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Abstract: This article present case study of personal space on cross-cultural communication. Personal space is one of the cultural differences that people first notice when dealing with individuals from other cultures. To be aware of the more precise aspect in our daily communication can ease the process to our communication goal and avoid the uncertainty and failure in cross-cultural or intercultural communication.
Key Words:personal space；cross-cultural communication；case study
Personal Space: Case Study of Cross-cultural Communication
1. Introduction
When you are waiting in a queue before an ATM, how close will you prefer to others? And how close will you prefer others to yourself? The first time you step into your dormitory you paid for one-year's sharing with others, do you feel content about it? Now, let's see the following two cases:
Case 1: Jia had lived in the United States for 7 years before she came back to work in China. She found that she had become accustomed to social habits in North America and that some Chinese behaviors now caused her some discomfort. For example, one day, back in China, she was in a queue to use an ATM. She had noticed that people were standing very close to each other. In fact, the person behind her could, if he or she wanted, to see her enter the PIN of her ATM card. Jia wanted to make people aware of the discomfort of the user by keeping he distance from the person in front of her. However, the people behind her pushed her to move forward.
Case 2: Li studies in America after graduation in a Chinese university. She lives there with a family of a couple with two kids. They lived in a house with 3-4 bedrooms, each about 10 square meters, and Li herself holds a small one. When talking about her life in Chinese campus, she told them about the dormitory she shared with 6-8 girls in China. The American family are surprised about that. They can not believe that one could share an less-than-20-square-meter dorm with so many.
2. Analysis
These two cases presented indicate the two categories the amount of space a being needs, immediate individual physical space (determined by imagined boundaries), which can be typically represented by the queue scene, and the space an individual considers theirs to live in (often called habitat), to which dorm condition serves as an example.
Firstly, it seems that we Chinese have got used to the crowd with little personal space, partly due to our densely populated environment, and partly the consequence of historic affairs. We know that there have been times when consumer goods were in very short supply and people in line had to stand very close to one another to prevent others from cutting into the line. People tried to cut into a queue because that was the only way to make sure one could get one's share or to get things done sooner.
We may feel resent about the closeness before the ATM machine while take it for granted in the Boiling Water Room. If you keep the same distance as when you do before the ATM machine as I once did, someone sure will cut into your line. According to psychologist Robert Sommer, this is the second aspect - dehumanization. He argues that, for instance on the subway, crowded people imagine those infiltrating their personal space as inanimate.
Key Words:personal space；cross-cultural communication；case study
Personal Space: Case Study of Cross-cultural Communication
1. Introduction
When you are waiting in a queue before an ATM, how close will you prefer to others? And how close will you prefer others to yourself? The first time you step into your dormitory you paid for one-year's sharing with others, do you feel content about it? Now, let's see the following two cases:
Case 1: Jia had lived in the United States for 7 years before she came back to work in China. She found that she had become accustomed to social habits in North America and that some Chinese behaviors now caused her some discomfort. For example, one day, back in China, she was in a queue to use an ATM. She had noticed that people were standing very close to each other. In fact, the person behind her could, if he or she wanted, to see her enter the PIN of her ATM card. Jia wanted to make people aware of the discomfort of the user by keeping he distance from the person in front of her. However, the people behind her pushed her to move forward.
Case 2: Li studies in America after graduation in a Chinese university. She lives there with a family of a couple with two kids. They lived in a house with 3-4 bedrooms, each about 10 square meters, and Li herself holds a small one. When talking about her life in Chinese campus, she told them about the dormitory she shared with 6-8 girls in China. The American family are surprised about that. They can not believe that one could share an less-than-20-square-meter dorm with so many.
2. Analysis
These two cases presented indicate the two categories the amount of space a being needs, immediate individual physical space (determined by imagined boundaries), which can be typically represented by the queue scene, and the space an individual considers theirs to live in (often called habitat), to which dorm condition serves as an example.
Firstly, it seems that we Chinese have got used to the crowd with little personal space, partly due to our densely populated environment, and partly the consequence of historic affairs. We know that there have been times when consumer goods were in very short supply and people in line had to stand very close to one another to prevent others from cutting into the line. People tried to cut into a queue because that was the only way to make sure one could get one's share or to get things done sooner.
We may feel resent about the closeness before the ATM machine while take it for granted in the Boiling Water Room. If you keep the same distance as when you do before the ATM machine as I once did, someone sure will cut into your line. According to psychologist Robert Sommer, this is the second aspect - dehumanization. He argues that, for instance on the subway, crowded people imagine those infiltrating their personal space as inanimate.