Generalization of the modulatory effect of social interaction on personal space

Abstract

Introduction: Personal space (PS) is a safe area around an individual's body that affects spatial distance when socially interacting with others. Previous studies have shown that social interaction may modulate PS. However, these findings are often confounded by the effects of familiarization. Furthermore, whether the potential regulatory effects of social interaction on PS can be generalized from interacting confederates to strangers remains unclear.

Methods: To answer these questions, we enrolled 115 participants in a carefully designed experiment.

Results: We found that prosocial interaction in the form of a cooperative task effectively reduced PS, and this regulatory effect could be generalized from interacting confederates to non-interacting confederates.

Discussion: These findings deepen our understanding of PS regulation and may be aid in the diagnosis and rehabilitation of dysfunctional social behaviors.

Keywords: generalization; healthy participants; modulatory effect; personal space; social interaction.

FIGURE 1

Schematic of computerized stop-distance. Moving face stimuli of four confederates in approaching and withdrawing directions were displayed. Participants pressed the space key to stop the movement of the image at their preferred distance.

FIGURE 2

Experimental results of modulatory effects of social interaction on PS. (A) Change rate of PS in Control and Cooperative groups. (B,C) Change rates of PS in Cooperative group as a function of confederate type. Error bars indicate standard errors of the mean. For ANOVA: *p < 0.05. For one-sample t-test (two-tailed): black ^#p < 0.05, ^##p < 0.01 Holm-Bonferroni corrected; red ^#p < 0.05 uncorrected.

FIGURE 3

Modulatory effect of social interaction on PS and its generalization in male and female participants. (A) Change rate of PS in Control and Cooperative groups. (B,C) Change rates of PS in Cooperative group as a function of confederate type. Error bars indicate standard errors of the mean. For ANOVA: *p < 0.05. For one-sample t-test (two-tailed): black ^#p < 0.05 Holm-Bonferroni corrected; red ^#p < 0.05 uncorrected.