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70-448: It is possible to be physically intimate with someone without actually touching them; however, a certain proximity is necessary. For instance, a sustained eye contact is considered a form of physical intimacy, analogous to touching. When a person enters someone else's personal space for the purpose of being intimate, it is physical intimacy, regardless of the lack of actual physical contact. Most people partake in physical intimacy, which

140-404: A pseudo-English Japanese word ( wasei-eigo ), which was coined to describe the intimacy, or closeness, between a mother and a child. Today, the word is generally used for bonding through physical contact, such as holding hands, hugging, or parents washing their child at a bath. The term has been promoted by pediatrician and developmental psychologist Nobuyoshi Hirai (平井信義), and he mentioned it

210-434: A change in personal space since Roman times , along with the boundaries of public and private space. This topic has been explored in A History of Private Life (2001), under the general editorship of Philippe Ariès and Georges Duby . On the other hand, those living in densely populated places likely have lower expectations of personal space. Residents of India or Japan tend to have a smaller personal space than those in

280-496: A crowded train , elevator or street. Many people find the physical proximity within crowded spaces to be psychologically disturbing and uncomfortable. In an impersonal crowded situation, eye contact tends to be avoided. Even in a crowded place, preserving personal space is important. Non-consensual intimate and sexual contact, such as frotteurism and groping , are unacceptable. On the other hand, most people occasionally desire physical proximity to others, and will at times welcome

350-412: A crowded place, preserving personal space is important, and intimate and sexual contact , such as frotteurism and groping , is unacceptable physical contact. A person's personal space is carried with them everywhere they go. It is the most inviolate form of territory. Body spacing and posture , according to Hall, are unintentional reactions to sensory fluctuations or shifts, such as subtle changes in

420-453: A familiar and trusted person into their personal space. When a partner or friend is not available at such a time, some people satisfy this need for human contact in a crowded venue, such as a bar , nightclub , rock concert , street festival , etc. People who are on a familiar basis may enter into each other's personal space to make physical contact. These can be indicators of affection and trust. The manner in which people display affection

490-471: A larger personal space. Personal space also varies by gender and age. Males typically use more personal space than females, and personal space has a positive relation to age (people use more as they get older). Most people have a fully developed (adult) sense of personal space by age twelve. Under circumstances where normal space requirements cannot be met, such as in public transit or elevators, personal space requirements are modified accordingly. According to

560-435: A lot in common with bullying in school: Both behaviors include harassment, humiliation, teasing, and aggression. Cyberbullying presents unique challenges in the sense that the perpetrator can attempt to be anonymous, and attacks can happen at any time of day or night. The main factor that encourages cyberbullying is the fact that a cyberbully can hide behind the shield of online anonymity. In other words, social media magnifies

630-608: A means to apportion thermoregulation. Some forms of physical touch among monkeys and apes serve multiple functions, including cleaning, treatment of a lice influx or infection and social grooming. Some forms of physical intimacy may be received negatively. This attitude is especially marked amongst those with haphephobia . One study has shown that there is generally a higher level of physical intimacy allowed between immediate family members than between second-degree relatives . Intimacy norms are usually more negative near erogenous zones . Some jurisdictions may specify this as referring to

700-402: A nonverbal cue signaling intimacy, and interpersonal distance. Participants were immersed in a 3D virtual room in which a virtual human representation (that is, an embodied agent ) stood. The focus of this study is on the subtle nonverbal exchanges that occur between a person and an embodied agent. Participants in the study clearly did not treat the agent as a mere animation. On the contrary,

770-498: A sense of personal space boundary. As the researchers have noted: "Our findings suggest that the amygdala may mediate the repulsive force that helps to maintain a minimum distance between people. Further, our findings are consistent with those in monkeys with bilateral amygdala lesions, who stay within closer proximity to other monkeys or people, an effect we suggest arises from the absence of strong emotional responses to personal space violation." Some quantitative theories propose that

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840-415: A specialized elaboration of culture". In his foundational work on proxemics, The Hidden Dimension , Hall emphasized the impact of proxemic behavior (the use of space) on interpersonal communication . According to Hall, the study of proxemics is valuable in evaluating not only the way people interact with others in daily life, but also "the organization of space in [their] houses and buildings, and ultimately

