Kent G. Bailey

Body Height, Position, and Sex as Determinants of Personal Space

Summary The effects of body height, body position, and sex on personal space were investigated in a laboratory setting. Forty-one males and 43 females approached either a tall object person or a short object person with instructions to stop when they felt “uncomfortable.” Subjects approached the object person twice, once with the object person in a standing position and once with the object person in a sitting position. Height and position were found to be significant determinants of personal space, while position × sex was also significant. Results are discussed from a social as well as an ethological point of view.

Implied Threat and the Territorial Factor in Personal Space

Body territory may be a useful concept when personal space is studied under conditions of threat. It is predicted that, under conditions implying physical threat, defense of body territory will be greatest in the condition of male-to-male movement, that the male object-person will be a greater source of threat than the female object-person, and that anxiety will be associated with greater intervening distances for both sexes. Each S (male or female) approached and was approached by his respective object-person (male or female), providing measures of invading and being invaded behaviors. The major findings were: Ss tended to stay farther from the male than the female object-person; males showed the strongest sex-of-object effect, with approach toward the female object being more influential than avoidance of the male object; female Ss were more influenced by anxiety; and male Ss were most influenced by degree of heterosexuality. It was concluded that partial support was evidenced for what could be called a body territorial factor in human space behavior.

INVASION OF MALES' PERSONAL SPACE BY FEMINISTS AND NON-FEMINISTS

This research investigated the relationship between attitudes toward the feminine role and personal space in 72 college women (19.5 yr.). Subjects were classified as either feminists or traditionals according to their measured attitudes. Traditional women did not differ from feminists in their approach behavior to other females but remained a greater distance from males than did the feminists. Feminists saw themselves as more aggressive and more potent than the traditionals rated themselves.

Modeling and Personal Space Behavior in Children

Summary Approach vs. be approached behavioral measures of personal space were taken on 102 fifth and sixth grade children, each of whom was assigned to one of three groups: (a) Model-Close condition, (b) Model Far condition, and (c) No-Model Control group. A male peer served as model (M), and a 41-year-old female served as the object person. Results revealed a strong modeling tendency with both girls and boys tending to stay close or far from the object person as a function of M behavior. Boys and girls tended to behave similarly in the Close and Far modeling groups, but girls used more space in the No-Model Control condition. These findings suggest that modeling had an attenuating effect on sex differences in use of space. It was concluded that modeling theory is a viable conceptual tool for use in personal space research.

Measuring Psychological Kinship: Scale Refinement and Validation

The Kinship Scale was designed to measure the construct of psychological kinship. A revised version of the scale was validated against several measures of intimacy and relatedness. Subjects were undergraduate psychology students (56 men, 144 women) who were administered test packets including the Revised Kinship Scale, the Rubin Love and Liking Scales, the Adolescent Parent Relations Scale (Attachment), and the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale. The scales (except for Loneliness) were taken relative to two different cognitive sets, Closest Parent and Boyfriend or Girlfriend. As predicted, psychological kinship was positively correlated with attachment, love, and liking; however, sex differences complicated the picture. The prediction of a negative correlation between Kinship and Loneliness was not supported. Factor analysis yielded four factors, accounting for 51% of the total variance. The strongest factor (“family love”) contained 10 of the 20 items on the Revised Kinship Scale and accounted for 37 7% of the variance. It correlated as highly with the external affiliative measures as did the revised scale, and so may be a good short form of the test.

BODY SIZE AS IMPLIED THREAT: EFFECTS ON PERSONAL SPACE AND PERSON PERCEPTION

Following ethological theory, it was hypothesized that personal space and person perception would reflect implied threat in the form of “territorial sets” and body-size variables. 90 male undergraduates were randomly assigned to six treatment groups in a 2 (size of object person) × 3 (levels of threat) × 2 (approach or be approached) design. Personal space was not significantly influenced by the treatments, but strong findings emerged from the person perception data. An operational measure of “psychological advantage” based on ratings of the object minus self-ratings on aggression, strength, and muscularity showed both body-size and threat effects. Generally, the large object person increased his advantage over the subject as threat increased, while the opposite was true with respect to the small object person.

The sociopath: Cheater or warrior hawk?

Mealeys excellent target article rests on several assumptions that may be questioned, including the overarching assumption that sociopathy reflects the failure of a small minority of males to cooperate with the larger group. I suggest that violent competition in ancestral bands – and not “cheating” in the “game” of cooperation – was the primary evolutionary precursor of sociopathy. Todays violent sociopath is far more a “warrior hawk” than a failed cooperator.

Factor analysis of breadth and depth dimensions on Wechsler's similarities and vocabulary subscales

Previous research (Bailey, Lazar, & Edinger, 1977) has indicated the presence of Breadth and Depth factors on the Similarities subscale of the WAIS. The present study (N = 102) analyzed these two factors further, by using measures of Breadth and Depth on both the Similarities and Vocabulary subscales. Several other measures also were studied, including a Comprehension index, SAT scores, and GPA. Results of a factor analysis with oblique rotation revealed distinct Breadth and Depth factors, which strongly supported the theoretical rationale of the study. The Breadth factor seems to reflect broad-range skills of the type required on conventional IQ tests, while the Depth factor is less theoretically clear. It is suggested that Depth involves an effort component as well as ability because the S is required to provide more than a single correct answer for a given item.

Level of Self-Acceptance and Perceived Intelligence in Self and Friend

Abstract Fifty Ss initially rated themselves and a friend on intelligence. Ss were then divided into High and Low Acceptance groups using a self-ideal discrepancy. It was predicted that the High Acceptance group would generally rate themselves higher on the self-concept measures than would the Low Acceptance group. Further, and most importantly, it was predicted that the High group would rate their friends intelligence as similar to their own, while the Low group would rate their friend higher than themselves and, therefore, closer to their ideal. The predictions were generally supported, although the High group failed to exhibit the expected trait similarity. It was concluded that a trait complementarity model was most appropriate for interpreting the results of both groups.

Are Mating Strategies and Mating Tactics Independent Constructs

This study explored the constructs of mating tactics and mating strategies. These constructs are conceptually related but distinct. In current research, the measurement of one of these constructs often is viewed as being indicative of the other. Therefore, an exploration of these constructs will enhance understanding of study outcomes in this research area. Self-report measures of mating tactics and strategies were administered to 183 female participants, aged 18–45 years. The Escalating Sexual Encounters Questionnaire (ESEQ, Greer & Buss, 1994), the Derogatis Sexual Experience Scale (Derogatis & Melisaratos, 1979), the Sexual Strategies Measure (SSM, Schmitt, 1996), the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (Simpson & Gangestad, 1991), and two questions assessing age at menarche and total number of sexual partners were administered. Exploratory factor analysis with oblique rotation produced two distinct factors reflecting a “tactic”-based factor and a “strategy”-based factor. This finding is consistent with viewing mating tactics and mating strategies as distinct and varying independently. An important implication of this study is that measurement of mating tactics is not indicative of underlying mating strategies in women. Further, four patterns of female mating styles emerged upon review of participant factor scores and are discussed within an evolutionary context.