UNIT 4 PERSONAL SPACE

4.0 Introduction
4. I Objectives
4.2 Definition of Personal Space
4.2.1 Personal Space Variation
4.2.2 Neuropsychological Explanation and Personal Space

4.3 Children and Personal Space

4.4 Proxemics
4.4.1 Personal Space (bubble)
4 4.2 Interpersonal Distance
4.4.3 Factors of Personal Space
4 4.4 Relationship between Interpersonal Space and Problem Behaviour

4.5 Personal Space in Relation to Territoriality

4.5.1 Primary Territories
4.5.2 Secondary Territories
4.5.3 Public Territory

4.6 Personal Space in Relation to Crowding

4.7 Let Us Sum Up
4.8 Unit End Questions

4.10 Suggested Readings and References

4.0 INTRODUCTION
In this unit we deal with personal space and related issues. We start with
the definition of personal space and describe personal space in detail. The
personal space is discussed in terms of personal space variation as well as
neuropsychological explanation. Then we discuss children and personal space
following it up with proxemics. This issue of proxemics is being discussed in
terms of personal space or zbubble which is explained in detail. It is also
discussed in terms of interpersonal distance. Then we put forward the various
factors related to personal space and the interpersonal space and problem
behaviours are discussed in detail. Territoriality is then defined and personal
spoace in terms of territoriality is discussed. This is followed by a treatise
on personal space and crowding.

4.1 OBJECTIVES
After completing this unit, you will be able to:
Define personal space;
Describe the characteristics of personal space;
Environmental Psychology: Elucidate how personal space is important for children;
Cognition and Perception
Explain proxemics;
Delineate the factors related to proxemics;
Define bubble;
Elucidate the relationship between interpersonal space and problem behaviours;
Describe the territoriality; and
Analyse personal space in terms of territoriality.

4.2 DEFINITION OF PERSONAL SPACE

The notion of personal space is derived primarily from the ideas of
anthropologists E.T. Hall and the psychological investigations of Little (1 965).
Hall (1961) conceived of personal space as a series of spatial spheres (bubbles)
with the individual person as their center. These concentric circles or personal
space zones are labeled the 'intimate' (0-1 8" distance), the causal - personal
(18-48" distance), and the social-consultative (48-144"distance ) and public
domain (Hall, 1964). Each of them above defines the kinds of interpersonal
encounters and behaviours which occur within its confines.
The amount of personal space required for any given person is subjective. It
also depends on how well you know the other person. The more intimate the
relationship, the less personal space is involved.
Thus the Personal space is the region surrounding a person which they regard
as psychologically theirs. Invasion of personal space often leads to discomfort,
anger, or anxiety on the part of the victim
4.2.1 Personal Space Variation
Personal space is highly variable. Those living in a densely populated places
tend to have a smaller personal space. Residents of India tend to have a smaller
personal space than those in the Mongolian steppe, both in regard to home
and individual.
Thus a person's personal space is highly variable and difficult to measure
accurately. Estimates place it at about 60 centimeters (24") on either side,
70 centimeters (28") in front and 40 centimeters (16") behind for an average
westerner. (Refer to figure below)

Variation (Source: Wikipedia, File:PerSpaZ.png)

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 Personal Space
Two people not affecting each other's personal space

Two people whose personal space are in conflict

To give an example of Body contact and personal space in the United States
shows considerable similarities to that in northern and central European regions,
such as Germany, the Benelux, Scandinavia and the United Kingdom.
The main difference is, however, that Americans like to keep more open space
in between themselves and their conversation partners (roughly 4 feet (1.2 m)
compared to 2 to 3 ceet (0.6-4.9 m) in Europe.
Greeting rituals tend to be the same in these regions and in the United States,
consisting of ~ilinimalbody contact which often remains confined to a simple

In 1966 Anthropologist Edward Hall identified four different zones of personal

space Americans like to keep around them

9 Intimate distance: This extends roughly 18 inches (46 cm) from the
individual and is reserved for family, pets and very close friends. Displays
of ailfection and comforting are commonly conducted within this space. The
only strangers an individual typically accepts within his or her intimate space
are health care professionals.