910-510: Is a paraphilic interest in rubbing, usually one's pelvic area or erect penis , against a non-consenting person for sexual pleasure . It may involve touching any part of the body, including the genital area. A person who practices frotteuristic acts is known as a frotteur . Toucherism is sexual arousal based on grabbing or rubbing one's hands against an unexpecting (and non-consenting) person. It usually involves touching breasts, buttocks or genital areas, often while quickly walking across

980-550: Is a natural part of interpersonal relationships and human sexuality , and research has shown it has health benefits. A hug or touch can result in the release of the hormone oxytocin and in a reduction in stress hormones . Massages, stroking and cuddling have furthermore shown that they have widespread beneficial effects on well-being. The most pronounced effects can be found for a reduction of pain as well as feelings of depression and anxiety. However, also blood pressure and momentary mood can be improved through physical touch. Due to

1050-526: Is also affected when dealing with stigmatized minorities within a population. For example, those who do not have experience dealing with disabled persons tend to create more distance during encounters because they are uncomfortable. Others may judge that the disabled person needs to have an increase of touch, volume, or proximity. Bailenson, Blascovich, Beall, and Loomis conducted an experiment in 2001, testing Argyle and Dean's (1965) equilibrium theory's speculation of an inverse relationship between mutual gaze,

1120-404: Is also used to soothe and calm babies or with skin-to-skin contact called "kangaroo care". Vision and auditory senses are limited in infancy and babies are introduced to their world primarily through touch and are able to distinguish between temperature and texture. Decreased amounts of affectionate touch from caregivers (i.e. for infants in institutional settings or infants with depressed mothers)

1190-401: Is generally different in a public context to a private one. In private, people in an intimate relationship or who are familiar with each other may be at ease with physical contact and displays of affection, which may involve: Bonding through intimate, non-sexual contact between platonic friends and family members includes, but is not limited to, holding hands, hugging, cuddling, and kissing on

1260-475: Is housed ventrally in the temporal lobe. The amygdala is suspected of processing people's strong reactions to personal space violations since these are absent in those in which it is damaged and it is activated when people are physically close. Research links the amygdala with emotional reactions to proximity to other people. First, it is activated by such proximity, and second, in those with complete bilateral damage to their amygdala, such as patient S.M. , lack

1330-424: Is located in the lateral temporo-frontal pathways at the center of our vision, is retinotopically centered and tied to the position of our eyes, and is involved in object search and recognition. Action-extrapersonal-space is located in the medial temporo-frontal pathways, spans the entire space, and is head-centered and involved in orientation and locomotion in topographical space. Action-extrapersonal space provides

1400-462: Is normally an indication of familiarity and sometimes intimacy. However, in modern society, especially in crowded urban communities, it can be difficult to maintain personal space, for example when in a crowded train , elevator or street. Many people find such physical proximity to be psychologically disturbing and uncomfortable, though it is accepted as a fact of modern life. In an impersonal, crowded situation, eye contact tends to be avoided. Even in

1470-416: Is not clear how this effect is brought about, in all likelihood it is the protective effect that known relationships have: more dominant animals are less likely to attack or harass an individual who is known to have grooming partners who might come to its aid. However, the likelihood of a female going to the aid of another female when the latter is under attack is significantly correlated with the amount of time

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1540-522: Is often controlled using costmaps which these models link to proxemic zones. Cyberbullying is a communication phenomenon in which a bully utilizes electronic media in order to harass peers. Adolescents favor texting or computer-mediated communication as an alternative to the more directly combative face-to-face interactions because it takes advantage of evading imposed social norms such as " school rules ", which are likely to be especially repressive of aggression involving females. Online bullying has

1610-522: Is related to cognitive and neurodevelopmental delays. These delays appear to persist for years and sometimes whole lifetimes. Studies suggest that if depressed mothers give their infants massages, it benefits both the baby and themselves, increasing growth and development for the babies and leading to increased sensitivity and responsivity of the mothers. There are also biologically beneficial effects of infant massage, with premature infants displaying lower cortisol levels after being held by their mothers. During

1680-434: Is reserved for close friends, lovers, children and close family members. Another zone is used for conversations with friends, to chat with associates, and in group discussions. A further zone is reserved for strangers, newly formed groups, and new acquaintances. A fourth zone is used for speeches, lectures, and theater; essentially, public distance is that range reserved for larger audiences. Entering somebody's personal space

