The Psychology of Spatial Proxemics
Abstract Spatial proxemics is the study of how people use personal space. It was first conceptualized by anthropologist Edward T. Hall. Hall defined proxemics as “ the interrelated observations and theories of man’s use of space as a specialized elaboration of culture ”. This interdisciplinary field examines the psychological mechanisms by which individuals regulate distance in social interactions and how these norms vary culturally. Proxemic distances all, intimate, personal, social, public, have been quantified e.g. Hall’s zones range roughly from 0–0.46m for intimate to >3.7m for public . Contemporary research links these spatial behaviors to neural circuitry like, amygdala responses to personal distance, emotional states like social anxiety drives greater distance, and life-span development like preferred distances shrink with age. Cultural comparisons ( Sorokowska et al., 2017 ) reveal wide variation: for example, women and older individuals...