i) Personal distance: This extends 1.5 to 4 feet (0.46-1.2 m) is reserved

for friends and acquaintances. A handshake will typically place strangers
at least 2 to 4 feet (0.61-1.2 m) apart, preserving the personal distance.

i Social distance: This extends from about 4 to 12 feet (1.2-3.7 m) and

is used for formal, business and other impersonal interactions such as
meeting a client.
iv) Public space: This extends more than 12 feet (3.7 m) and is not guarded.
Secret Service agents will commonly attempt to ensure 12 feet (3.7 m) of
open space around dignitaries and high ranking officials.
Personal space has changed historically together with the boundaries of public
and private in European culture since the Roman Empire.
Personal space is also affected by a person's position in society with more
affluent individuals demanding a larger personal space.
People make exceptions to, and modify their space requirements. A number
of relatio~zshipsmay allow for personal space to be modified and these include
familial ties, romantic partners, friendships and close acquaintances where a
greater degree of trust and knowledge of a person allows personal space to
be modified.
5S
 Psychology: 4.2.2 Neuropsychological Explanation and Personal Space
Cognition and Perception
Neuropsychology describes personal space in terms of kinds of 'near-ness' to
the body.
1) Extra personal Space: The space that occurs outside the reach of an
mdividual.
2) Peripersonal Space: The space within reach of any limb of an individual.
Thus to be 'within-am's length' is to be within one's peripersonal space.
3) Pericutaneous Space: The space just outside our bodies but which might
be near to touching it. Visual-tactile perceptive fields overlap in processing
this space so that, for example, an individual might see a feather as not
touching their skin but still feel the inklings of being tickled when it covers
just above their hand.
Research links the amygdala with emotional reactions to proximity to other
people. First, it is activated by such proximity, and second, in those with complete
bilateral damage to their amygdala lack a sense of personal space boundary.
As the researchers have noted the amygdala may mediates the repulsive force
that helps to maintain a minimum distance between people.
Self Assessment Questions
1) Define personal space.
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2) Describe the characteristic features of personal space.
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3) Describe how personal space is explained neurologically.
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4) Elucidate personal space variation with a diagram.
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 Personal Space
4.3 CHILDREN AND PERSONAL SPACE
Children have a natural desire to explore the world and test boundaries. Recently,
there has been increased focus on how boundaries affect child's personal safety.
Overwhelmingly, the evidence points to the importance of personal boundaries
in keeping children aware of potentially dangerous situations and how this can
help reduce the risk of victimisation.
Building personal boundaries should begin when children are very young;
beginning with pointing out when children push the boundaries of others. It is
important to re-establish those boundaries and consistently explain how they
have been crossed.
Respecting children's personal boundaries teaches them how they should expect
to be treated. When adults cross children's boundaries, it compromises their
sense of safety and security.
Examples of crossing emotional boundaries include the following:
Using shame (e.g. "I can't believe you did this! What kind of a person

Using sarcasm (e.g. "Way to go Einstein. A two-year old knows how to

Using guilt (e.g. "I do so much for you. Can't you do this one thing for

Demeaning someone (e.g. "Everyone knows you have no talent.")

Placing a child in a role as an adult's confidantbest friend ("I am so lonely.
I am glad you are here to listen to me.")
If there is violation of personal space whether in regard to adults or children,
it causes high degree of discomfort and imbalance and the person tries to remedy
it through two methods (i) adaptation (ii) behaviour.
Accordir~gto the psychologist Robert Sommer, a method of dealing with violated
personal space is dehumanisation. People travelling in subways and in crowded
areas, often imagine those intruding on their personal space as inanimate. This
way they adapt themselves to the violation of their personal space.
Behaviour is another method in which a person attempting to talk to someone
can often cause situations where one person steps forward to enter what they
perceive as a conversational distance, and the person they are talking to can
step back to restore their personal space. This behaviour removes the discomfort
caused by violation of personal space.