1750-414: Is something which is exchanged like a service with the expectation that equal amounts of time will be spent or reciprocated by their grooming partner. Primates tend to groom each other equal amounts of time or with the expectation that they will be reciprocated with defense in a dangerous situation. Primates who spend more time grooming each other are more likely to defend each other when attacked. Although it

1820-421: Is spent grooming others, rather than themselves. In more social species the amount of time spent in self grooming is much less than the time spent in social grooming. While these behaviors may appear to be for the purpose of hygiene (i.e. removal of parasites, fur cleanliness, etc.), evidence suggests that grooming behaviors perform a unique social function which facilitates bonding. From an evolutionary perspective,

1890-463: Is there between the characters? , What is suggested by characters who are close to ( or, conversely, far away from ) each other? , Do distances change as the film progresses? and, Do distances depend on the film's other content? The other consideration is camera proxemics , which answers the single question: How far away is the camera from the characters/action? Analysis of camera proxemics typically relates Hall's system of proxemic patterns to

1960-607: Is understudied, however, some observational data suggests that in cultures who engage in more physical intimacy have lower rates of violence, demonstrated in adolescents and children. Peoples living nearer to the equator (Mediterranean, central and South America, Islamic countries) tend to have high-contact social norms, whereas countries further from the equator tend to be lower contact (northern Europe, North America, northeast Asian). The public display of interpersonal touch and intimacy appears to vary across cultures as well. The term "skinship" ( スキンシップ , sukinshippu ) originated as

2030-465: The Mongolian steppe , both in regard to home and individual spaces. Different expectations of personal space can lead to difficulties in intercultural communication. Hall notes that different culture types maintain different standards of personal space. Realizing and recognizing these cultural differences improves cross-cultural understanding , and helps eliminate discomfort people may feel if

2100-885: The United States show considerable similarities to those in northern and central European regions, such as Germany , Scandinavia , and the United Kingdom . Greeting rituals tend to be the same in Europe and in the United States, consisting of minimal body contact—often confined to a simple handshake. The main cultural difference in proxemics is that residents of the United States like to keep more open space between themselves and their conversation partners (roughly 4 feet (1.2 m) compared to 2 to 3 feet (0.6–0.9 m) in Europe). European cultural history has seen

2170-427: The camera angle used to create a specific shot, with the long shot or extreme long shot becoming the public proxemic , a full shot (sometimes called a figure shot, complete view, or medium long shot) becoming the social proxemic , the medium shot becoming the personal proxemic , and the close up or extreme close up becoming the intimate proxemic . Film analyst Louis Giannetti has maintained that, in general,

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2240-547: The genitals , buttocks and female breasts . Physical affection and intimacy appear to have a profoundly important role during infancy and childhood. The skin is the largest sensory organ and is the first to develop. Humans experience touch as early as fetal development, when the fetus begins receiving sensory information from coming in contact with the mothers' abdominal wall. In infancy, babies receive significant amounts of touch through being held, cuddled, and breastfed. In addition to necessary functions like breastfeeding, touch

2310-431: The "presence" of our world. Ambient-extrapersonal space initially courses through the peripheral parieto-occipital visual pathways before joining up with vestibular and other body senses to control posture and orientation in earth-fixed/gravitational space. Numerous studies involving peripersonal and extrapersonal neglect have shown that peripersonal space is located dorsally in the parietal lobe whereas extrapersonal space

2380-489: The French verb frotter , meaning "to rub". Frotteur is a French noun literally meaning "one who rubs". It was popularized by German sexologist Richard von Krafft-Ebing in his book Psychopathia Sexualis , borrowing from Magnan's French terminology. Clifford Allen later coined frotteurism in his 1969 textbook of sexual disorders. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders called this sexual disorder by

2450-529: The agent displays mutual gaze behavior than when the agent does not. Other researchers have established that proxemics can be a valuable tool for measuring the behavioral realism of an agent or an avatar. People tend to perceive nonverbal gestures on an implicit level, and degree of personal space appears to be an accurate way to measure people's perception of social presence and realism in virtual environments. Nick Yee in his PhD thesis at Stanford discovered that real world proxemic distances also were applied in

