Page 141 - Essencials of Sociology

114 CHAPTER 4 Social Structure and Social Interaction

remain stationary because there was nothing to communicate aggression in his behavior
stereotype assumptions of what
people are like, whether true or except the conversational distance… .
false By experimenting I was able to observe that as I moved away slightly, there was an as-
sociated shift in the pattern of interaction. He had more trouble expressing himself. If I
body language the ways in which
people use their bodies to give shifted to where I felt comfortable (about twenty-one inches), he looked somewhat puzzled
messages to others and hurt, almost as though he were saying, “Why is he acting that way? Here I am doing
everything I can to talk to him in a friendly manner and he suddenly withdraws. Have
I done anything wrong? Said something I shouldn’t?” Having ascertained that distance
had a direct effect on his conversation, I stood my ground, letting him set the distance.

As you can see, despite Hall’s extensive knowledge of other cultures, he still felt
uncomfortable in this conversation. He first interpreted the invasion of his personal
space as possible aggression, since people get close (and jut out their chins and chests)
when they are hostile. But when he realized that this was not the case, Hall resisted his
impulse to move.
After Hall analyzed situations like this, he observed that North Americans use four
different “distance zones.”
1. Intimate distance. This is the zone that the South American had unwittingly in-
vaded. It extends to about 18 inches from our bodies. We reserve this space for
comforting, protecting, hugging, intimate touching, and lovemaking.
2. Personal distance. This zone extends from 18 inches to 4 feet. We reserve it for
friends and acquaintances and ordinary conversations. This is the zone in which Hall
would have preferred speaking with the South American.
3. Social distance. This zone, extending from about 4 to 12 feet, marks impersonal or
formal relationships. We use this zone for such things as job interviews.
4. Public distance. This zone, extending beyond 12 feet, marks even more formal re-
lationships. It is used to separate dignitaries and public speakers from the general
public.

Eye Contact. One way that we protect our personal bubble is by controlling eye
contact. Letting someone gaze into our eyes—unless the person is an eye doctor—can
be taken as a sign that we are attracted to that person, even as an invitation to intimacy.
Wanting to become “the friendliest store in town,” a chain of supermarkets in Illinois
ordered its checkout clerks to make direct eye contact with each customer. Female clerks
Eye contact is a fascinating aspect
of everyday life. We use fleeting eye complained that male customers were taking their eye contact the wrong way, as an invi-
contact for most of our interactions, tation to intimacy. Management said they were exaggerating. The clerks’ reply was, “We
such as those with clerks or people know the kind of looks we’re getting back from men,” and they refused to continue
we pass in the hall between classes. making direct eye contact with them.
Just as we reserve our close personal
space for intimates, so, too, we Smiling. In the United States, we take it for granted that clerks will smile as they wait
reserve soft, lingering eye contact for on us. But it isn’t this way in all cultures. Apparently, Germans aren’t used to smiling
them.
clerks, and when Wal-Mart expanded into Germany, it brought its Ameri-
can ways with it. The company ordered its German clerks to smile at their
customers. They did—and the customers complained. The German cus-
tomers interpreted the smiles as flirting (Samor et al. 2006).
Body Language. While we are still little children, we learn to interpret
body language, the ways people use their bodies to give messages to oth-
ers. This skill in interpreting facial expressions, posture, and gestures is
essential for getting through everyday life. Without it—as is the case for
people with Asperger’s syndrome—we wouldn’t know how to react to oth-
ers. It would even be difficult to know whether someone was serious or
joking.

Applied Body Language. Our common and essential skill of interpret-
ing body language has become a tool for both business and government.
In some hotels, clerks are taught how to “read” the body language of