4.4 PROXEMICS
Proxemics is a term coined by Edward Hall during the 1950's and 1960's.
It deals with the study of our use of space and how various differences in
that use can make us feel more relaxed or anxious.
Proxemics comes in two categories viz.. (i) physical territory and (ii) personal
Environmental psychology: To give an example of physical territory, one can take the classroom and discuss
Cognition and Perception why desks face the front of a classroom rather than the center of the classroom.
As for personal territory, the example could be the 'bubble' of space that each
individual keeps between self and the person ahead of in the line.
~ h e i eare two aspects of proxemics and the important role they can play in
people's interpersonal communication. One of these is the use of colour in the
person's environment, and the other is the cultural differences in the use of
personal territory.
Colours can have a major impact on individual's comfort level in a given situation.
For instance one would not like to take a business client to a restaurant with
bright colours such as yellow and red. It is said that these colours especially
yellow and red cause anxiety at an unconscious level.
Furthermore, studies have also shown that bright colors are disturbing not only
to restaurant patrons, but also to their employees. Restaurants with brightly
coloured interiors have been found to have the highest employee turnover in
the food service industry.
Another important aspect of proxemics is the use of Personal territory. There
are four areas of personal territory, viz., (i) public (ii) social (iii) personal
(iv) intimate.
Public space ranges from 12 to 25 feet and is the distance maintained between
the audience and a speaker such as the President.
Social space ranges from 4 to 10 feet and is used for communication among
business associates, as well as to separate strangers using public areas such
as beaches and bus stops.
Personal space ranges from 2 to 4 feet and is used among friends and family
members.
Intimate space ranges out to one foot and involves a high probability of touching.
We reserve it for whispering and embracing.
Personal territories, however, can vary both culturally and ethnically. In Saudi
Arabia for example the social space amongst business associates equals the
intimate space explained above. Thus while one person may move off from
the business client to keep the personal space, the other will move closer to
keep up his personal space. At the end of the meeting, the first person would
think that the client was pushy while the client will thmk that the business associate
was standoffish.
Take India for example. Let us take travelling in a bus. Here you will find
that people are pushed and jostled and they stand packed in a bus each touching
the other's body. On the other hand in European countries, especially in the
USA the Americans will tend to pull in their elbows and' knees and try not
to touch or even look at one another while ridingn in th bus. Thus cultural
differences and the use of colour in the physical environment can have great
impact upon people's interaction with others.
Apart from the above, other proxemics include eye contact, facial expressions,
smells, body warmth, gender, number of people involved, subject matter, goals
of cornmuhication etc. automatically adjust our personal space. Prxemics thus
will affect our interpersonal communication.
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4.4.1 Personal Space (bubble) Personal Space

