Proxemics

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Proxemics

• The Semiotics of Space

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Edward T. Hall

• Hall coined the term in 1963
• Proxemics is the study of the codes that define
  space and territory in human social relations
• Distance between individuals, territoriality,
  intimacy gradients, public versus private spaces,
  sacred places, and so on come under the rubric of
  proxemics

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Proxemes

• Intimate 0 - 18 inches
• Emotionally charged bubble reserved for family,
  friends, lovers
• Personal 1.5 - 4 feet
• Minimum comfort zone between non-touching
  individuals within reach for handshakes
  informal distance between friends
• Social 4 12 feet
• Non-threatening, non-involving for formal
  discourse and business minimum distance within
  which one can go about their business without
  seeming rude to others
• Public 12 feet and beyond
• Evasive or defensive action possible at this
  distance communication at this distance highly
  structured, e.g., lecture, performance

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Proxemics and Culture

• Of course, these codes depend on culture and
  history.
• In North American culture over the last hundred
  years, there has been both a decrease in the size
  of the intimate and personal proxeme and an
  expansion in the social and personal proxeme.
• In other words, in many cases people demand much
  more space between themselves and non-intimates
  while simultaneously requiring less distance
  between friends, family members, and other
  intimates.

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Botticelli, Sandro The Cestello Annunciationc.
1489 Tempera on panel 150 x 156 cm Uffizi,
Florence
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Van Eyck, Jan The Annunciation c. 1435 Oil on
canvas93 x 37 cmNational Gallery of Art,
Washington
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John Singleton Copley Colonel William Fitch and
His Sisters Sarah and Ann Fitch, 1800/1801
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Touch

• Touch is another feature of proxemic analysis.
• In Western culture touch is kept at a minimum in
  public places.
• Mothers tend to touch their sons more on their
  chest and shoulders, their daughters on the arms
  and head.
• In Japanese culture there is a great deal of
  tactile communication in childhood but little
  after adolescence.

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William Eggleston. Sumner, Mississippi, Cassidy
Bayou in the background. 1969-70.
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You be the expert!

• What proxemic codes govern
• A handshake between a man and a woman?
• Between a man and a man?
• A party at an undergraduates apartment?
• A party at your grandparents?
• A first meeting with a prospective employer?
• A solitary study session at a big table in the
  library?

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The Gaze

• Related to proxemics in that the gaze also has
  implications for emotional distance and intimacy.
• Frequency, duration, and direction of gaze has
  social consequences.
• Phatic function for initiation and maintenance
  of communication.
• Looking away signals a desire to keep speaking.
• Staring indicates a desire for the other to take
  a turn.

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The Gaze cont

• Expressive function the eyes (more correctly,
  the muscles and tissue around the eyes) can
  signal emotion.
• Conative function When the message is focused on
  the receiver, the gaze of the sender can indicate
  levels of intimacy, hostility, and so on, e.g.,
  if looks could kill .
• Can also register disdain, aloofness, or low
  solidarity towards the receiver if the gaze is
  withdrawn.

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