Personal space has a
measurable boundary
By Laura Sanders in Science News
People have a sharp
no-fly zone around their faces. Though its boundaries depend on the person,
this discomfort zone usually starts between 20 and 40 centimeters away and
continues right up to the face, researchers report in the Journal of
Neuroscience.
Threatening objects that
enter this forbidden space are likely to trigger a strong defensive reaction.
Scientists knew that this safety margin exists, but its boundaries hadn’t been
measured.
Simultaneously, the
researchers moved the same hand closer and closer to the subjects’ faces and
measured the amount of blinking that ensued.
On average, people
displayed a boundary between about 20 and 40 centimeters before rapid blinking
betrayed a defensive reaction, the experiment showed. A jolt 40 centimeters
away was OK, but a jolt 20 centimeters away was definitely not.
What’s more, personality
changed the size of the zone: People who reported more anxiety needed a wider
berth.
CITATIONS
C. Sambo and G.
Iannetti. Better safe than sorry? The safety margin surrounding the body is
increased by anxiety. Journal of Neuroscience. Published August 28, 2013. Doi:
10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0706-13.2013. Available online: [Go to]
10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0706-13.2013. Available online: [Go to]