Perry

• Title of Research - Personal Space
• One Assumption of the Social Approach

  • Behaviour, cognitions, and emotions can be influenced by other individuals.
• Another Assumption of the Social Approach

  • Behaviour, cognitions, and emotions can be influenced by group or social contexts.
• Psychology being Investigated

  • Interpersonal distance (personal space) - the relative distance between people
  • Social Hormones - Oxytocin - A hormone that heightens social cues
  • Empathy - the ability to see another’s perspective and understand it could be different to their own
• Aim of the Study

  • To investigate how oxytocin affects preferred interpersonal distance for those scoring high or low in empathy traits.
• Hypothesis of the Study

  • Oxytocin will have different effects on preferred interpersonal distance depending on the empathy for different individuals.
• Independent Variable - Experiment 1

  1. Empathy: high or low
  2. Treatment: oxytocin or placebo (something that is inactive) 
  3. Conditions: stranger, authority, friend or ball (inanimate, its a control) 
• Dependent Variable - Experiment 1

  • Preferred interpersonal distance: measured using the computerised version of the Comfortable Interpersonal Distance (CID) paradigm (a scale of 1-100, where 0 is both figures touching and 100 is the furthest distance)
• Dependent Variable - Experiment 2

  • The ‘choosing rooms’ task where participants indicate room layout preferences for a conversation on a personal topic: 

  1. Mean average preferred distance between the two chairs (in cm)
  2. Mean average preferred angle of the two chairs (in degrees)
• Independent Variables - Experiment 2

  1. Empathy: high or low
  2. Treatment: oxytocin or control
  3. Condition: positioning of chairs (experimental conditions) versus positioning of table and plant (control condition)
• Methodology of Study - Laboratory Experiment
• Details about the Participants

  • None had any history of psychiatric or neurological conditions 
  • All had normal or corrected-to-normal eyesight
  • 20 in each empathy group (½ SD from the mean) 
  • Random Sample - to either oxytocin or placebo (3 drops)
• Details about the Participants

  • 54 male undergraduates (University of Haifa in Israel)
  • Aged between 19-32 years (divided into high and low empathy groups)
  • Received course credit or payment for their participation
• Sampling Technique

  • Volunteering Sample - weakness is that you might get a bunch of the same people
• Research Design - Independent Measures

  • Took the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (28 items)
  • Created high and low empathy group scores
  • > 40 - high empathy ; <33 - low empathy
• Research Design - Repeated Measures Design

  • Done over one week - important due to the effects of oxytocin running off + fatigue effect
  • 2 lab experiments - ½ did one first, ½ did the other first
  • Counterbalanced - double-blind (the participants + researchers didn’t know what the participants were getting, placebo or oxytocin)
  • Intra-nasally - 6 drops in all 
• Results - Experiment 1 Comfortable personal Index scale (CID):

  • The mean distance decreased from a protagonist in the high empathy group and increased it in the low empathy group
  • There was a significant difference between each pairing except for the friend and the ball
  • Significant differences were found for the preferred distance between a friend and an authority figure and a friend and a stranger in the high empathy placebo group
• Controls for Experiments

  • Double-blind design
  • Order of the two experiments was counterbalanced 
  • Waited 45 mins for the oxytocin/placebo to take effect
  • Same 3-second animation used (same as in expt 1)
  • Standardised instructions 
  • Standardised Procedures - method the same
• Prediction - Experiment 2

  • The preferred distances and preferred angles would be affected by oxytocin and by empathy
• Results - Experiment 2 w/Oxytocin

  • Ppts in the high empathy group chose significantly closer chair distances to those in the low empathy group
  • Generally, the findings showed that within the high empathy group, low distances with oxytocin than with placebo
• Conclusions Drawn from Study

  • Dependent upon empathy level, oxytocin affects preferred interpersonal distance
  • High empathetic people with oxytocin prefer closer distances 
  • For people with low empathy scores interpersonal distances increased with oxytocin (compared to the distances with placebo)
• Strengths of the Study

  • Reliability - test-retest as the procedure was standardised and had a high level of control + can be replicated
  • Validity - in this study they were able to measure the CID (what they wanted)
  • Double-blind - decreases demand characteristics + research bias
  • Quantitative data - objectivity + can be analysed
• Weaknesses of the Study

  • Ethical issues - deception (come back in two weeks to talk about person issue + placebo), protection of participant (felt anxious as they had to wait two weeks until they had the meeting about “personal” things)
  • Self-report - is biased based on the IRI test as people answered the questions (they made their own self-report) 
• Weaknesses of the Study

  • Generalisations - only men + only in Israel
  • Ecological Validity - not something that is done in real life
  • Social Desirability - wouldn't want to answer certain questions as some answers aren't socially acceptable
  • Demand Characteristics - questionnaire completed twice
• How to apply this knowledge to real life?

  • You can apply your knowledge to real life because as soon as they realise oxytocin is helpful. Then maybe people with autism might be able to use it as they lack a theory of mind however this doesn’t make sense as that means they’d be even less empathetic.
• Debate Individual VS Situtational

  Individual explanation - because your make up whether its low or high empathy it affected the results.

  Situational explanation - in some cases you might accept people near you even if you’re not comfortable.
• Spatial Zone - Intimate Distance

  • Distance - 15cm-46cm
  • Relationships - Close family members and intimate relationships + best friends e.g. comforting (some sports sometimes)
  • Input to the sense - Touch and may also be smell and heat
• Spatial Zone - Personal Distance

  • Distance - 46cm - 1.2m
  • Relationships - Friends and those we are close to
  • Input to the sense - Speech and vision
• Spatial Zone - Social Distance

  • Distance - 1.2m - 3.6m
  • Relationships - People who we don't really know but meet regularly
  • Input to the sense - Touch impossible, speech is easily processed
• Spatial Zone - Public Distance

  • Distance - Over 3.6m
  • Relationships - For formal contacts
  • Input to the sense - Usually only from speech, non-verbal also important
• Interpersonal Space

  • The relative distance between other people which allows you to feel comfortable
• Oxytocin

  • A hormone that heightens social cues
• Empathy

  • Ability to see another’s perspective and understand it could be different to their own
• Social Salience

  • The importance or attention someone gives to cues from others
• Social Cues

  • Facial Expression, NVB
• Factors that Affect Personal Space in Individuals

  • Gender
  • Culture
  • Individual Differences (personality)
• What plays a role in personal space

  • Oxytocin (hormone)- can have two affects which depends upon the context. Sometimes known as the love hormone, in situations like being in love or when a mum is breastfeeding, the levels can be high.
  • Fear + the uncomfortableness in personal space can increase the oxytocin levels
• What plays a role in personal space

  • Amygdala - located in the centre of the brain and is stimulated then an emotion is felt.
• The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI)

  • It measures empathy - high empathy = <40 and low empathy = >33
  • Example Question - I sometimes find it difficult to see things from the “other guy’s” point of view.
• Four Sub-Scales in IRI

  1. Perspective Taking - I have concerned feelings about someone less fortunate than me
  2. Fantasy - I sometimes try to imagine how things look from my friends perspective
  3. Empathic Concerns - Occasionally, I am not very sympathetic to my friends
  4. Personal Distress - I don’t feel much pity for someone I see being treated unfairly