Personal space is a body buffer zone that people maintain between themselves
and others. Actually it refers to the invisible bubble we all cany around us which
defines how close we will approach other people and how close we will allow
people to approach us.
It is important when we interact with others. We all have a certain amount
of personal space and it varies from situation to situation. We are very much
aware about the personal space. We always behave with others considering
our personal space.
When one is at home, one can select certain amount of space centering the
body within which one will not allow others. Not only home, at work place
or in school, or in a cinema hall or a concert, one can see that one has changed
the personal space considering the place where the person is. Thus, we can
say that personal space varies with time and space.
Personal space or the bubble is something which maintains an invisible control
over the person's behaviour with others, most of the time. In fact, it is likely
that personal space spans a vast continuum which is determined by number
of factors, cultural or societal norms and immediate environment. The main thing
in this context is that personal space influences individual's behaviour and
experience and vice-versa.
Research findings suggest that the personal space bubble is not circular, but
elliptical, in that it is bigger in front and behind the individual than that of the
sides. Situational effects on personal space have tended to focus on the social
rather than the physical setting. It is generally found that where attraction between
individuals is strong e.g. strong friendship, persons are more willing to decrease
the required personal space.
Alternatively where people dislike each other and where the tone of the
interaction is unfriendly, generally people move further apart. Related to personal
space is the concept of territoriality. The person's home is the primary territory.
Secondary territories are generally less important to the person and are likely
to be only owned on a temporary basis. As with personal space, it is the aspect
of understanding and obeying the formal rules of territoriality, which is the most
important in understanding human behaviour and experience.
There is a great difference between the urban and rural life in connection with
the space available to each individual. The city is a salient environmental element
to all. A number of conceptual formulations have been derived to understand
and predict the effects of the city on individuals, which include overload,
environmental stress, behaviour constraints and so many.
Urban stressors as noise, pollution, heat, crowding and extra demand have
moderately detrimental effects on city dwellers.
There are also urban rural differences in terms of facilitative behaviour, pro social
behaviour, crime, stress, coping behaviour and long term after effects. Urban
areas tend to be the focus of inter group conflict and terrorism as is evidenced
in the history of most countries in the present times.
In fact it is in the cities that the relationship between physical environment and
social identity is of considerable importance. There are many positive sides of
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Environmental Psychology: the city, viz., employment opportunities, medical facilities, educatioilal institutions,
Cognition and Perception cultural activities etc. City life involves a complex and dynamic series of effects
and consequences and is very difficult to quantify. Many of the effects of
urbanisation can be rationalised considering the areas of personal space,
territoriality, crowding and privacy.
In other words, certain important points emerge in regard to personal space
and bubble.
1) Personal space is a mechanism of communication and it can not be
understood independently fiom other aspects of non verbal communication
such as orientation, touch and eye contact.
2) Personal space is an infinitely flexible mechanism, which is influenced by
a wide range of cues in the situation, our personal characteristics, the nature
of the relationships and our social and cultural experience.
3) Gender difference has a significant role for measuring personal space and
it varies in connection with time and space.
4) Situational effects on personal space have tended to focus on the social
rather than the physical setting.
5) It is important to be aware that the invisible bubble which refers personal
space can expand or shrink.
6) We all construct certain amount of personal space that is appropriate
between ourselves and other people in a range of situation.
7) The personal space spans a vast continuum which is determined by a number
of factors.
8) In a world, where uJe meet new people everyday, who come from a variety
of different social and cultural backgrounds and where space is often at
a premium, an understanding of personal space is important.
9) Generally people in cooperation will select a smaller interpersonal distance
unless the competition requires interpersonal contact.
4.4.2 Interpersonal Distance
Interaction is an important part of everyday life, viz., at work. at play or rest,
and we need to be aware of the potential positive or negative aspects of the
use of interpersonal distance.
The use of interpersonal distance is an important part of the regulation of
interaction and has important effects on the relationships and hence effectiveness
of the interaction.
Personal space provides us with comfort in interaction. It protects us from
physical invasion. However personal space invasions which are associated with
effects on mental health occur within the coiltext of crowding.
4.4.3 Factors of Personal Space
As personal space is a flexible mechanism, there exists a large number of
influencing factors which can be listed as follows:
wide range of cues in the situation,
64 our personal characteristics,
 -.