2520-404: The amount of time being devoted to allo-grooming appears to exceed the amount of time in which it would be adaptive, therefore underscoring the idea that grooming must have a purpose beyond hygiene maintenance. Furthermore, there are core grooming partnerships which remain quite stable and do not change frequently, sometimes with the same partners on the timescale of years. Some argue that grooming

2590-472: The cheeks. In public, however, and depending on the nature of the relationship between the people, a public display of affection is generally constrained by social norms and can range from a gesture, such as a kiss or hug in greeting, to an embrace or holding hands . Maintaining eye contact can be regarded socially and psychologically as analogous to touching. The role of touch in interpersonal relationships across development and in different cultures

2660-420: The differences in these needs between cultures, especially the multiple, different, immigrant cultures found in large cities. The theory of proxemics is often considered in relation to the impact of technology on human relationships. While physical proximity cannot be achieved when people are connected virtually, perceived proximity can be attempted, and several studies have shown that it is a crucial indicator in

2730-457: The effectiveness of virtual communication technologies. These studies suggest that various individual and situational factors influence how close we feel to another person, regardless of distance. The mere-exposure effect originally referred to the tendency of a person to positively favor those who they have been physically exposed to most often. However, recent research has extended this effect to virtual communication. This work suggests that

2800-472: The effects that population density has on behavior, communication, and social interaction. Proxemics is one among several subcategories in the study of nonverbal communication , including haptics (touch), kinesics (body movement), vocalics (paralanguage), and chronemics (structure of time). Edward T. Hall , the cultural anthropologist who coined the term in 1963, defined proxemics as "the interrelated observations and theories of humans' use of space as

2870-458: The face-to-face social space into a virtual space where a cyberbully can say anything about the victims without the pressure of facing them. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries enforced social distancing , the requirement to maintain a minimum distance between people at all times. These distances were typically larger than in normal interactions, and proxemics may help to explain

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2940-408: The fields of communication, psychology , and sociology, especially under the category of organizational behavior , has shown that physical proximity enhances peoples' ability to work together. Face-to-face interaction is often used as a tool to maintain the culture, authority, and norms of an organization or workplace. An extensive body of research has been written about how proximity is affected by

3010-536: The following diagnostic criteria for frotteuristic disorder . If the individual has not acted on their interest and experiences no distress or impairment, they are considered to have a frotteuristic sexual interest, but not frotteuristic disorder. Some sexologists distinguish between frotteurism (as pelvic rubbing) and toucherism (as groping with hands), but the DSM does not. Sexologist Kurt Freund described frotteurism and toucherism as courtship disorders that occur at

3080-551: The greater the distance between the camera and the subject (in other words, the public proxemic), the more emotionally neutral the audience remains, whereas the closer the camera is to a character, the greater the audience's emotional attachment to that character. Or, as actor/director Charlie Chaplin put it: "Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long shot." Implementing appropriate proxemic cues has been shown to improve success in monitored behavioral situations like psychotherapy by increasing patient trust for

3150-541: The higher person asserting greater status. Teachers, and especially those who work with small children, should realize that students will interact more comfortably with a teacher when they are in same vertical plane. Used in this way, an understanding of vertical distance can become a tool for improved teacher-student communication. On the other hand, a disciplinarian might put this information to use in order to gain psychological advantage over an unruly student. Hall used biometric concepts to categorize, explain, and explore

3220-443: The holding period, the mothers' cortisol levels also decreased. Most people value their personal space and feel discomfort, anger or anxiety when somebody encroaches on their personal space without consent. Entering somebody's personal space is normally an indication of familiarity and intimacy. However, in modern society, especially in crowded urban communities, it is at times difficult to maintain personal space, for example, in

3290-596: The important role that language-based communication plays in humans, the role of touch is often downplayed; however, there is ample evidence that physical touch still plays an important role in everyday human relationships. While humans often communicate verbally, they also participate in close contact. Physical touch has emotional and social connotations that often far outweigh anything that can be expressed via language. Inducements towards physical intimacy can come from various sources. During colder seasons, humans as well as other animals seek physical intimacy with one another as

