Personal Space Invasions in the Lavatory: Suggestive Evidence for Arousal

1. Personal Space Invasions in the Lavatory: Suggestive Evidence for Arousal Taelor Brown, Leah Hunter, Nate Delk, Chance Derugen-Toomey

2. Discussion of Article • Purpose: Investigating personal space invasion in a men’s lavatory, where proximity-induced arousal can be measured. • “Delay of onset” • Personal space invasion, individuals seek to maintain comfortable interpersonal distances. • If invaded some may move away • In the lavatory people may make compensatory actions to weaken the awkwardness. • Micturation suggests that it is a process “sensitive” to arousal.

3. Hypothesis: • The background research showed that social stressors affect your urethra relaxation, which in turn affects urine flow “micturation”. • The hypothesis was “that personal space invasion produce physiological changes associated with arousal.”

4. Method: • At a western U.S. university 108 subjects (pilot plus study). • The subjects were forced to use the leftmost urinal by the use of a confederate and the use of a sign, leaving only the adjacent urinal available. • Subjects urination flow was timed from the time they unzipped their pants to the time of urination. • There was an observer in a stall using a mirror to use visual cues for timing purposes.

5. Results: • Results show that personal space invasion does have an affect on arousal.

6. Unethical Procedures • No informed consent • No debriefing • At university; ages unknown • Observer was hidden using a mirror • Psychological stress and embarrassment may have been induced if subjects had been informed • “Human subjects report discomfort and negative feelings as a result of personal space invasions.”

7. Do we agree?