WEBVTT - Defining Personal Space

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>it's Christian Seger here. If you like to stand close

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<v Speaker 1>to folks when you talk to them, you'll love Argentina.

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<v Speaker 1>The South American country is filled with close talkers, people

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<v Speaker 1>who stand two point five feet or point seven six

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<v Speaker 1>meters away from strangers when they're chatting. But if you

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<v Speaker 1>prefer more personal space, make your way to Romania instead.

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<v Speaker 1>Their residents like to stand a spacious four point five

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<v Speaker 1>feet or one point four meters away from strangers. This

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<v Speaker 1>info on personal bubbles comes from a study of preferred

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<v Speaker 1>interpersonal distances recently published in the Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology.

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<v Speaker 1>While this issue of personal space in different countries has

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<v Speaker 1>been examined before, the authors of this study used a

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<v Speaker 1>much larger data set than was used in previous studies,

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<v Speaker 1>nearly nine thousand people living in forty two countries. Participants

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<v Speaker 1>were shown a picture with two figures representing two people

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<v Speaker 1>and a line with some distances marked off in between them.

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<v Speaker 1>The subjects were asked how close should the two figures

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<v Speaker 1>stand together if they are strangers versus close friends, versus

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<v Speaker 1>colleagues or acquaintances. The subjects were to assume they were

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<v Speaker 1>one of the two figures. The scientists found that residents

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<v Speaker 1>of Argentina, Peru, and Bulgaria stand the closest to strangers,

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<v Speaker 1>while those from Romania, Hungary, and Saudi Arabia want the

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<v Speaker 1>most space. Americans were somewhere in the middle. The researchers

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<v Speaker 1>also studied the personal bubbles we draw between ourselves and

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<v Speaker 1>family and friends. We're all fine with our family and

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<v Speaker 1>friends standing closer to us than strangers, no surprise there,

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<v Speaker 1>and our general bubble size with our friends stays consistent.

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<v Speaker 1>That is, if we like more personal space, will keep

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<v Speaker 1>our friends farther away than those who are fine with

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<v Speaker 1>less personal space. But intriguingly, things change when it comes

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<v Speaker 1>to close friends or loved ones. The Romanians, who like

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of personal space between themselves and both strangers

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<v Speaker 1>and colleagues, like their intimate relations to be fairly close

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<v Speaker 1>to them about one point five feet or point four

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<v Speaker 1>five meters. That is closer than almost any other group

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<v Speaker 1>studied in the Norwegians, whose preference for stranger distance is

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<v Speaker 1>somewhere in the middle of the forty two countries studied,

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<v Speaker 1>want their close friends to be closer to them than

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<v Speaker 1>any other group about one point three feet or point

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<v Speaker 1>four meters. Scientists say it appears temperature has something to

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<v Speaker 1>do with personal space. Those living in colder climates often

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<v Speaker 1>prefer to be quite near to their friends, perhaps as

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<v Speaker 1>a way to stay warm, and those residing in warm

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<v Speaker 1>climates often stand closer to strangers. At least one past

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<v Speaker 1>study showed when it's warm, people move in closer to

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<v Speaker 1>one another. Today's episode was written by Melanie rad Zeke

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<v Speaker 1>McManus and produced by Dylan Fagan. For more on this

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<v Speaker 1>and other topics, please visit us at how stuff works

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<v Speaker 1>dot com.