Effects of Stress on Interpersonal Distance in a Simulated Interview Situation

Seating distance in a simulated interview situation was examined in 30 Nigerian secondary-school boys and girls who were either mildly stressed or nonstressed about an anticipated interaction with an interviewer. In an empty room with only a seated interviewer and a chair for the interviewee each S...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of social psychology 1982-02, Vol.116 (1), p.3-7
Main Authors: Ugwuegbu, Denis C. E., Anusiem, A. U.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Female
HEAVILY EMPHASIZES METHODOLOGY OR TECHNIQUE OF STUDY
Humans
INFANTS AND CHILDREN
Interpersonal Relations
Male
NIGERIA
PERSONALITY AND HUMAN NATURE
PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY
Set (Psychology)
Social Distance
Stress, Psychological - psychology
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Summary:Seating distance in a simulated interview situation was examined in 30 Nigerian secondary-school boys and girls who were either mildly stressed or nonstressed about an anticipated interaction with an interviewer. In an empty room with only a seated interviewer and a chair for the interviewee each S chose a free seating position. The distance from the tip of the S's chair to the interviewer's prior to the first question of the interview served as a measure of spatial distance. The data indicate that stress affected S's tendency to approach in a face-to-face interaction situation. The Ss in the mild stress condition distanced themselves farther away from the interviewer than the no-stress Ss. It was concluded that the data provided a cross-cultural support for results obtained in spatial proximity research in the West.
ISSN:0022-4545
1940-1183
DOI:10.1080/00224545.1982.9924390