The Pandemic Has Left Us Wanting More Personal Space — Even In Virtual Reality

By Emma L. Barratt The boundaries of personal space aren’t set in stone. They even vary widely from person to person, between cultures, and between environments (for example, we might give strangers a wide berth on the pavement, yet end up shoulder to shoulder on trains). And though it may not feel like it on public transport, personal space is a consideration in everything from the design of buildings to logistics for large events. In 2020, Covid brought a whole new element to the table in terms of our comfort levels around other people. Maintaining a physical distance was one of the few things we could do for many months to limit the risk of infection, so for many of us, the personal space boundaries we were used to suddenly became no-gos. This change is fantastically illustrated by a new preprint from Daphne Halt and team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The researchers believe that our personal space preferences not only tell us about the psychological effects of the pandemic, but may be of use as an indicator of progress towards regaining normality. To examine how the pandemic has affected people’s personal space preferences, they conducted a small study with 12 participants who had also completed pre-pandemic personal space investigations at the lab. The team collected data on the size of participants’ personal spaces using the Stop Distance Procedure (SDP) — a task which measures the distance at which participants become uncomfortable with an...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Coronavirus Source Type: blogs