means indifference. On the contrary, the British will regard the closer contact
distance between Latin America and Arab countries as impolite and an expression of aggression.
2.3 Space of the Study
The previous studies about the spacial communication culture are relatively complete. However, my paper pay more attention to study the Chinese spacial culture, based on the Hall’ s theory, the paper can give a conclusion about the data and
theoretical conclusion. I will use the observation to get some data about the Chinese spacial communication distance. And I will make use of these data to study the
reason why the Chinese show the distance so that the paper can be helpful to study Chinese culture.
Chapter 3 Research Design
A detailed introduction of the research design of this paper will be shown in this chapter.
3.1 Theoretical framework
This paper mainly makes use of Hofstede’s cultural dimension theory to analyze the the research data. Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory to analyze the data
obtained, to investigate its cultural background and reasons.Hofstede’ s cultural dimension is the main guiding theory of this paper. Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory is a framework proposed by Dutch psychologist Hofstede to measure cultural differences in different countries. He believes that culture is a psychological program shared by people in an environment that can distinguish a group of people from others. Through research, he summed up the differences between different cultures into six basic dimensions of cultural values. In 1980, Hofstede published the
influence of the giant masterpiece culture: the transnational comparison of values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations. Later, He adopted the supplements of his theories from scholars and summed up the six Dimensions: (I) Power Distance
refers to the degree of acceptance of unequal distribution of power in a societyor organization by a person with a low status in a society. Because countries have different understandings of power, there are great differences in this dimension. Europeans and Americans do not value power very much. They pay more attention to personal ability. However, due to the institutional relationship, Asian countries focus on the binding power.
(2) Uncertainty Avoidance refers to whether a society can avoid and control uncertainty through formal channels when it is affected by uncertain events and
unconventional environmental threats. High-avoidance cultures place more emphasis on authority, status, qualifications, age, etc., and try to provide greater occupational safety, establish more formal rules, do not tolerate radical opinions and behaviors, and believe absolute knowledge and expert assessments to avoid these scene. A low-avoidance culture is more tolerant of unnatural behaviors and opinions, less
rules and regulations, and they allow different kinds of claims to exist simultaneously in philosophy and religion.
(3) The dimension of Individualism versus Collectivism is to measure whether a society as a whole pays attention to the interests of individuals or the interests of collectives. The relationship between individuals in an individualistic society is loose, people tend to care about themselves and their families, while a society with a tendency toward collectivism focuses on inter-ethnic relations, cares about big families, and strong ethnic relations can give people Continuing protection, while individuals must be absolutely loyal to the ethnic group.
(4) The dimensions of Masculinity versus Femininity mainly depend on the quality of
a society representing men, such as competitiveness and arbitrariness, or the quality of women, such as modesty, caring for others, and for men and women. Definition of functions. The greater the value of the Masculinity Dimension Index (MDI) is, the more obvious the masculine tendency of the society, and the more prominent the masculinity is; on the contrary, it means the femininity of the society is outstanding. (5) The Long-term versus Short-term dimension refers to the extent to which
members of a given culture can accept the satisfaction of material, emotional, and social needs. This dimension shows the extent to which a moral life is worth pursuing and does not require any religion to justify it. The long-term orientation index has a strong relationship with economic growth in various countries. In the late 20th century, the economy in East Asia advanced by leaps and bounds, and scholars believed that long-term orientation was one of the main reasons for promoting development.
(6) The dimension of Indulgence versus Restraint refers to the degree of tolerance of a person's basic needs and the desire to enjoy life. The greater the value of
Indulgence, the greater the degree to which the society as a whole is, and the more tolerant the society is to allow self-indulgence, the less restrictive one is. This is the newly added dimension. 3.2 Research Questions
Hopefully, this paper will answer the following questions:
(1) What is the specific data of the spatial communication distance in Chinese?
(2) What is the cultural background of the data about the spatial distance of Chinese people?
(3) What are the cultural differences reflected in the similarities and differences of spatial communication between Chinese and the West? 3.3 Research Method
This study mainly uses the observation method to obtain the data, and then uses the comparison method to compare the spatial distance between Chinese and western interpersonal communication, and finally analyzes the cultural reasons for similarities and differences.
