Role of room size and interaction distance on stress-related feelings and social interaction of dyads

Eighty male and 80 female college students participated in an experiment to study reactions to stress as a function of room size and interaction distance. Two subjects (one male and one female) sat on stools either relatively close together (1.22m) or far apart (2.74m), in a waiting room relatively large 5.94m X 3.96m or small 2.44m X 3.96m. They completed a Personality and Environment questionnaire, received task instructions and consent forms, and then waited 10-min in the large or small room for the experimental task that involved receiving either shocks or lights as performance feedback. During the waiting period three observers watched through a one-way mirror and recorded specific behaviors of each of the subjects. After the 10-min wait, the Personality and Environment questionnaire was readministered as well as a sociometric questionnaire. The design was a factorial of 2(Stress Conditions) X 2(Room Sizes) X 2(Seating Distances) X 2(Sex of Subject) X 2(Assessment Times). Ten pairs of subjects were randomly assigned to one of the eight experimental conditions. The analysis of the three semantic differential items relating to current stress state (Rattled and Jittery vs Cool and Collected, Calm vs Worried, Tense vs Relaxed) indicated a significant Stress Condition X Seating Distance X Assessment Time interaction. That is, when anticipating the Shock Condition subjects showed a greater increase in stress feelings when they interacted Close than Far. No effects of sex nor room size on these stress ratings were observed. These findings supported the notion that interaction distance, and not room size, is the more prominent spatial variable associated with crowding effects.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Department dc:contributor.department

Psychology

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Year dc:date.issued

1977

Author dc:creator

• Blanchet, Marie-Louise

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10919/54857

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/54857