Areas of communication in psychology: intimate, personal and others

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”.

The size of personal space directly depends on several factors

Place of residence

Where population density is lower (for example, in villages) it increases

And the space that a person is accustomed to consider personal. Residents of megacities, on the contrary, define their intimate zone as a distance of no more than 20-30 cm.

Position in society

Big bosses, prominent politicians, famous businessmen and artists, as a rule, have wider boundaries of personal space.

Personal features

The more fears and phobias a person has, the higher the degree of anxiety and the wider the “air cap”

In society, it is customary to respect the boundaries of personal space.

Therefore, you should not put your hand on the shoulder or touch the palm of an unfamiliar person - you will cause hostility.
Don't sit too close to your boss when he calls you into his office - this will irritate him.

Parents should learn to refrain from hugs and kisses if the child, growing up and aware of the boundaries of personal space, wrinkles his nose and rejects hugs.
If, on the contrary, for some reason you need to “hook” another person, for example, to stir up a self-absorbed colleague, touch him. But the gesture should not be aggressive.

Example:

Dr. Sommer, professor of psychology, described an interesting experiment he conducted in the hospital. He put on a white doctor’s coat and violated the patients’ personal space: he sat next to them, entered their rooms, and sat down near visitors.

These intrusions disturbed patients and forced them to leave their places.

You can easily conduct a similar experiment.

To do this, it is enough to approach any person (preferably a stranger) closer than arm's length. And watch his reaction.

As a rule, a person immediately tries to move away.

The intonation and pace of his speech changes.

Based on materials from the journal “Psychology and Self”

I would like to add a few more words,

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 only implies 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 contacting 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.

Spatial arrangement

Next we will talk about the spatial arrangement of communication participants at the table, because It is at this table that in many situations the interlocutors sit, both during business and friendly communication. Proxemics studies this issue very carefully, and experts identify four main positions occupied by participants in communication:

Corner location . With this arrangement, the interlocutors sit diagonally; they are separated by the diagonal of the table. You can almost always notice that good acquaintances, friends or relatives sit this way when communicating. This position is good because the interlocutors can see each other and record all non-verbal manifestations of partners - gestures, facial expressions, pantomime (here it is appropriate to talk about the joint use of concepts: prokesmics-kinesics). The corners of the table play the role of a kind of dividing barrier, thanks to which psychological comfort is created for people. It is also interesting that with a corner arrangement, the table is never divided by people into “their” zones.
Business communication position . The second type of location is more suitable for business meetings. The interlocutors occupy one side of the table, i.e. sitting next to each other. This not only allows, for example, to view documents and other materials together, but also promotes more confidential communication, which does not have a positive effect on the entire process of interaction between people. By the way, during group meetings, people often sit on one side of the table working on the same project, performing common tasks and/or sympathizing with each other.
Competitive-defensive position . The classic arrangement is when the interlocutors take seats opposite each other on opposite sides of the table. This option is typical for opponents with opposing views on the problem under consideration, and in most cases corresponds to business negotiations. People in a competitive-defensive position are separated by a table, which makes communication formal. There is no need to talk about ease and trust here, and if you need to come to a compromise, it is better to choose a different location, for example, a corner one.
Independent position . Another frequently encountered position. Corresponds to situations where people are not interested in communicating with each other. People simply sit at a respectful distance from each other. If it is a table, then on different edges of the table, if it is a bench, then on different edges of the bench, etc. Each of us can see people in an independent position in parks, at bus stops, in libraries or restaurants (we are, of course, talking about people who do not know each other).

Of course, in one article it is unlikely that it will be possible to consider all the interesting things offered by proxemics, but from the above we can conclude that this direction of psychological science is very useful in everyday life. By understanding the intricacies of spatial relationships, we can understand the personality traits of other people and find the right approach to each of them, as well as simplify communication and make it more productive.

If you want to understand this topic in more detail, we recommend reading books on proxemics. Among such books are:

Edward Hall "The Silent Language";
Julius Fast, Body Language. The ABC of Human Behavior";
Alan Pease "Body Language";
Yu. I. Filimonenko “Attitude to space as a function of the subconscious.”

And to conclude the article, we present some interesting data about intercultural differences among people from the perspective of proxemics. This information may also be useful to many.

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 - 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.

The concept of personal territory as the air space around a person

As scientists have discovered, the air space around a person is also his property, and attempts by others to encroach on it will cause certain negative reactions. It is this type of personal territory that is important for the verifier.

