Personal Space: A Study of Blacks and Whites*

Fifteen male and 15 female blacks and equal numbers of whites were asked to approach, "as close as comfortable," a confederate of their own sex and race whom they did not know. The data were analyzed to investigate differences in the distances chosen attributable to race, sex, or their interaction. It was found that white males chose the most distant positions (X=17.8 inches), white females were next (X=13.4), black males followed (X=11.4 inches), and black females were most proximal (X=8.1 inches). No significant differences were found for sex and the interaction of sex and race, but white subjects chose significantly greater distances than did black subjects (p<.O5) The results were interpreted as possibly being due to different cues eliciting distancing in the two groups. It was also suggested that the verbal instructions may have been construed differently by members of the two groups.