Study on the Effects of Sex, Intimacy, and Locality on Personal Space Preferences among Japanese University Students

Edward T. Hall's theory of proxemics suggests that various cultural and personal characteristics influence people's preferences of personal space. “Personal space” can be defied as an invisible domain surrounding a person which they regard as their territory, and an unspoken bubble that travels with them wherever they go. Previous studies suggest that sex, intimacy, and nationality directly affect how someone reacts to another in their personal space. The present study purposed to explore with Japanese university students' the influence of sex, intensity, and locality on the size of their personal space. Participants used tape measures and were asked to say stop when they began to feel anxious or uncomfortable with the approach of another individual. Results of the study indicate that individual characters such as sex influence Japanese university students' interpersonal space preference. Results also suggest that there is a variation in interpersonal space preference based on participants' locality and the intimacy among the participants.