Interpersonal distance, body orientation, and touch: effects of culture, gender, and age.

Publisher: Routledge Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 0376372 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Print ISSN: 0022-4545 (Print) Linking ISSN: 00224545 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Soc Psychol Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: 2010- : New York : Routledge
Original Publication: Provincetown, Mass. : Journal Press

Aging* ; Culture* ; Interpersonal Relations* ; Posture* ; Spatial Behavior* ; Touch*; Adult ; Aged ; Cross-Cultural Comparison ; England ; Female ; France ; Greece ; Humans ; Ireland ; Italy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Netherlands ; Scotland ; Sex Factors ; Videotape Recording

Video recordings of naturally occurring interactions in England, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Greece, Scotland, and Ireland were coded and analyzed to examine the effects of culture, gender, and age on interpersonal distance, body orientation, and touch. Results partially supported expected differences between contact cultures of southern Europe and noncontact cultures of northern Europe with respect to touch. More touch was observed among Italian and Greek dyads than among English, French, and Dutch dyads. In addition, an interaction effect between age and gender for body orientation suggested opposite development trends for mixed-sex dyads and male dyads. Whereas mixed dyads tended to maintain less direct orientations as they aged, male dyads maintained more direct orientations.

Date Created: 19950601 Date Completed: 19950928 Latest Revision: 20061115

20221213

10.1080/00224545.1995.9713958

7650932