The Size
Although personal space varies from culture to culture, it is a clear and innate psychological construct that lives within all human beings. Personal space includes everything around a person that they view as psychologically their own and extends in every direction (some directions more than others).
In fact, an individual’s personal space is not a perfect circle. A majority of people in the Western world have a personal space of about two feet to the left and right, almost three feet to the direct front, and a mere foot behind them. The fact that people don’t mind having people closer to where they are not directly looking says a lot about the psychological nature of personal space. Because the personal space boundaries vary from person to person, it can be difficult for a person to determine whether or not their proximity to another has breached the personal space of another.
The Range
In his book, Proxemics, Edward T. Hall determines a hierarchy of four distinctive levels that make up an individual’s personal space. The levels represent the standard proximity that many people prefer to keep specific people based on familiarity and relationship status, where we keep those we care the most about much, much nearer than those who we have just met, to those we view as strangers.
The ranges are public space, social space, personal space, and intimate space, and each one decreases in size respectively. Our notion of intimate space is the smallest of our spaces and consists of touching to about eighteen inches away, and is reserved for close family, lovers, children, and even our pets. Personal space extends from the end of intimate space up to about four feet away. We use this space for conversations with friends and coworkers and in group discussions. Social space has a range from four feet away to about eight feet. We use this space for meeting new people or when talking to strangers. For most people, this is as far away as standard interaction goes, but the final level of personal space includes public space. The only time people consider spaces outside of eight feet to be within their personal space is during larger public events, such as making a presentation or lecturing in front of a crowd.
Too Close
Even with an approximate distance set up for different levels of acquaintanceship, people still often mistakenly enter another’s personal space, which can cause the person great discomfort or be psychologically disturbing. However it is easy to tell when a person is too close; a strong reaction will soon be evident upon entering the personal space of another either by an extreme avoidance of eye contact or people immediately shifting away.
In crowded cities, many people have adapted methods of dealing with intersecting personal bubbles by mentally dehumanizing those within too close of a distance. People will view others as inanimate objects that are no different than the seats on a bus or chairs on an airplane. This allows people to temporary relieve the discomfort of having a stranger within intimate proximity, further proving that personal space has a strong psychological connection.