A Psychological study of the impact of personal space on human behavior

Dr. N.D.G. Gayantha

(Lecturer in Psychology)
(BA. Hons. USJ, PhD. USJ., Dip in Counseling Psychology, MHF,
Advanced Dip in Psychotherapy, MHF)
Department of Philosophy
Faculty of Social Sciences
University of Kelaniya.

gayantha@kln.ac.lk

Abstract

It is widely believed that stress has become a major feature of modern living, as a result of
changes in the type of work that we do and many features of the environment. Life today may be
stressful than the life of our hunter-gatherer ancestors, but it seems that modern humans have
created an environment that is far from optimal for mental and physical health. Stress is thought
to be a principle cause of psychological distress and physical illness.

Each person has an invisible “spatial envelope” that defines his or her personal space. This is an
area surrounding the body that is regarded as private and subject to personal control. Basically,
personal space extends “I” or “me” boundaries past the skin to the immediate environment. The
problem of this study is there any impact of personal space on human behavior. The objective of
this study is to identify the relationship between stress and personal space, identify the impact of
personal space on human behavior and identify the solutions to overcome or mitigate the impact
of personal space on human behavior.

This study examines the relationship between the invasion of personal space and stress in
different situations. The results of this study provide evidence demonstrating that spatial invasion
is the reason for producing stress and impact on human behavior.

Key Words: stress, personal space and human behavior