Any animal has a spatial air zone near its body and considers it its own. The size of such a zone is largely determined by the dense population of the area. For example, a pride of lions can have a territory that extends 30 miles or more. Accordingly, the air “property” of its members will be great. In contrast, a lion living in a zoo cage does not have a large personal area, which in the worst case is several feet.

A person’s air “property” also directly depends on how heavily populated his or her habitat is. The social factor, like the national one, is decisive for a person’s air boundaries. For example, the Japanese, accustomed to crowding in a small area, are more tolerant of violations of their personal boundaries, while peoples living in vast natural spaces tend to maintain an increased distance. The golden mean applies to the population of Western countries.

It is worth noting that such a circumstance as a person’s social position also directly affects the distance he maintains.

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 the shoulders and retracting the neck, closing the eyes, looking to the side, fidgeting in place, crossing one's 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, when congratulating , it is permissible to violate the intimate distance between those people who usually stay in a personal zone when communicating.

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 some distance.

This is due to mental attitudes that a man should be bigger, larger than a female representative - therefore tall women increase their personal zone 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 when 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.

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Man has always been and remains a social being, and it is absolutely impossible to live in this world without communication with other people around him (we do not consider individual cases of asceticism and “renunciation of the world,” which are the exception rather than the norm). However, each of us has a very special and carefully guarded personal physical space. Depending on the comfort of the relationship, we can increase it with some people and decrease it with others. Spatial relationships between people are a topic that has been of interest to psychologists around the world for a very long time. A separate area of psychological science, proxemics, is even devoted to the study of these relationships. In this article we will tell you what it is, what it studies in the context of psychology, what features it has, and how knowledge about it is useful for any of us. The Origin of Proxemics One of the first people to begin studying spatial relationships was the American scientist - anthropologist and psychologist Edward Hall. According to him, any person strives to have his own personal physical space, as well as organize it independently. In fact, this is a natural biological need of humans. As a result of long and fruitful scientific research, in 1969 Edward Hall wrote the book “The Silent Language,” where he outlined in detail the answers to the main questions on the topic of spatial relationships. In addition, the scientist introduced the concept of “proxemics” into use, which meant the physical distance maintained by people during communication. This is how the field of psychology emerged, dedicated to the study of the spatial conditions of human communication. It is also important to note that today there are other directions that explore the nuances of nonverbal communication. These include kinesics, which studies pantomime, facial expressions and gestures of people, and takesika, which focuses on non-verbal communication between people through touch. By the way, one can often observe the joint use of these terms, for example, kinesics-proxemics and takesics-proxemics, although this is not entirely correct, and it would be more correct to consider proxemics an independent direction. The main postulate of proxemics is the following idea: all human movements in the process of interaction with other people are not random, but are determined by the attitude of people to each other and their belonging to a particular culture. A person considers the space closest to himself to be his personal territory, and if someone invades it, he may react aggressively. That is why the practical benefits of proxemics are expressed in the ability to correctly choose the distance for communication and take into account the relative position with the interlocutors. To systematize information about this, Edward Hall divided the space surrounding a person into four zones. Next we will look at each of them, but first we invite you to watch an interesting video about what reaction a sudden invasion of their personal space causes in people. Spatial Zones Hall identified four zones (sometimes called distances) that people observe when communicating:

•intimate area;
•personal area;
•social zone;
•public area.

These zones can be schematically represented as follows:

Intimate zone It is most convenient to imagine the intimate zone in the form of an imaginary bubble with a radius of about half a meter. There is a person in this bubble. If someone else is in this area, physical contact is expected, for example, touching, stroking, hugging, etc. (Here it is appropriate to use two terms: proxemics-takesika). The intimate zone is observed by a person only when communicating with the closest people - relatives, family members or very close friends. Interestingly, the closer people are to each other in terms of relationships, the smaller the distance between them. Each of us has examples of this - just remember how we strive to close the distance with our loved ones. The intimate zone gives people the opportunity to touch each other. If a person is not sociable enough, he will strive to expand the intimate zone, in particular when communicating with strangers. Such a person may avoid public transport or crowded places where people are in close physical contact with each other. If a person is aggressive, he can also increase the intimate area, and he will do this unconsciously. For example, he can stand with his legs wide apart, wave his arms while talking, or sit imposingly on the sofa with his arms outstretched to the sides. If someone suddenly invades “his” space, he may become aggressive and angry. Here are more examples: people who sympathize with each other will be located closer to each other; a person who dislikes his interlocutor will move further away from him; The distance between spouses with relationship problems will always increase. Remember different situations from your life, and you yourself will be able to find confirmation of these words, and this applies to both personal and business communication. And some more practical information useful in life. Under normal conditions, you should not be too close to a person, otherwise you can provoke a conflict (the video presented above illustrates this perfectly). When a stranger invades the intimate area of one person, the first person’s body will release stress hormones, causing mental mobilization aimed at repelling aggression. This self-defense mechanism is inherent in us by nature. Despite this, today's life often forces us to be in close contact with others. We all travel in the subway and elevators, stand in lines and jostle in the crowd. This is where certain compensating mechanisms were born - unspoken norms of behavior that are recommended to be followed. If you don’t want trouble (or you’re just thinking about others and don’t want to make them feel uncomfortable), you shouldn’t talk loudly on the phone (or in general), while being close to someone, without taking your eyes off looking at strangers, etc. Following these simple rules can make your life and the lives of those you encounter more comfortable.

