Variations in personal space as a function of authoritarianism, self-esteem, and racial characteristics of a stimulus situation.

Investigated "personal space," the portable, flexible area surrounding an individual which has been viewed as a buffer zone between him and his environment. It was hypothesized that when 20 high and 20 low self-esteem and authoritarian white male undergraduates were approached by white and black male stimuli, (a) the largest areas of personal space would be used by high authoritarian, and low self-esteem ss; and (b) these ss would also use larger areas of personal space in response to the approach of the black stimulus than the white. The hypotheses are supported. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)