Personal Space

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Goldstein Productions
The following presentation has been rated
PG-13/18 Some scenes may be too intense for
children under 13 and too gross for adults over 18
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Personal Space Invasions in the
LavatorySuggestive Evidence for Arousal

• R. Dennis Middlemist, Eric S. Knowles Charles
  F. Matter

Journal of Personality Social Psychology 1976,
33, 541-546
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How do people respond to invasions of personal
space?

• Previous research suggests that people
• Move away from others and reestablish personal
  space boundaries.
• Engage in compensatory behaviors that minimize
  the closeness.
• Try to avoid such invasions and often engage in
  verbal apologies if they invade the space of
  others.

I'm sorry!
Excuse me!
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But why do we respond in these ways????
Hypothesis
Emotional arousal
Most common explanation
Invasions of personal space are interpersonally
stressful, increasing arousal and discomfort,
and that it is this arousal that produces the
behavioral responses (Middlemist et al, 1976, p.
542)
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But there is little scientific evidence that
arousal is the underlying variable leading to
these behaviors.
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One laboratory study (McBride, King James,
1965) suggests that people sweat more when
approached by others,but could this be due to
artifacts of thelaboratory situation?
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Middlemist and his colleagues wondered Is
there a setting where they could measure
personal space invasion and arousal in the
natural environment?
Yes!!!
Welcome to the Mens Room
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Why would a mens lavatory makes a good
research setting for studying personal space
invasion?? under crowded conditions,
men stand shoulder to shoulder (at
urinals), coactively engaging in private
elimination.
personal space intrusions in the lavatory are
minimally confounded by compensatory responses,
that is, its hard to move away, change body
orientation, use hands and arms as an
interpersonal buffer, reduce eye contact, etc.
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So what does micturating (the fancy name for
peeing) have to do with arousal?
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• Urination involves coordination between 2 sets of
  muscles
• the sphinctor muscles of the detrusor
  muscles of the
• the urethra relax, allowing bladder
  contract, forcing urine
• the urine to flow out of the
  bladder

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A male intent on micturating who is subjected to
stress would show

• a delay in onset of urination and,
• a shortened duration of urination.

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The Study
60 male subjects were assigned to one of 3
conditions close distance moderate
distance control condition (alone)
The entire study was done without the knowledge
and/or consent of the subjects.
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Close Distance Condition
Confederate 2
Subject Confederate 1
Dont use, Washing urinal
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Moderate Distance Condition
Confederate 2
Subject Confederate 1
Dont use, Washing urinal
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Control Condition
Confederate 2
Subject
Dont use, Washing urinals
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Confederate 2s task
Start 2 stopwatches when subject walked up to the
urinal
Confederate 2

Stop watch 1 when subject began
urinating (measures delay of onset)
Stop watch 2 when subject finished
urinating (measures duration of urination)
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Research Hypotheses

• Decreases in interpersonal distance
• would lead to increases in the delay of
• onset of urination and decreases in the
• persistence of urination.

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(No Transcript)
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Statistical Analyses

• Delay of urination
• Delay was significantly longer in the close
• distance vs. the moderate distance
  condition.
• Delay was significantly longer in the
  confederate
• present vs. the confederate absent
  (control)
• condition.
• Persistence
• Persistence was significantly shorter in the
  close
• distance vs. the moderate distance
  condition.
• Persistence was significantly shorter in the
• confederate present vs. the confederate
  absent
• (control) condition.

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Conclusions

• The results support the hypotheses that decreases
  in
• interpersonal distance would lead to increases
  in the
• delay of onset of urination and decreases in
  the
• persistence of urination.
• This supports the contention that it is the
  arousal
• caused by interpersonal closeness that leads to
• a variety of behaviors intended to reduce that
• arousal.

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Implications

• Supports the importance of arousal as a factor
  in
• stimulating compensatory behaviors following
• personal space invasion.
• Touched off a firestorm of controversy regarding
• ethical issues in psychological research, in
  particular,
• the importance of informed consent on the
  part of
• participants.

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Application to Personal Experience

• This study is consistent with my personal
  experience
• It is harder to urinate when there are lots
  of people
• close by.

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Possible Essay Questions
this slide would not normally be part of a
presentation

• How do people typically respond to invasions of
  their personal apace? What do they do when they
  invade the space of others?
• How does this study support the notion that the
  invasion of personal space increases arousal?

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The End