Hall uses the observation method to develop spatial relations related to the Western world. Hall's space theory is used as the reference theory of this study. This study also follows Hall's research methods to ensure the science of this study. Sexuality and credibility. Taking “I” as the center of observation, by observing the
communication process between me and other different groups of people, observing the differences in the distance between the two places, and collating and analyzing the final data, I will then use the data obtained in this study and Hall’s space theory. By comparison, the similarities and differences of the spatial distances between Chinese and Western peoples are obtained. Finally, using Hofstede's
cultural dimension theory, the cultural background of data comparison is studied and illustrated. Because the public distance is relatively objective, it is mainly measured and supplemented by observation. The social distance, individual distance, and intimacy distance are more subjective. Therefore, observation is the main method and measurement is supplemented. Two to three examples of each distance were observed, and the average was used for comparison.
Chapter 4 The Comparative Study of Interpersonal Proxemics between the Chinese and the West
4.1 The introduction of Proxemics
According to Hall's definition, proxemics is to discern the behavior of people using different distances of the near body to understand their psychological activities. Hall believes that changes in space can affect communication, and have the effect of
enhancing communication, and can even go beyond speech. The important part of the whole process of communication in which the distance between people is extremely varied during conversation. Hall found through the investigation of the American middle class situation that people in the process of conversation see the relationship between the two parties and the need for communication to maintain a different distance, and adjust the volume according to the distance. He divided the distance into 8 distance segments in Silent Language and measured the relationship between each segment's distance and the volume of the conversation. 1.(Very close: 3-6 inches) Whisper, top secret
2.(Close: 8-12 inches) can hear whisper, very confidential
3. (Near: 12-20 inches) indoor whispers, high outdoor sound, confidential 4.(Neutral: 20-36 inches) whispered softly, involving personal matters 5.(Neutral: 4.5-5 inches) High voice, non-personal business
6.(Public distance:5.5-8 inches) The sound is released, involving public information that others hear
7.(Across the room:8-20 inches) Talking loudly, speaking to everyone
8.(Stretching the limiting of distance: Indoor 20-24 inches; Outdoor as far as 100 inches) Cheers, Say goodbye
Later, people integrated this classification into four distances:
(Intimate distance) From the body to each other but not more than 18 inches apart. From the perspective of psychology, this area belongs to its own, and the
relationship between those who do not have close relationships will cause a sense of threat. Within this context is often whispering, talking about top secret issues. In crowded public places, such as concerts, theaters, elevators, buses and trains, violations of personal intimate areas are unavoidable. The general and strictly observed unwritten laws are:
(1) Do not speak to anyone , including people you know. (2) Avoid meeting with the eyes of others.
(3) Face expressionless, not revealing personal emotions.
(4) If you are reading a book, you must be engrossed in it; others must not peek or come to see your book.
(5) The body remains rigid and cannot rest on others.
(6) In the elevator, eyes can only stare at the floor number display board.
2.(Personal distance) is usually about 1.5-4 feet. This is the distance between friends and classmates or colleagues. It is a personal conversation . The conversation is not loud and gentle.
3. (Social distance) 4-12 feet apart. This is the normal distance for social interaction. The content of the conversation is generally non-personal. In this distance
conversation, the volume is moderate, and the unrelated person is not kept secret. 4. (Public distance) The distance is more than 12 feet. The voice is very loud in this distance. The content of the conversation does not involve personal affairs. It is generally suitable for lectures, speeches, acting, etc. 4.2 Research process
Proxemics has four kinds of distance, public distance, social distance, personal distance andintimate distance. Due to the difference of the four kinds of distance, the study uses the different observation methods. 4.2.1 Public distance
It is generally applicable to speakers and listeners, extremely rigid conversations with each other and informal occasions. In business occasions, it is extremely important to choose and maintain the appropriate distance based on the object and purpose of its activities. This is an \People can \
have a certain connection with each other. Therefore, most of the interactions in this space are public speeches. When a speaker tries to talk to a specific audience, he must step off the podium and shorten the distance between the two individuals to a personal or social distance in order to achieve effective communication. Since my school environment, the school environment is my main research environment, and the public distance in the school environment was often expressed as the distance between the teacher and the student in class, the auditorium actor or the rostrum and the audience distance, so I measured many classrooms and lecture halls to get the public distance. The public distance generally refers to the distance between one or more speakers and the audiences. Because the speaker on the stage is generally the first to notice the audiences in the front row, the public distance in this paper refers to the distance between the audience speaker and audience in the first or
second row. According to the campus environment, the public distance I studied was divided into three types according to the size, small space distance, medium space distance, and large space distance.