Personal zone The personal zone is a space for friendly and business communication. The distance in this case can be from half a meter to 1 meter 20 centimeters, i.e. there is near and far personal distance. In the first case, relatives and friends are allowed into the personal area, and in the second - business partners, colleagues, etc. The personal zone differs in that, as a rule, there is no physical contact. It can also be called the “zone of sympathy”, and here, as in the first case, sympathy affects the distance - the more people like each other, the less distance between them. It is also interesting that the size of the “sympathy zone” can vary dramatically among different people, depending on their personal characteristics. For example, sociable people, optimists and extroverts reduce their personal distance, while closed, complex or insecure people, “negatives” and introverts will increase this distance. In some cases, a wide personal zone creates the illusion of security for a person. In addition, personal distance may also depend on age factors. You probably yourself have noticed that children and older people strive to be physically closer to those with whom they communicate, while young people and middle-aged people, on the contrary, feel more comfortable when located further away from their interlocutor. Proxemics explains this (in psychology) by how confident and protected a person feels.

Social zone As you might expect, the boundaries of the social zone are even wider - they range from 1.2 to 3.7 meters. Business communication almost always corresponds to these limits. By the way, the phrase “sit down at the negotiating table” also has an interesting interpretation from the position of proxemics: the table is an indispensable component of negotiations, and its size corresponds to the social zone. The same applies to the shape of the table and how the interlocutors are located at it. Note that the location of the interlocutors at the table itself divides the space into personal segments. As a rule, the border is always located in the center of the table, and a person perceives the part up to the border on “his” side as personal (sometimes even intimate) territory. And if someone suddenly puts something on someone else's half, it can become an invasion of a personal (or intimate) area and cause a negative response. And again, a little bit of practice. For a boss-subordinate conversation, psychologists advise choosing rectangular or square tables and placing chairs opposite each other. In this case, it is necessary that the boss’s chair has a higher back and is generally more massive. This creates a certain mood, because the boss seems to “rise” over the subordinate, and the latter already initially feels “weaker”. In the case of business negotiations or any other communication, for example, for a meeting of a large group of friends, it is worth using an oval or round table without sharp corners and the same chairs for everyone. In this situation, all communication participants will feel in the same position. And a little more about psychological comfort. Take note that whenever there is some movement behind a sitting person (for example, someone is constantly walking, a door is constantly opening/closing, the noise of cars outside the window is heard, etc.), he is in a stressful situation . This can affect the state of the interlocutor and communication in general. Therefore, if you want your partner to be comfortable, if possible, sit him with his back to the wall or to a part of the room where nothing is happening. Let us note one more feature: social distance offers a knowledgeable person an important advantage - if he does not want to communicate with his interlocutor, is tired or is simply not interested, he can look away from his partner without harm, and this will not be perceived as something tactless.

Public zone The public zone is familiar first hand to teachers, lecturers, speakers and all those who have to speak in public, because it is intended specifically for communication with the audience. The size of this zone varies from 3.7 to almost 8 meters, and this is exactly the distance at which in most cases the speaker is located in front of spectators or listeners. A public area is a means of communication that allows information to be conveyed to a group without the use of aids such as projectors, loudspeakers or microphones. And this applies not only to verbal, but also to a significant part of non-verbal information. However, one point needs to be taken into account here - if the room is small, then you should be located at the minimum distance from the audience for a public area, and if it is large, then the distance should be increased. These are the four zones that proxemics defines. Communication is a real art, and psychological science makes it possible to use things to master it that we often don’t even think about. You, of course, noticed that certain attention is paid in proxemics to the location of interlocutors in space, and not just the distance between them. And here, too, there are several important features that are important and need to be taken into account when communicating.

