Imagine you and a stranger are sitting on a couch. How close would you sit to them? It turns out that how much of a buffer zone you prefer may reveal a lot about your personality.
In one study, researchers sought to ascertain how our personality may be linked to our preferred amount of personal space. The researchers found that people who scored higher in the trait of agreeableness tended to sit closer to others, as did people who were more open and outgoing.
Other individual differences, such as gender and age, can also affect how much personal space we crave. Women tend to prefer more physical distance from strangers or acquaintances and older adults also generally tend to prefer to keep more distance between themselves and others.
Beyond reflecting our personality and demographics, the amount of personal space we prefer is also linked to our cultural backgrounds. In a study involving participants from 42 countries, researchers found that around the world people's desired amount of personal space varied substantially. For example, in Romania, the average amount of personal space people said they would prefer from a stranger was more than 4 feet, whereas in Argentina it was roughly half that.
What might underlie this variation? The researchers looked at a number of potential factors, but the only one that was significantly correlated with preferred interpersonal distance was average temperature. The warmer the place, it seems, the "warmer" the people and the less space they needed between them and others.
Personal space may also reflect interpersonal attraction. Researchers have found that our chosen physical proximity also appears to reflect how much we like others. The more people would like to be friends with the other person, the closer they sat to them.