Perry et al

• Interpersonal distance is the relative distance between two people in a social interaction.
• Perry had 2 aims which he investigated in 2 experiments.

  • differential effect of OT on personal space preferences
  • whether people’s empathy levels influence their personal space preferences
• Operationalized IVs:

  • in experiment 1 only - condition — stranger, authority, friend or ball as a control
  • in experiment 1 and 2 - Treatment “ OT vs Placebo ” & Empathy “ high vs low “
• Opeationalized DVs:

  • in experiment 1 - personal space - measured between participants and the person or object
  • in experiment 2 - personal space - measured the preferred distance and angle between 2 chairs in a room
• Interaction effect is when the interaction of two or more factors is greater than the sum of the individual effects of each factor.
• Differential effect is when one factor has a different effect on different groups of people.
• Perry’s sample consisted of 54 male undergraduates from the University of Haifa. They were aged 19-32 and receive course credit or payment as an honorarium. They ere divided into groups based their IRI ( interpersonal reactivity index ) scores for empathy. They all had normal vision and were neurotypical.
• His study used a mixed experimental design, a combination of independent measures and repeated measures.
• The experiments took place over multiple settings. Experiment 2 took place a week after experiment 1. The OT condition was counterbalanced. Half the participants took OT the first week and saline the next, vice versa.
• The high empathy group consisted of:

  • 20 participants
  • mean age of 23.9
  • had an empathy score of more than or equal to 40.
• The low empathy group consisted of:

  • 20 participants
  • mean age of 25.9
  • had an empathy score of less than 33
• It was conducted in a laboratory.
• • Independent group measures used in experiment 1 and 2 for the IV of empathy.
  • repeated measures for experiment 1 and 2 for the IV of OT
  • repeated measures for experiment 1 only for the IV of condition - stranger, authority, friend, ball
• OT was self-administered by participants under supervision. Nasal drops contained either OT or saline solution. This procedure used a double-blind technique.
• Experiment 1:

  • Circle presented on computer screen
  • participants were told to imagine themselves in center of it
  • the person or object would approach them along the radius
  • Participants press the space bar when they would want it to stop approaching
• Experiment 2:

  • Participants are told they'll be shown pairs of 2 similar rooms
  • They were told to choose the room they preferred more, as they will be used to design a room according to their liking
  • Each participant was shown 84 pairs twice, so 168 pairs overall, for 2 seconds each
• Mean percentage o preferred distance / Interaction effect of treatment and empathy:

  • high empathy & OT - 23.29%
  • high empathy & placebo - 26.11%
  • low empathy & OT - 30.20%
  • low empathy & placebo - 26.98%
• OT has a differential effect for high and low empathizers. OT increased preferred personal distance in low empathizers, but had the opposite effect on high empathizers.
• need for personal distance increases the less well we know someone or something
• Experiment 2 results:

  • high empathizers chose closer chair distances following OT administration
  • low empathizers had the opposite effect
• Results support the idea of social salience, as low empathizers need more personal space when administered with OT, but it’s the opposite for high empathizers. OT enhances social cues to produce an opposite effect on individuals with different empathetic abilities.