Territory and Personal Space

Question 1

What is Territory ?

Answer 1

• Particular location
• Owned some way
• Can be temporary or permanent

Question 2

What is Personal Space ?

Answer 2

• Goes everywhere

- Varies according to context

Question 3

What factors influence personal space ?

Answer 3

• Gender
• Age
• Culture
• Personality
• Situation
• Status

Question 4

What was Middlemist’s theory about personal space ?

Answer 4

It can cause such physiological arousal that behavioural responses occur to reduce the arousal.

Question 5

What was Middlemist’s study ?

Answer 5

• Field experiment in the men’s bathroom at an American university.
• There were three urinals and men who entered were forced to use the far left one.
• A confederate was positioned either next to them or one over, or was absent.
• Recorded how long the participant took to start urinating and how long they urinated for.
• Closer distances delayed the time to start urinating and decreased how long they urinated for.
• This supported the arousal model.
• High ecologically valid, but low ethics

Question 6

Why do we maintain our territory ?

Answer 6

• Socio-biological theories say it is from evolutionary past
• But it is not seen in all cultures, which suggests it might instead be learned.
• Another cognitive theory says it is to do with our need to categorise and simplify our world.

Question 7

What was discovered from researching territory in libraries ?

Answer 7

• Territorial markers were respected at quiet times
• But when it got busier it was personal markers, rather than things like books, which were more respected.
• Male markers tended to be more respected than female.

Question 8

What is Hot-Dusking ?

Answer 8

• Workers use any desk which is available at a given time.
• This helps reduce clutter and maximise underused space
• But studies have found social structures emerge
• Employees have a preferred place, may come early for a desk
• It also leads employees to identify less with the organisation.

Question 9

How can personal space be affected by the task ?

Answer 9

• Working closer together in high-density environments can have an effect, but it depends on the task.
• Research has found that complex task performance is impaired, but not simple task.
• This suggests employees need enough space not to feel overly aroused.