the nature of the relationships, Personal Space

our social and cultural experience

In the changing world, where we interact with similar people, whom we know
on regular basis, invasions of personal space are geilerally unlikely. On the other
hand, in the world where we meet new people everyday, who all come from
a variety of different social and cultural backgrounds, and where space is often
at a premium, an understanding of personal space is important.
Gender and age differences are a couple of the influencing factors in connection
with personal space. important factor is cultural differences. Hall (1959)
suggested that while all cultures use personal space to communicate and tend
to conform to the different categories, the size of the space within the categories
varies across cultures. For example, Eye contact, touch and different types of
non-verbal communication etc. are the significant factors behind personal space.
Extraverted and gregarious persons tend to require smaller personal space, while
cold and quarrelsome people require a large interpersonal distance.
4.4.4 Relationship between Interpersonal Space and
Problem Behaviour
This is another area which needs to be considered. Jt is generally found that
violent criminals require larger interpersonal distances. Not only this, the evidence
of psychiatric patients shows that interpersonal distance depends on the specific
symptoins and severity of the disorder.
The psychologist, Sommer (1959) found that schizophrenic patients tended to
vary from one extreme to the other, that is, from very small to very large
interpersonal distance. It is generally found that where attraction between
individuals is strong, where friendships exist and where the general tone of the
interaction is friendly; there is also a considerable willing decrease in the personal
space requirement. On the contrary, where people dislike each other, where
the tone of the interaction is unfriendly, naturally people move further apart.
Personal space interacts with the direction or valence of our attitudes. That
is, whether they are negative or positive. Fisher and Byrne (1975) demonstrated
that people's liking for someone is a fimction of their use of interpersonal distance
in interaction with them. Also they found that it depended on the gender aspect.
Personal space also depends on the status of the interacting individuals and
whether they are involved in cooperation or competition. Jf it is cooperation,
the personal space is decreased and if it is competition it is increased. The
situation may be face-to-face, side-by-side or somewhere in between. Generally
people in cooperation select a smaller interpersonal distance unless the
- competition requires interpersonal contact.
Self Assessment Questions
1) Discuss the importance of personal space to children.
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2) What happens when there is violation of personal space?
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3) What are the ways in which one could remedy the violation of personal
space?
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4) Define proxmics.
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5) What is meant by bubble in personal space? Explain with examples.
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6) Elucidate the factors of personal space.
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7) Discuss the relationship between interpersonal space and problem
behaviour.
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 Personal Space
4.5 PERSONAL SPACE IN RELATION TOI

TERRITORIALITY
There is a close relation between the concept of personal space and territoriality.
We build houses, erect fences or any other markers and defend this claimed
territory against invasion. It is seen in many places that there is specific parking
places in a street. People keep their cars in that particular space. The strength
of resentment varies from person to person. Territoriality is closely related to
personal space. According to Altman and Chemers (1980) territory can be
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divided into three types, viz., primary, secondary and public territory.

4.5.1 Primary Territory

This refers to space that is felt to be owned by an individual or an interdependent
group on a relatively permanent basis and it is within their daily lives. Home
is a primary territory.

4.5.2 Secondary Territories

These are generally less important to the person and are likely to be only owned
on a temporary basis. The difference between primary and secondary territory
mainly depends on the individual's perception of its importance to them.

4.5.3 Public Territories

These are more distinct in that they don't belong to any person and are generally
accessible to anyone, for example a sea beach, a public park, jogging park

Humans define particular boundaries of the physical environment and assume

the right to determine who can and who cannot move across these boundaries.
If persons think about their home, their office, their neighbourhood, etc., there
is evidence that all these have a territorial component.
Each and every individual requires a minimum space in order to survive. He
must be able to move freely within and between physical settings to satisfy not
only his biological drives, i.e., hunger, thirst and sex but also his needs for
affiliation, achievement, success and other complex social motives.
Territorial behaviour is instrumental in the definition and organisation of various
role relationships. In many instances, a social or occupational role establishes
who can use and control a given space and who can not.
A type of temporary territoriality exists when places are personalised for brief
periods in pursuit of some defined activity. Overall picture reveals that man's
spatial relations transcend physical boundaries. At the one moment, we occupy
our own property, at other times; we have rights in someone else's.
Public space such as a park or a portion of beach is shared by many but
may be territorialised on the basis of "first come". Thus it can be said that
control of space is not absolute, men occupy so many kinds of places at different
times that they are continually adjusting territorial relationship with others.
It is thus possible to understand that personal space and territorial behaviour
simultaneously work together. The positive side of territoriality is (i) regulating
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Environmental psychology: people's interaction and (ii) helping to establish some sense of control in an
Cognition and Perception increasingly complex environment. These should not be underestimated.
Personalisation is by definition related to identity. As with personal space, it
is the aspect of understanding and obeying the formal rules of territoriality, which
is important in understanding human behaviour and experience. Thcse are
subjective and are constructed through interaction in the social arena. Undoubtedly.
we can say that there is a close relationship between personal space and
territoriality.

