Variations in personal space as a function of authoritarianism, self-esteem, and racial characteristics of a stimulus situation.

Abstract

AND JAMES BARRETTUniversity of Southern CaliforniaThe present study used 40 white American males in an investigation of personalspace—a portable, flexible area surrounding an individual which has been viewedas a buffer zone between him and his environment. It was hypothesized that whenapproached by white and black male stimuli, (a) the largest areas of personal spacewould be used by 5s who are high in authoritarianism and low in self-esteem, and(b) these 5s would also use larger areas of personal space in response to the approachof the black stimulus than the white. The hypotheses were supported, and theimplications of the results were presented.