Spatial arrangement

The orientation of interlocutors in the communication process plays an important role. Any business coach and negotiation specialist will tell you that the atmosphere in an office or classroom (or any other room in general) most directly affects the success of communication. For it to be constructive and give positive results, you need to be able to position your interlocutors in a special way that promotes the right psychological mood. Next we will talk about the spatial arrangement of communication participants at the table, because It is at this table that in many situations the interlocutors sit, both during business and friendly communication. Proxemics studies this issue very carefully, and experts identify four main positions occupied by participants in communication:

•Corner location. With this arrangement, the interlocutors sit diagonally; they are separated by the diagonal of the table. You can almost always notice that good acquaintances, friends or relatives sit this way when communicating. This position is good because the interlocutors can see each other and record all non-verbal manifestations of partners - gestures, facial expressions, pantomime (here it is appropriate to talk about the joint use of concepts: prokesmics-kinesics). The corners of the table play the role of a kind of dividing barrier, thanks to which psychological comfort is created for people. It is also interesting that with a corner arrangement, the table is never divided by people into “their” zones.
•Business communication position. The second type of location is more suitable for business meetings. The interlocutors occupy one side of the table, i.e. sitting next to each other. This not only allows, for example, to view documents and other materials together, but also promotes more confidential communication, which does not have a positive effect on the entire process of interaction between people. By the way, during group meetings, people often sit on one side of the table working on the same project, performing common tasks and/or sympathizing with each other.
•Competitive and defensive position. The classic arrangement is when the interlocutors take seats opposite each other on opposite sides of the table. This option is typical for opponents with opposing views on the problem under consideration, and in most cases corresponds to business negotiations. People in a competitive-defensive position are separated by a table, which makes communication formal. There is no need to talk about ease and trust here, and if you need to come to a compromise, it is better to choose a different location, for example, a corner one.
•Independent position. Another frequently encountered position. Corresponds to situations where people are not interested in communicating with each other. People simply sit at a respectful distance from each other. If it is a table, then on different edges of the table, if it is a bench, then on different edges of the bench, etc. Each of us can see people in an independent position in parks, at bus stops, in libraries or restaurants (we are, of course, talking about people who do not know each other).

Personal zones in different cultures In his research, Edward Hall, as befits a professional cultural scientist, paid great attention to intercultural differences and analyzed different cultures. In the course of studying the spatial perception of representatives of different nations, Hall identified several features that are worth paying attention to for anyone interested in the topic of proxemics in general and the topic of improving relationships with others in particular. Here are a few observations:

•representatives of Western culture focus not on the space between objects, but on the objects themselves;

•Japanese people are more receptive to in-between spaces, i.e. to the intervals between people and objects;

•North Americans and Europeans prefer to furnish rooms along the walls and separate them with baseboards and edgings;

•The Chinese and Japanese love sliding walls, because... this allows them to use the same spaces for different purposes;

•Arabs, when touching their interlocutor, strive to express sympathy, while the Japanese perceive such gestures negatively;

•residents of many Arab countries, the Mediterranean and Latin America have smaller spatial bubble sizes than residents of Western Europe, Australia and North America;

•in Brazil it is quite common to talk in a personal and intimate area, which causes considerable discomfort, for example, to visiting Americans or Western Europeans;

•social distance of the CIS is less than that of Americans, but greater than that of Latin Americans.

National characteristics have a huge impact on people's communication, and they should always be taken into account. It is precisely because of ignorance of the intricacies of spatial perception that misunderstandings and conflicts can often occur between people. The same Japanese person, who was touched by an Arab while expressing good attitude, will be discouraged by his “unceremoniousness,” and the Arab will perceive the Japanese’s distance as arrogance. A Russian or Brazilian can put an American in an awkward position by constantly closing the distance, because this is how he is used to communicating in his country, and an American will seem to a Russian or Brazilian to be a suspicious type who avoids people, but in the USA it is simply customary to be located at a greater distance from a communication partner . There are many such examples, and they all indicate that we must respect other people’s spatial norms, because the same communication means can be perceived differently even by people in the same country, not to mention different cultures. Proxemics can be a wonderful tool and means of communication, and by and large, anyone can easily acquire knowledge of spatial relationships. You just need to set a goal, communicate wisely and always remember that everyone deserves to be treated with respect. Good luck in improving your communication skills, and some communication tips from psychologist Evgeniy Zakharov.