Proxemic Behavior - Annotated Bibliography Example

Galvao, M. T. G. (2006). Analysis of proxemic communication with HIV/AIDS patients. Revision of Latin American Nursing, 14, 491-6. This article examined the proxemic relationship between nurses and HIV/AIDS patients in a hospital atmosphere. It found that the distance for the majority of interactions was not related to communicative behavior, but rather on the medical care being provided. For instance, intimate distance occurred in nearly 1/5 of all interactions, yet these interactions were almost always caused by technical procedures (drawing blood, placing IVs and so on), while the majority of interactions occurred at personal distance because of the needs of technical care.

It also found that the proxemic behavior demonstrated by the nurses nearly universally communicated elements of superiority on the parts of the nurses, which can cause a breakdown in communication and allow patients to feel stigmatized. Greenberg, S. (2011). Proxemic Interactions: The New Ubicomp? Interactions, 18, 42-50. This article examined proxemics in applications outside of interpersonal interactions. It demonstrated that one of the major applications for proxemic analysis can be computer sciences.

As humanity interacts with computers more on a day to day basis, and use of computers expands far beyond the technically literate, it becomes increasingly important for computers to be able to interact with humans in “natural” ways. Proxemics can form one of the major foundations of this knowledge. A computer programmed to understand proxemics can understand, for instance, that when a person says “computer on” when facing away from it and too distantly, the command would probably be incidental, whereas when facing the computer and standing closer the command is probably intended for its own execution.

Likewise, a computer could use proxemic information, such as the angle and speed of movement, to know what kind of information to display to a human – if a human is walking at a perpendicular, distant angle from the computer, it must display information in a large and easy to read fashion, whereas more detailed information can be given to a human looking directly at the screen from an intimate distance. Newman, R. C. (1973). Proxemics in Deviant Adolescents. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 40, 7-9.

This study examined whether there was a difference in the proxemic behavior of two groups of thirty high school students. The two groups were “deviants” described as such because of committing rules infractions, and “normal” students who had not had problems with rules but had underachieved academically. It noted that both groups behaved very similarly in polemic terms, but oppositely of what had been observed in earlier studies. It also pointed out that one of the major problems in proxemic research is the experimenter’s knowledge of which people belonged to which group, with no sources of blindness, and noted that this could be a major source of bias and needs to be eliminated from proxemic research. Paul, P. (2011).

Proxemics in clinical and administrative settings. Journal of Healthcare management, 2, 151-4. This article examines the application of proxemics in administrative and clinical settings. It points out the ideas of proxemics can be easily adapted to clinical and administrative settings so long as the people in those environments are trained in their use. It gives examples or real-world communication methods using proxemics – such as closing distances to indicate seriousness in a conversation.

It also examines the idea that though these communication methods are usually natural and subconscious, understanding them actively can allow one to ensure that the physical distances communicate the meaning that one means to. It also examines the elements of proxemics outside of distance control which can impact communication. Watson, O. M. (1969). Quantitative Research in Proxemic Behavior. American Anthropologist, 68, 971-85. This article demonstrates the earliest elements of proxemic research.

This, one of the original examples of proxemic research, sets out the earliest elements of quantitative research in proxemics. This study examines the analysis of proxemic data based on studies of American vs. Arabic American college students. The paper demonstrates both that this data can be analyzed quantitatively, and that Arabic American college students generally displayed a closer proximity to each other when engaging in social behavior. It also shows that the same proxemic data can mean different things based on a variety of social conditions – a certain positionality when displayed by someone of Arab American upbringing would mean something very different than one displayed by an American.