3360-467: The interpersonal distance is too large ("stand-offish") or too small (intrusive). People make exceptions to and modify their space requirements. A number of relationships may allow for personal space to be modified, including familial ties, romantic partners, friendships and close acquaintances, where there is a greater degree of trust and personal knowledge. Personal space is affected by a person's position in society, with more affluent individuals expecting

3430-448: The interpersonal distances of humans (the relative distances between people) in four distinct zones: The distances mentioned above are horizontal distance. There is also vertical distance that communicates something between people. In this case, however, vertical distance is often understood to convey the degree of dominance or sub-ordinance in a relationship. Looking up at or down on another person can be taken literally in many cases, with

3500-808: The interpersonal territories between conversants can be determined by " socio-petal socio-fugal axis", or the "angle formed by the axis of the conversants' shoulders". Hall has also studied combinations of postures between dyads (two people) including lying prone, sitting, or standing. Personal space is highly variable, due to cultural differences and personal preferences. On average, preferences vary significantly between countries. A 2017 study found that personal space preferences with respect to strangers ranged between more than 120 cm in Romania, Hungary and Saudi Arabia, and less than 90 cm in Argentina, Peru, Ukraine and Bulgaria. The cultural practices of

3570-400: The layout of [their] towns". Proxemics remains a hidden component of interpersonal communication that is uncovered through observation and strongly influenced by culture. The distance surrounding a person forms a space. The space within intimate distance and personal distance is called personal space . The space within social distance and out of personal distance is called social space , and

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3640-412: The majority of victims are female, although female on male, female on female, and male on male frotteurs exist. This activity is often done in circumstances where the victim cannot easily respond, in a public place such as a crowded train or concert. Marco Vassi 's story "Subway Dick" is an example of such acts in a train. Usually, such nonconsensual sexual contact is viewed as a criminal offense :

3710-562: The more someone communicates virtually with another person, the more he is able to envision that person's appearance and workspace, therefore fostering a sense of personal connection. Increased communication has also been seen to foster common ground, or the feeling of identification with another, which leads to positive attributions about that person. Some studies emphasize the importance of shared physical territory in achieving common ground, while others find that common ground can be achieved virtually, by communicating often. Much research in

3780-592: The name frottage until the third edition (DSM III-R), but changed to frotteurism in the fourth edition, and now uses frotteuristic disorder in the fifth edition. Nevertheless, the term frottage still remains in some law codes where it is synonymous with the term frotteurism . The professional handbook of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , fifth edition, lists

3850-416: The person they are talking to can step back to restore their personal space. Hall's original work on proxemics was conducted with the aim of informing architectural and urban planning practice, to design living and working spaces to better fit human needs and feelings, and to avoid behavioral sink . In particular, Hall emphasized the need for individuals to be allocated enough personal space for comfort, and

3920-410: The psychologist Robert Sommer , one method of dealing with violated personal space is dehumanization . He argues that on the subway, crowded people often imagine those intruding on their personal space as inanimate. Behavior is another method: a person attempting to talk to someone can often cause situations where one person steps forward to enter what they perceive as a conversational distance, and

3990-530: The results suggest that, in virtual environments, people were influenced by the 3D model and respected personal space of the humanoid representation. The result of the experiment also indicated that women are more affected by the gaze behaviors of the agent and adjust their personal space more accordingly than do men. However, men do subjectively assign gaze behavior to the agent, and their proxemic behavior reflects this perception. Furthermore, both men and women demonstrate less variance in their proxemic behavior when

4060-619: The social effects of the change, including long-term changes in levels of interpersonal trust. It has been suggested that the pandemic has made people adverse to hugs or handshakes, less trusting, and more transactional, as a long-term cultural change. In an article in Psychology Today , author Jane Adams discussed "boundary style" as the way people behave when they come in contact with others. "Some changes in how we interact with others may be temporary while others could be long-lasting," she says. Frotteurism Frotteurism

4130-471: The sound and pitch of a person's voice. Social distance between people is reliably correlated with physical distance, as are intimate and personal distance, according to the delineations below. Hall did not mean for these measurements to be strict guidelines that translate precisely to human behavior, but rather a system for gauging the effect of distance on communication and how the effect varies between cultures and other environmental factors. Hall described