4.6 PERSONAL SPACE IN RELATION TO

CROWDING
Crowding is closely related to personal space and territoriality. People feel
crowded because their territory and personal space is being invaded by others.
Crowding refers to our experience of the number of people in a given setting
and is a subjective psychological concept.
The importance of the distinction lies in how useful each concept is in predicting
behaviour and experience. Let us say a person goes to a park where he is
maintaining his personal space according to his own by sitting in a bench. At
first, there was none in the bench, two or three people came and wanted to
sit in the same bench. As this is the public territory, the person is unable to
say no.
After sometime, another two or three people came and started to talk each
other. Then the place becomes crowded. The person's personal space in three
consecutive situations will vary. He can easily understand the relationship among
the three important factors, viz., personal space, territory and crowding.
Crowding is associated with a general decrease in satisfaction with the area
one lives in; because crowding is a source of both physical and mental health.
Crowding instigates the process of emotional responding and could produce
aggression or elation depending on the social cues.
All the effects of crowding on human behaviour and experience will coexist
with many other factors in the environment.
The effect of crowding on behaviour and experience is largely through its effect
on personal space and territoriality. Generally people feel crowded because their
territory and personal space is being invaded by others. Crowding is at once
a fairly simplistic concept, in that everyone has some experience and personal
view of crowding, and a complex concept when they come to consider its impact
on the persons.
People who have experienced high levels of crowding in their previous
environment are likely to respond positively to reduce density in a new
environment sand vice versa. One way of coping with crowding is to withdraw
from social interaction, almost a seeking of internal privacy when opportunities
do not exist in the external world. Such withdrawal can be interpreted in terms
of an attempt to restore some sense of personal control over the situation.

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 Personal Space
Self Assessment Questions
1) Discuss personal space in relation to territoriality.
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2) What is territoriality? Explain.
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3) Elucidate primary, secondary and public territories.
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4) Discuss personal space in relation to crowding.
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4.7 LET US SUM UP

Personal space generally refers to the invisible bubble we all carry around with
us which defines how close we will approach other people and how close we
will allow other people and how close we will allow other people to approach
us. We need to be aware that the bubble can expand or shrink. We all have
a construction of the amount of personal space that is appropriate between
ourselves and other people in the range of situation. Personal space is a
mechanism of communication such as orientation, touch and eye contact. Besides
this, personal space is an infinitely flexible mechanism, which is influenced by
a wide range of cues in the situation, our personal characteristics, the nature
of the relationships and our social and cultural experience. It is generally found
that where attraction between individuals is strong, where friendship exists, we
are more willing to decrease our personal space. Alternatively, where people
dislike each other and where the tone of the interaction is unfriendly, people
move further apart. Crowding is closely related to personal space and
territoriality. People feel crowded because their territory or personal space is
being invaded by others. Personal space provides us with comfort in interaction
Environmental Ps~cholog~: and protects us li-om physical invasion. However, personal space invasions which
Cognition and Perception are associated with effects on mental health occur within the context of crowding.
People must be able to feel some sense of ownership of the environment in
generating a sense of community feeling among the inhabitants.

4.8 UNIT END QUESTIONS

1) What do you mean by the term "personal space"? Discuss the different
types of personal space.

2) Discuss in detail the relationship between children and the personal space
that they require.

3) Discuss proxelnics and its importance in terms of personal space.

4) What are the various factors of personal space? Give suitable examples.

5) Write in brief about the personal space in relation to territoriality.

6) Elucidate briefly about personal space and crowding.

7) What are the influencing factors of personal space?

