Personal Space

Question 1

Psychology being Investigated

Answer 1

• Interpersonal distance: Relative distance between people. Area a person prefers no one else to enter.
• Intimate: romantic partner, or family
• Personal: people in everyday interactions
• Social: formal interactions
• Public: keep distance from public figures
• Situational factors: cultural factors
• Oxytocin: hormone that heightens the importance of social cues and linked to social behaviors
• OT also associates with behavior and empathy: how one responds to an experience observed of others
• Empathy can be linked to social space preferences
• Placebo: treatment given to a person for psychological benefits but no physiological effect

Question 2

Background

Question 3

Aim

Answer 3

Test the differential effect of the social hormone oxytocin on personal space preferences in relation to a person’s empathy ability.

Question 4

Research Method and Design

Answer 4

• Laboratory experiment conducted at University of Haifa
• Experiment 1 and 2 had independent measures design for IV.
• IV operationalized as two levels: High or Low.