpersonal communication, typically non-verbally. Learn about physical space and immediacy, and understand several theories about how space is used in interpersonal communication. Updated: 11/18/2021

What is it called when you expect people to respect your space?

We expect people to respect our personal space, and when they don't, we can react with hostility. This is called expectations violation theory . Basically, the idea is that we have expectations about personal space that are generally cultural, and we will use nonverbal communication to express discomfort or dissatisfaction when those expectations aren't met. For many people, this is one of the major areas of culture shock when traveling, since different cultures have very different ideas about personal space.

When to use space?

For example, when trying to demonstrate immediacy, or the ways that we communicate a desire or willingness to communicate with others, space can be used to show openness and friendliness. In the same way, the use of space can also indicate territoriality, the nonverbal communication of ownership.

Is it "they're communicating" or "they're communicating"?

They're communicating! No, they aren't saying anything, but still, they are clearly sending and receiving information back and forth about their feelings and attitudes. Communication that occurs separate from spoken words is called non-verbal communication.

Do we need words to communicate?

We communicate all the time , and generally, we don't even need words to do this. Communication that occurs separate from spoken words is called nonverbal communication. There are many ways to communicate non-verbally, and a lot of them involve interaction with physical space.

What is personal space?

Research on personal space has a long history in psychology, having established that there is a zone of physical proximity that allows people to feel comfortable in the presence of others. However, there are times when you have no choice but to be physically close to a stranger.

How to deal with personal space issues?

To sum up, the British study suggests five tips for coping when personal space issues occur in your life: 1. Be kind to your friends. You have more freedom to invade the personal space of people you know well rather than strangers, but don't take for granted the likelihood that they won't mind you closing in on them. 2.

What are the proxemics of an airplane?

On an airplane, Lewis et al. explain, the “proxemics” include “concern for autonomy, control, and privacy” that passengers have within the limits of their own seat (p. 6). You can probably relate to this idea if you’ve ever spent the majority of a flight making sure you have access to your own armrest or resisting being jammed in by a passenger in a reclined seat in front of you. Apart from physical comfort, these factors also relate to the psychological aspect of comfort or the degree of stress you experience.

What are the factors that affect personal space?

These include gender (including gender role), culture, age, personal preference, interpersonal relationships (feelings and social status), room density, personality ( introvert or extravert ), the topics being discussed in a given conversation, environment (indoors vs. outdoors, lighting, vertical space), and context.

How to keep someone from being close to you?

To keep that closeness from becoming an issue, you do everything you can to establish some sort of invisible barrier. The easiest way to achieve this is by avoiding eye contact. Imagine staring right into the face of the accidental traveler with whom you’re sharing a hanging strap. You know that this is a very bad idea, and so you most likely look down and study your phone or your feet.

What was the theme of the second space flight?

The second theme concerned personal space invasion by passengers who monopolized or controlled the space with their belongings. The third theme included a lengthy list of “sensory” invasions, such as excessive noise, smells, poor hygiene, food or drink, and engaging in undesired conversation.

Is personal space important?

Personal space is a key component of all relationships, and luckily one that is relatively easy to manage once you understand its importance.

How many zones of personal space are there?

There is generally considered to be four distinct zones of personal: (1) intimate space (0-18 inches) i.e. for hugging or whispering, (2) personal space (18 inches to 4 feet) i.e.interactions for family and good friends, (3) social space (4 to 10 feet) i.e. interactions between acquaintances, and (4) public space (10 feet+) i.e. public speaking.

What is personal space journey?

Personal Space Journey is a digital collection of activities to teach children about personal space. You can choose how to utilize the materials. Some children may benefit from reading the story first with follow up. Others may need to work on body awareness activities in order to maintain personal space.

What Influences Your Personal Space Bubble?

People, places and even things can influence your personal space bubble. For example, most of us are comfortable with a shorter distance between ourselves and family members versus teachers, other adults or even friends. Maybe you feel more comfortable with people in your own home or familiar places versus new situations or locations.

Why Is a Personal Space Bubble Important?

The ability to maintain proper personal space helps to establish effective communication and good interpersonal relations.

What are some examples of students lacking personal space?

talking too close to a person’s face. hugging peers who do not want to be hugged or touched. standing too close to peers during free time. not reading other people’s body language correctly. These are just some examples of what outcomes can occur when students lack personal space.

Why is it important to focus on body awareness?

Work on activities that focus on body awareness in order to increase the students’ ability to understand where our bodies are in space and how our bodies move. It is critical to establish an overall “picture” of the student’s understanding of personal space.

Have you heard the phrase "personal space bubble"?

Have you heard the phrase “personal space bubble”? If you work with children or in education, you most likely have heard it being said multiple times. Or perhaps you have seen it action when children are not always the best at respecting someone’s personal space bubble.

What is personal space?

Awareness of Personal Space (a.k.a. Personal Distance and Proxemics), which is a part of your Body Language, will make your communication receiver or audience more comfortable and thereby better listeners. It can be defined as ‘the amount of space that people find comfortable between themselves and others’, and you can therefore ...

What is the difference between personal and social zones?

lovers touch and other physical touching relationships). The Personal zone (45-120 cm) is for family and close friends, and is great for personal conversations. The Social space (120-360 cm) is for business and social interaction, and handshakes would normally be the only touching here, while in terms of communication, you would still have eye contact and speak, but it will be louder and more formal conversations with less feedback. Finally, the Social zone (beyond 360 cm) is unsuitable for personal interaction, why communication will be in the form of public speaking or e.g. teaching, where all the non-verbal communication, like hands and head movement, needs to be exaggerated to compensate for the limited face and eye reading.

What is communication training?

The Communication Skills Training offered by HWAO Consulting, teaches to communicate efficiently in both daily and out of the ordinary situations – considering best practices in verbal and non-verbal communication, including body language, para-language, and more. Use this link to see other popular training programs or make contact here.

What does the word "sender" mean in a communication?

In this series on communication, the word ‘sender’ is universally used for ‘communication source’, ‘encoder’ and what other names that typically are used for the ‘primary party’ in communication (plurally or singularly), and reversely the word ‘receiver’ for ‘communication target’, ‘audience’, ‘decoder’, ‘destination’ and such, indicating the ‘opposite party’ in communication.

How to improve your communication?

Personal Space and Communication. Improve your communication through conscious awareness of your listener’s Personal Space , and enjoy effective interactions and improved listening, unless you want to use this knowledge to dominate, pressure or bully….

What is interpersonal cooperation?

It can be defined as ‘the amount of space that people find comfortable between themselves and others’ , and you can therefore either optimize your interpersonal cooperation accordingly or you can negatively use it to dominate, pressure or bully.

How many zones are there in a person?

The original theory by Edward T. Hall, 1963, uses a Western perspective and identifies five zones around a person, as illustrated above (click to enlarge). Starting at the center with the Close intimate zone (0-15 cm), then the Intimate (15-45 cm), the Personal (45-120 cm), the Social (120-360 cm), and finally the Public zone (beyond 360 cm). An Asian perspective, for example, would use very different distances for each zone, and it could be argued that this theory partly does not make sense among Asians. Nevertheless, it is still the case that the communication receiver feels differently at various distances to the sender, and aiming at making your receiver comfortable will always improve the communication. Read the posts ‘ Communication and Culture ‘, ‘ Personal Space and Communication ‘ or ‘ Chinese Culture and Personal Space ‘ for more on personal space.

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