Personal Space and Helpfulness
People have an invisible bubble that surrounds them to keep people at a safe distance. Although the distance as to which someone feels comfortable varies slightly from person to person. There is a threshold that, once crossed, can make someone very uncomfortable. The present investigation explores how people respond to an invasion of their personal space. Participants were chosen at random and asked for directions on the University of Oregon campus either from a socially acceptable distance or with an invasion of the participant’s personal space. Our findings suggest that an invasion of personal space does not necessarily receive a negative response.
COMM 430, Nonverbal Communication
Doyle Srader