A cross-cultural study of interpersonal distance and orientation schemata
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 1977
- Subjects: Personal space -- Testing Orientation (Psychology) Cross-cultural studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3206 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011743
- Description: Expectations about interpersonal distance during social encounters (distance schemata) and body orientation (orientation schemata) were investigated among White English-speakers and Xhosa groups which included illiterate traditionalists (Reds), poorly educated urban dwellers, and highly literate students and nurses. In a series of six experiments a doll placement task was used in which subjects represented dyadic encounters by placing pairs of standing dolls. For each situation represented the responses of each group of subjects were summarised in the form of a profile which showed the mean of the distance and three angle measures (IPOS profile). Independent variables included culture of subject, type of situation represented (friendly encounter, quarrel, accusation and denial, request) and the sex, age or relationship of the persons represented. In the culminating experiment (Experiment 6), females from three Xhosa groups (Reds or XR, poorly educated urban or XU, and urban nurses or XN) made twenty-three placements. In some respects the schemata of the four groups were very similar, while in others both distance and orientation schemata were a function of cultural group. The experiments allowed an assessment of the validity of the doll placement method to be made, and results were discussed in terms of the effects on interpersonal distance and body orientation of cultural norms concerning the showing of respect and the nature and strength of the emotions present in the various types of situation. It was concluded that with cultural movement away from the traditionalist pattern the schemata of the urban Xhosa showed a transition towards those found among the Whites in some respects. However, while the schemata of the XN group showed features of both those of the XR and White groups, those of the XU group showed features found in neither which seemed to reflect the insecurity of the cultural milieu of the urban poor.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1977
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 1977
- Subjects: Personal space -- Testing Orientation (Psychology) Cross-cultural studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3206 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011743
- Description: Expectations about interpersonal distance during social encounters (distance schemata) and body orientation (orientation schemata) were investigated among White English-speakers and Xhosa groups which included illiterate traditionalists (Reds), poorly educated urban dwellers, and highly literate students and nurses. In a series of six experiments a doll placement task was used in which subjects represented dyadic encounters by placing pairs of standing dolls. For each situation represented the responses of each group of subjects were summarised in the form of a profile which showed the mean of the distance and three angle measures (IPOS profile). Independent variables included culture of subject, type of situation represented (friendly encounter, quarrel, accusation and denial, request) and the sex, age or relationship of the persons represented. In the culminating experiment (Experiment 6), females from three Xhosa groups (Reds or XR, poorly educated urban or XU, and urban nurses or XN) made twenty-three placements. In some respects the schemata of the four groups were very similar, while in others both distance and orientation schemata were a function of cultural group. The experiments allowed an assessment of the validity of the doll placement method to be made, and results were discussed in terms of the effects on interpersonal distance and body orientation of cultural norms concerning the showing of respect and the nature and strength of the emotions present in the various types of situation. It was concluded that with cultural movement away from the traditionalist pattern the schemata of the urban Xhosa showed a transition towards those found among the Whites in some respects. However, while the schemata of the XN group showed features of both those of the XR and White groups, those of the XU group showed features found in neither which seemed to reflect the insecurity of the cultural milieu of the urban poor.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1977
An investigation of the determinants of the spatial characteristics of figure placements
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 1973
- Subjects: Characters and characteristics , Psychology, Applied , Cross-cultural studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3205 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011739 , Characters and characteristics , Psychology, Applied , Cross-cultural studies
- Description: The doll placement technique is a projective instrument which yields objective measures from which inferences may be drawn. Subjects place pairs of dolls to represent social encounters described to them by the experimenter. When the dolls have been placed, the distance between them and the angles at which they stand can serve as a source of information either about the personality of the placer or about the way in which he perceives the relationship between the interactors represented. Most experimental work employing figure placements has used flat felt figures which subjects have mounted on a flannel graph. This method limits an investigator to one dependent variable, the inter-figure distance. However if three dimensional dolls are placed three dependent measures can be derived from a placement, one of distance and two of orientation. It has been demonstrated that a reliable correlation exists between the spatial relations between figures placed by a person and the spatial relationships between real interactors. The theoretical analysis of the determinants of interpersonal distance and orientation in social encounters which has been worked out by students of non-verbal behaviour is therefore able to serve as a basis for the interpretation of the spatial characteristics of doll placements. Previous work with the doll placement technique has concentrated on the distance between dolls. The present study explored the determinants of figure orientations. Firstly an analysis was made of the types of orientation pattern that can occur when two persons are involved in a social encounter. Secondly, an experiment was performed which was designed to explore whether asymmetry in an orientation pattern might act as a cue to determine how individual figures in a pair were perceived. Thirdly, two doll placement studies were performed which were designed to investigate the conditions giving rise to asymmetrical orientation patterns and the determinants of direct and indirect orientations. The confidence or anxiety attributed to an interactor represented by a figure proved to be a major determinant of its spatial position. The results of the study indicate that the use of the angle measures in the analysis of doll placements considerably enhances the value of the technique. It is argued that the doll placement method could be profitably employed both as a clinical instrument and as a research tool for cross-cultural psychology.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1973
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 1973
- Subjects: Characters and characteristics , Psychology, Applied , Cross-cultural studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3205 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011739 , Characters and characteristics , Psychology, Applied , Cross-cultural studies
- Description: The doll placement technique is a projective instrument which yields objective measures from which inferences may be drawn. Subjects place pairs of dolls to represent social encounters described to them by the experimenter. When the dolls have been placed, the distance between them and the angles at which they stand can serve as a source of information either about the personality of the placer or about the way in which he perceives the relationship between the interactors represented. Most experimental work employing figure placements has used flat felt figures which subjects have mounted on a flannel graph. This method limits an investigator to one dependent variable, the inter-figure distance. However if three dimensional dolls are placed three dependent measures can be derived from a placement, one of distance and two of orientation. It has been demonstrated that a reliable correlation exists between the spatial relations between figures placed by a person and the spatial relationships between real interactors. The theoretical analysis of the determinants of interpersonal distance and orientation in social encounters which has been worked out by students of non-verbal behaviour is therefore able to serve as a basis for the interpretation of the spatial characteristics of doll placements. Previous work with the doll placement technique has concentrated on the distance between dolls. The present study explored the determinants of figure orientations. Firstly an analysis was made of the types of orientation pattern that can occur when two persons are involved in a social encounter. Secondly, an experiment was performed which was designed to explore whether asymmetry in an orientation pattern might act as a cue to determine how individual figures in a pair were perceived. Thirdly, two doll placement studies were performed which were designed to investigate the conditions giving rise to asymmetrical orientation patterns and the determinants of direct and indirect orientations. The confidence or anxiety attributed to an interactor represented by a figure proved to be a major determinant of its spatial position. The results of the study indicate that the use of the angle measures in the analysis of doll placements considerably enhances the value of the technique. It is argued that the doll placement method could be profitably employed both as a clinical instrument and as a research tool for cross-cultural psychology.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1973
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