The Importance of Personal Space and Environment in Human Behavior and Interaction
An Analysis of Architecture and Seating Arrangements
Research about action and interaction in our environment usually takes place in bigger buildings which are usually public buildings and where a variety of people come together. For example, in private homes these actions and interactions also occur, but when building a home, the architect is considered to be closer related to the client.
In the case of private homes the client is usually also the end user, whereas in public buildings we see that the client often is not the end user. In this case the whole building, actions and interactions are flattened and generalized when designing.
The importance of personal space and individual distance
It is clear that the distinction between public and private spaces is an important aspect to consider when analyzing human behaviour and interactions. In public spaces people are constantly exposed to a variety of people with their own behaviour and culture. It is in this setting that the person will guard their own personal space and boundaries because they have less control over it.
Compared to the private spaces, where people have most control over their personal space and boundaries, they may have established clearer boundaries around their individual distance.
Understanding and respecting these boundaries is an important aspect of interpersonal communication and can help to promote positive interactions and avoid conflict. In this sense, it is essential for architects and designers to consider personal space and individual distance when creating public spaces, as this can impact the well-being and comfort of the individuals using those spaces.
The best way to learn the location of invisible boundaries is to keep walking until somebody complains. Personal space refers to an area with invisible boundaries surrounding a person’s body into which intruders may not come. Personal space is not necessarily spherical in shape, nor does it extend equally in all directions. (People are able to tolerate closer presence of a stranger at their sides than directly in front.) (Sommer, 1988, p. 41)
There is considerable similarity between personal space and individual distance, or the characteristic spacing of species members. Individual distance exists only when two or more members of the same species are present and it is greatly affected by population density and territorial behaviour. Individual distance and personal space interact to affect the distribution of persons. The violation of individual distance is the violation of society’s expectations; the invasion of personal space is an intrusion into a person’s self boundaries. (Sommer, 1988, p. 42)
In an experiment with patients in a mental hospital, they analyzed the response to the intrusion of someone’s personal space. The prospective victims had to meet three criteria - male, sitting alone, and not engaged in any definite activity such as reading or playing cards.
Flight was a gross reaction of the intrusion; there were many more subtle indicators of the patient’s discomfort. The typical sequence was for the victim to face away immediately, pull in his shoulders, and place his elbows at his sides. Facing away was an almost universal reaction as a buffer, often coupled with hands placed against the chin. (Sommer, 1988, p. 49)
The relationship between room setup and psychological safety in workshops and meetings
The way our environment has an impact on us can show itself in many forms. Architecture is not only windows, walls and a roof. Architecture is also the landscape around a building, it will have an effect on how the person will reach the entrance. Architecture is also colour, lightning, interior, the position of furniture, the position of walls, heights or the absence of colour, natural light, acoustic insulation.
The way furniture is positioned, the width of hallways, sunlight’s intensity,.. it all evokes a reaction in us. It affects our behaviour and the way we interact with people.
In the text below, a fellow facilitator explains in his post on linkedin the arrangements of seating and how it affects his participants when he’s running a work session.
Facilitation hack. An unusual room setup facilitates psychological safety.
Imagine you enter the room to attend a workshop, and the chairs are very set up very unusual.
They could be opposite each other or in 2 circles facing each other, or even in a heart shape.
Welcome to my workshop.
I like to set up the rooms somewhat out of the ordinary at the beginning.
Anyone hardly ever sits down straight away, but they go into an observer position and wait for me to invite them to take a seat.
They always agree even if with a lot of reluctance.
Whatever setup I choose is not random but mirrors the day's first activity.
Here are some of the reasons and effects:
Surprise and attention: It makes participants focus immediately.
Barrier for retreat: It prevents participants from retreating into their phones and laptops quickly.
Connection: It creates a shared experience and harmony through discomfort. Participants usually wait for others and start talking about what this could be.
Curiosity & Creativity: It makes them try to imagine what is going to happen.
Expectations: It forces them to let go of their assumptions.
it simply eases the logistics.
Ultimately, it leads quickly to higher levels of psychological safety.
It is crucial that the setup has a purpose and is connected to the content for it to be more than a fun opener.
Also, balance is critical: the activity should be easy, fun, and relaxing rather than even more uncomfortable.
This way, the discomfort that might be felt initially usually quickly changes into excitement once the activity starts.
This is a beautiful example of changing the environment slightly and make the audience do what you intended, what you designed them to do. The same happens what architects do.
Architecture is somewhat further along in that it is an empirical art, relying heavily on the accumulation of experience with different building types. When it comes to materials and structures, architects join engineers in carrying out systematic research. But in the behavioral realm, the way buildings affect people, architects fall back on intuition, anecdote, and casual observation. Consultants flourish in the design fields because there is no body of information assembled in such a way that it is useful to architects and other design professionals. Hence the tremendous importance of library consultants, church consultants, hospital consultants; all experts by experience, older men and women whose ideas might be behind the times. (Sommer, 1988, p. 10)
What have you experienced personal space wise in our working environment?
Thank you for reading!