4.9 GLOSSARY
Aesthetics : Features of an environment that lead to
pleasurable responses.
Affect : Feeling or emotional status.
Barometric pressure : Atmospheric pressure as read by a
barometer.
Climate : Average weather conditions or prevailing
weather over a long period of time.
Cognitive map : The brain's representation of the spatial
environment.
Congruence : The fit between user needs or preferences
and the physical features of a setting.
Coping : Handling stressors, efforts to restore
equilibrium after stressful events.
Crowding : Experimental state when the constraints of
high density are salient to an individual.
Determinism : A philosophical notion that circumstances
have absolute casual relationship to events.
Distortion : Errors in cognitive maps based on
inaccurate retrieval that leads us to put
something too close together and some
too far apart.
Ecological psychology : Barker's behaviour setting approach to
studying the interaction between humans
70 and their environment.
 Personal Space
Environment : One's surroundings. It is used to refer to
a specific part of one's surroundings. as
in social environment, physical
environment, natural or built environment.
Environmental assessment : Describing and evaluatlng environments.
such as through EQI or PEQI methods
or landscape preference methods.
Environmental cognition : The ability or propensity to imagine and
think about the spatial world.
Environmental perception : How a person actually perceive the context
in which he/she lives its rich interplay of
social and physical elements.
Envirorlmental psychology : The study of the interrelationship between
behaviour and experience and the built
and natural environment.
Environmental Quality : Objective measures of environmental
quality - the chemical and physical
properties of water or air.
: A state of complete physical, mental and
social well-being is a fundamental need
and it is clearly related to physical
enwonment.
: Situations characterised by high social or
spatial density. a large no. of people in
an area.
Inside density : Population density indices using "inside"
measure, such as number of people per
residence or per room.
Interpersonal distance : The distance between people.
: A relationship between concepts that is
often based on analogies or metaphors.
: Place is a unit of environmental experience.
Place attachment : Psychological bonding to an environment.
Place-identity : It is that particular structure of the self-
identity of the individual that consists of
ideas, beliefs, memories, feelings and
attitudes about spaces, places and their
objects that define fiom moment and over
time who and what the person is.
Perceived control : We belief that we can influence the things
that are happening to us.
Perceived Environmental : A subjective assessment of some
Quality Index characteristics of environmental quality as
Epvironmental Psychology: Perception : The process by which one can extract
Cognition and Perception
meaning fiom the complex stimuli which
we encounter in everyday life.
Personal space : A body buffer zone that people maintain
between themselves and others.
: An interpersonal boundary processes by
which people regulate interaction with
others.
Psychological stress : The behavioural and emotional components
to the stress model.
Social density : Manipulations that vary group size while
keeping area constant.
Social support : The feeling that one is cared about and
valued by other people.
Territoriality : A set of behaviours and cognitions an
organism or a group exhibits which mainly
based on perceived ownership of physical
space or geographical area.

4.10 SUGGESTED READINGS AND REFERENCES

Bell. P.A., Greene, T.C., Fisher, J.D. and Baum, A. (200 1). Environmental
Psycholog;)! Fifth Edition, Harcourt College Publishers, Oxford.
Bonnes, M. Secchiaroli, G (1995). Environmental Psychology - A psycho-
social Introdzrction, Sage Publication, London.
Cassidy, T. (1 997). Environmental Psychology, Psychology Press, NY.
References
Altman, I. and Low, S. (1992). Place attachment, New York: Plenum Press.
Brandenburg, A.M. and Carroll, M.S. (1995). Your place or mine? The effect
of place creation on environmental values and landscape meaning, Society and
Natural Resources, 8, 381-398.
Brown, B. and Perkins, D. (1992). Disruptions in place attachment, In I. Altman
and S. Low (Eds.) Place attachment, Human Behaviour and Environment
New York, Plenum Press, 12, 279-304.
Burke, P.J. (1980). The self: Measurement requirements from interaction
perspectives, Social Psychology Bulletin, 28 (12), 1679-1686.
"Cook, M. (1970). Experiments on orientations and proxemics, Human
Relations, 23, 115-149.
Environmental Encyclopaedia (1999). Jaico Publishing House, 121, M.G Road,
Mumbai.
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