Briefly discuss the research findings of privacy and personal space and how it affects individuals.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Many examples may be provided. Two follow. Researchers have examined the physical attributes of workplace offices that satisfy the privacy needs of the U.S. workforce. In recent decades employers have limited personal space of employees, using open-plan cubicles, based on the belief that such open-plan arrangements will facilitate communication among employees, as well as on a desire to cut costs. The consistent finding is that employees are not satisfied with the level of privacy in open-plan arrangements. Males have often been found to require greater personal space than females, and research indicates that the largest interpersonal distances are kept in male-male pairs, followed by female-female pairs, with the smallest interpersonal distances kept in male-female pairs. However, recent research indicates that, in general, women prefer greater personal space when interacting with men than men prefer when interacting with women