Don’t Stand So Close To Me

Give Me Fifty Feet … or Maybe Just Six?

Although it is common to find interest in cultures different than one’s own, one infrequently discussed aspect of cultural differences is non-verbal communication, and specifically how culture determines what is deemed adequate in interpersonal spacing. The issue may be front and center these days, but I experienced this phenomenon firsthand a little earlier.

It was the beginning of my second term studying Portuguese, and my Brazilian professor comes over and lightly grasps my hands, which were right in front of my face while calling me “querida.” My world stopped moving for a what felt like too long although it was no more than thirty seconds. The entire class stopped talking and turned to look at my face. Most of them had been in class with me the previous semester, so they were familiar to my slight aversion to touch. Although I knew she meant me absolutely no harm, I couldn’t help but feel violated. Later I would learn:

Hispanics desire for closeness is more than the content of verbal exchange, it also has to do with physical space. When interacting with others, Hispanics prefer being closer to each other in space than non-Hispanic whites do. Overall, Hispanics tend to be highly attuned to non-verbal messages and may perceive physical distance as uninterested and detached. See Agnieszka Sorokowska et al, Preferred Interpersonal Distances: A Global Perspective, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology (2017)

At the time, however, I was surprised. This was not a factor I had taken into consideration while selecting a language: personal space, or in this case the lack thereof. But I would soon learn about proxemics.

Proxemics, or the unspoken rules of personal space, can best be defined as “how personal space is maintained as a function of one’s culture. See Roger Kreuz & Richard Roberts, Proxemics 101: Understanding Personal Space Across Cultures, MIT Press Reader (2019).

In 1966, Anthropologist Eric Hall defined four kinds of spacing or distance: (1) Intimate Space, with a radius of a few inches; (2) Personal Space, with a radius of about an arm’s length; (3) Social Space, with a radius of approximately six feet; and (4) Public Space, with a radius of anything beyond that

As part of his research, Hall conducted an experiment to gauge whether personal spacing was a product of individual identity or something greater. He found that though there are anomalies or outliers, there are general trends when it comes to spacing that differ with cultural identity. For example:

In the Middle East, social distance is closer than it is in the United States, so as you back up, your conversational partner may attempt to close the gap once again. See Kreuz & Roberts, Proxemics 101.

Cultures such as those found in the middle east may be comfortable with a closer social distance than their western counterparts.

Similarly, the 2017 study on Preferred Interpersonal Differences: A Global Comparison consisted of 8,943 interviewees from 42 different countries, and examined how close they could get to another person while still feeling comfortable. Romania showed the largest definition of personal space, feeling comfortable with strangers at a distance of nearly twice that of their Argentinian counterparts. See Gavin Hanes, Revealed: The nationalities most likely to invade your personal space, The Telegraph (2017).

Of course, invasion of personal space is addressed in a similarly culturally-informed manner:

In Mongolia, when two people inadvertently bump each other (such as kicking someone’s leg under a table), they must immediately shake hands, which in a sense reestablishes the correct personal distance. But when someone bumps into you on a crowded sidewalk in Ulaanbaatar, should you shake his hand or tighten your grip on your purse? See Kreuz & Roberts, Proxemics 101.

(For those who were wondering, Ulaanbaatar is the capital of Mongolia.)

This does not mean that any particular culture is right or wrong. It is simply a matter cultural preference with a personal execution. The encounter with my Portuguese professor, the Middle Eastern conversational movement, a street bump in Ulaanbaatar, are examples of possible cross-cultural miscommunication. It is a frequent occurrence and potential source of misunderstanding that can mitigated with education and awareness.

Finally, while a cultural frame of reference has a large impact, mood, gender, population density, and natural climate can play a part as well. The most recent example of how other factors can alter and overpower cultural norms on distancing is the COVID-19 pandemic. Regardless of what cultural norms have dictated, governments and medical entities have mandated, for the time, what is and is not acceptable. But eventually those mandates will fade, and when that happens, keeping an eye on proxemics will help us all move a little closer to cultural understanding.

Insight from International Business Major Sydney Samuel, who plans to bring her international perspective to law school in the near future.