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Regulating boundaries
As human beings, we are definitely territorial, and tend to mark our spaces as a way of claiming our territory. Our boundaries exist in space and time. We feel attached to and develop a sense of ownership over a particular spot. When someone invades our territory, we begin to feel sensitive, vulnerable, and threatened. If our territory is a precious commodity, we tend to react without first thinking through our reactions and actions because we feel violated. This is psychological ownership, not physical ownership. For example, in cities where parking spaces are extremely limited, people complain when others "park in their spot," even though all spots are publically owned. Research suggests that there are three main areas of boundaries, interpersonal boundaries, environmental boundaries, and psychological boundaries.
In the consideration of interpersonal boundaries, what is a comfortable distance for members of one cultural group can feel like crowding to those of another. In the U.S., research suggests that we have four spatial zones, intimate, personal, social, and public. The intimate zone is reserved for those closest to us such as family, close friends, and an emotional situation. Its distance is zero to 18 inches. The personal zone is reserved for close friends, some acquaintances, and colleagues. Its distance is eighteen to forty-eight inches. The social zone is what we typically find at a larger event such as a party, and its distance is forty-eight inches to twelve feet. Finally, the distance of twelve feet or more is the public zone. When any of these zones is violated, anxiety or discomfort can result.
For European Americans, the average conversational distance is approximately twenty inches. In many Latin American and Caribbean cultures, that distance reduces to fourteen to fifteen inches. In Saudi Arabia, among same sex speakers, the ideal conversational distance reduces even further to nine to ten inches. The concept of personal space is unseen, yet can result in a good deal of intercultural discomfort and misunderstanding. Consider the colleague from a place with a smaller comfortable speaking distance, who enters your intimate zone unwittingly, engendering some discomfort to you. You back away slightly to regain your comfortable space bubble, yet your colleague matches your step with one of his or her own, again closing the space. This can make for a rather awkward conversation, regardless of the topic. Unconsciously, we deem our personal space our protective territory that we carry around with us; it is sacred, inviolable, and nonnegotiable. Different cultures have different space requirements for each of the above zones, but the experience of space and space violation carries across cultures and gender groups.
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