The following are the experimental procedures and experimental results about the public distance:
Ladder Classroom 205
Length: 18.5m Width: 14.5m Capacity: 150 persons
Distance from the teacher standing position (podium) to the blackboard : 1.3m Distance from the blackboard to the first desk: 366cm Distance from the blackboard to the second desk: 450cm
Distance from the teacher standing position (podium) to the students in the first row: 266cm
Distance from the teacher standing position (podium) to the students in the second row: 320cm
(2) Audiovisual Teaching Building 204
Length: 14.25m Width: 7.9m Capacity:70 persons
Distance from the position of the teacher (podium) to the blackboard: 80cm Distance from blackboard to second row: 420cm
Distance from the position of the teacher (podium) to second row students: 340cm (3) Fixed seat classroom B201
Length: 14m Width: 8m Capacity: 55-60 persons
Distance from the position of the teacher (podium) to the blackboard: 70cm Distance from the blackboard to the first row: 310cm Distance from the blackboard to the second desk: 420cm
Distance from the position of the teacher (podium) to the first row students: 240cm Distance from the position of teacher (podium) to the second row students: 350cm (4) Non-fixed seat classroom B402
Length: 10.65m Width: 8.7m Capacity: 60 persons
Distance from the position of teacher (podium) to the blackboard: 80cm Distance from the blackboard to the first row:290cm Distance from the blackboard to the second row: 410cm
Distance from the position of teacher (podium) to the first row: 210cm Distance from the position of teacher (podium) to the second row: 330cm (5) West University Student Activity Center Auditorium Scale: 560 seats
Length: 33.5m Width: 25m Stage length 8.5m
Distance from the general actor or podium to the first row: 5m-6.5m Distance from the edge of the stage to the first row: 2.1m (6) East University Student Activity Center Auditorium Scale: 1303 seats
Distance from the position of the actor on the stage to the edge of the stage: 7.5m-8.6m
Distance from the actors to the first row of audiences: 12.81m Distance from the actors to the second row of audiences: 13.71m
According to the results of all observations, the public distances of the three spaces are divided according to the number of seats and the size of the space, namely, the public space of the small space, the public space of the medium space, and the public space of the large space. The public distance of the small space generally means that they can accommodate 50--150 persons. The distance between a
speaker (specifically an actor on the stage or a teacher or speaker on the podium) and a student attending a class in the space of 150 people, such as the distance
between the teacher and the students who are in Liren College, or, in a small speech contest held in a lecture hall, the distance between the speech player and the judges or the audiences; the medium-sized public distance generally refers to the distance between the speaker (usually the stage actor or the rostrum) and the audience, usually refers to the space that can accommodate about 500 persons, such as the distance between an actor or a rostrum in the report hall of the Western Campus Student Activity Center ,the audience in the first row or second row; the public distance in a large space generally refers to a speaker in a space capable of accommodating about 1,000 people. The distance between the station and the audience, such as the actor or the rostrum and audiencesthe in the first row or the second row in the lecture hall of the University Student Activity Center in the East Campus.
The following is the average of the values of the three spatial public distances： Size Example Public Distance Small
(50--150 persons) Classroom 3.3m--3.5m Medium
(about500 persons) Western Campus Student Activity Center 6m-7.5m Large
(about 1000 persons) Eastern Campus Student Activity Center 10--11m
The Proxemics theory of Hall mentions that the Public distance refers to the 3.6-11m, obviously, the data that this study observed and got is different. First of all,
according to the public distance of the three groups of spaces, the average value of the Chinese public distance is derived because it is necessary to compare with Hall's spatial distance. Given that Hall's public distance focuses on the small and medium-sized space studied,when selecting the average values, the study ignores the public distance of the large space temporarily. According to the observation, the study get the Chinese public distance, 3.3m-7.5m, the data is compared with the public distance of Hall, we can get that the pubic distances of Chinese and American are similar. However, it is clear that the Chinese power distance is longer than American power distance. Power distance of Cultural dimension theory can be used to analyze the situation. Power Distance refers to the degree of acceptance of unequal
distribution of power in a society or organization by a person with a low status in a society. Because countries have different understandings of power, there are great differences in this dimension. Europeans and Americans do not value power very much. They pay more attention to personal ability. However, due to the institutional relationship, Asian countries focus on the binding power. Since this study is concentrated in the classroom or the lecture hall, the power distance is more pronounced. Chinese teachers often keep a certain distance from students to
maintain their authority, and the position of the rostrum in the lecture hall is often maintained with the audience. In terms of cultural background, the Chinese tradition
中西人际交际空间距离的对比研究