4200-442: The space within public distance is called public space . Personal space is the region surrounding a person which they regard as psychologically theirs. Most people value their personal space and feel discomfort, anger, or anxiety when their personal space is encroached. Permitting a person to enter personal space and entering somebody else's personal space are indicators of perception of those people's relationship. An intimate zone

4270-427: The tactile stage of human courtship. The prevalence of frotteurism is unknown. The DSM estimates that 10–14% of men seen in clinical settings for paraphilias or hypersexuality have frotteuristic disorder, indicating that the population prevalence is lower. However, frotteuristic acts, as opposed to frotteuristic disorder, may occur in up to 30% of men in the general population. The majority of frotteurs are male and

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4340-417: The therapist (see active listening ). Instructional situations have likewise seen increased success in student performance by lessening the actual or perceived distance between the student and the educator (perceived distance is manipulated in the case of instructional videoconferencing , using technological tricks such as angling the frame and adjusting the zoom). Studies have shown that proxemic behavior

4410-426: The two of them spend grooming with each other. A more plausible interpretation is that grooming provides the psychological underpinning for an individual's willingness to offer subsequent support. It does this not by offering a direct exchange of benefits, but rather by creating the psychological environment that allows support to be traded mutually. Proxemics Proxemics is the study of human use of space and

4480-448: The use of new communication technologies. The importance of physical proximity in co-workers is often emphasized. Proxemics is an essential component of cinematic mise-en-scène , the placement of characters, props and scenery within a frame, creating visual weight and movement. There are two aspects to the consideration of proxemics in this context, the first being character proxemics , which addresses such questions as: How much space

4550-537: The victim's path. Some psychologists consider toucherism a manifestation of frotteurism, while others distinguish the two. In clinical medicine, treatment of frotteuristic disorder involves cognitive behavioral therapy coupled with the administration of an SSRI . Frotteuristic acts were probably first interpreted as signs of a psychological disorder by French psychiatrist Valentin Magnan , who described three acts of " frottage " in an 1890 study. "Frottage" derives from

4620-527: The virtual world of Second Life . Other studies demonstrate that implicit behavioral measures such as body posture can be a reliable measure of the user's sense of presence in virtual environments . Similarly, personal space may be a more reliable measure of social presence than a typical ratings survey in immersive virtual environments. Proxemic zones have been proposed as tools to control interactions between autonomous robots and humans, such as between self-driving cars and pedestrians. Robot navigation

4690-522: The ways people connect in space. These variations in positioning are impacted by a variety of nonverbal communicative factors, listed below. Whereas Hall's work uses human interactions to demonstrate spatial variation in proxemics, the field of neuropsychology describes personal space in terms of the kinds of "nearness" to an individual body. Previc further subdivides extrapersonal space into focal-extrapersonal space, action-extrapersonal space, and ambient-extrapersonal space. Focal-extrapersonal space

4760-1067: The word "skinship" in English publications seems to focus on the notion of sharing a bath naked, an idea known in Japanese as "naked association" ( 裸の付き合い , hadaka no tsukiai ) . It is not clear why the meaning shifted to the parent–child relationship when borrowed back into English. This word is also used in South Korea . The term is now described in Oxford English Dictionary as a part of Korea-related update in 2021. Some animals participate in behaviors similar to physical affection in humans. Called social grooming or allo-grooming, these behaviors are less common outside of primates, while other species do perform these behaviors, primates seem to spend much more time doing this compared to other animals. Some species devote as much as 20% of their day to grooming behaviors, much of which

4830-712: The zone sizes are generated by the potential kinematics of the two agents, and their abilities to cause or avoid contact with one another. Such models also suggest that the zone sizes and shapes should change according to the sizes and speeds of the agents. While personal space describes the immediate space surrounding a person, territory refers to the area which a person may "lay claim to" and defend against others. There are four forms of human territory in proxemic theory. They are: These different levels of territory, in addition to factors involving personal space, suggest ways for us to communicate and produce expectations of appropriate behavior. In addition to spatial territories,

4900-482: Was taken from a term coined by an American woman at a WHO seminar held in 1953. The earliest citation of this word appears in Nihon Kokugo Daijiten in 1971. According to Scott Clark, author of a study of Japanese bathing culture , the word is a portmanteau combining "skin" with the last syllable of "friendship". The similarity with the English word ' kinship ' suggests a further explanation. Use of

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