South Africa escapade
In 2019, Zoe Whitacre, Ball State University advertising student, went on a trip with her family to visit relatives in South Africa for two weeks. Her South African relatives live in the suburbs of a large city called Johannesburg. Upon reaching their home, she observed a brand new environment that starkly contrasts American culture.
Houses in neighborhoods were packed closely together, and locals did not need as much personal space as Zoe was used to, but why is that the case? What factors determine how people choose to act, travel, and position themselves in their culture? The answer may be found in cross-cultural examinations and Classical Proxemic Theory.
Classical Proxemic Theory
According to the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP), the Classical Proxemic Theory is the idea that preferred amounts of social distance across cultures depends on environmental and socio-psychological factors. Because of these factors, cultures tend to be split into two groups: contact culture and noncontact culture. Contact cultures are more comfortable being close to others than people in noncontact cultures, who prefer a lot of space.
Edward T. Hall, a cross-cultural researcher, published a book in 1966 called “The Hidden Dimension” about this theory, and he analyzed in his studies how personal space varies across different countries. He identifies several reasons why different cultures and demographics have their own preferences. Some of these reasons include age, gender, climate, environment, cultural values, social situations, and personal attitudes.
A research team working with the IACCP published their research this year in The Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, analyzing Hall’s theories. It clarified how each element affects each other as well as specific societies.
For instance, Hall theorized that cultures located in warmer geographical regions are more likely to be contact cultures. The IACCP research team clarified that this is an observable trend in warmer climates; however, disease can cause a culture to become a noncontact culture. While their research reaffirmed that there are observable trends that can indicate spatial preference in each society, it’s important to pay attention to the individual societal elements before labeling them.
Public spaces and transportation
Richard King, a teaching professor in modern languages and classics at Ball State, studies abroad with his students each year to Greece to experience its culture and history. During his travels, he noticed that in public spaces and on public transportation, people in Greece tend to stand closer to each other than in America. It’s very common for strangers on the street to bump into each other and brush shoulders.
“Sometimes, you’re traveling, in say Greece, and you’re wondering ‘Why are all these people on me?” he says.
On public buses in Greece, King says that people from all kinds of backgrounds don’t mind being close to each other. Peoples’ identity is a large factor in how close an individual may choose to stand next to another person.
Social environments
While on a trip to an open-air market in South Africa, Zoe discovered a new kind of workplace where profit matters more than social distance.
“People will grab you or pull you into their market, and they’ll put stuff in your hands,” she says.
In such a competitive social environment, there is more benefit to having a large presence than there is to being reserved. Because of this, South African open-air markets tend to reflect contact cultural values.
Face-to-face
During a personal trip to Athens, King decided to go souvenir shopping in the small, local businesses. Once there, he noticed a phenomenon surrounding small business spaces: they were often located in people’s houses. Doors to Greek shops would often open to a local resident’s basement, and their living room would be just up the stairs or behind a door. When he entered one of the shops and started looking around, the shopkeeper came up to him and immediately started up a personal conversation.
“I think, in retrospect, that she was simply trying to be friendly and engage in a face-to-face cultural way,” he says. “The tradition in old Greece is that it’s face-to-face. We are like brothers and sisters.”
This marketing style reflects the culture’s traditions and beliefs that everyone should be treated like family, even strangers. By inviting their patrons into their space, they create a more domestic environment that encourages social interaction.
It’s a vibrant contrast to how American housing tends to be more personal and limited to friends and family members. In the rise of online shopping, fewer people are required to physically enter a store and talk to employees about products. The face-to-face interactions are not as big of a necessity as it is in Greece.
“They want to interact to establish a basis for a relationship, whereas we don’t need a basis,” King says.
Cultural responses to disease
There are always outside factors that can overturn a culture’s way of life in a matter of days. One of the most infamous factors to do this in recent years is COVID-19. Disease has always been a driving factor for societal change. It forces the population to invent new strategies to protect themselves and the people around them, and these strategies continue to persist.
“The upkeep of public space, sanitation, the sewer system; having a sewer system can save lives because the water is part of the space,” King says.
In South Africa, Zoe Whitacre’s great aunt struggled through the COVID-19 lockdown. In quarantine, she struggled to work her job remotely. She is a teacher and had to work around the city’s load-shedding schedule. During load-shedding, all electricity in the city is shut off. During these times, Zoe’s great aunt could not teach virtual classes, turn on the air conditioning, heat, or television.
“I think she had to get someone else to go buy her groceries for her,” Zoe says. “I don’t think she was allowed to leave for long.”
Older generations were pressured to stay confined in their houses for their health, and families had to make changes to get the income they needed. According to research conducted by the International Journal for Equity and Health, this story is not limited to South Africa.
Similar changes happened in both contact cultures and noncontact cultures. The study analyzed information from case studies conducted across 15 different countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Israel, and many more. Every generation had to consider their neighbor’s health and take precautions to ensure everyone stayed safe. While disease can reduce social interaction, it can also create a collective goal to protect each other.
Contact culture and following trends
“Culture changes over time,” King says. “Just because they did it that way when you were young, doesn’t mean they’re going to do it when you’re old, because they have a right to change their culture too.”
Humans are unpredictable. The world is always changing, and the same can be said for its inhabitants. While a culture may fall into a certain pattern today, it may be something completely different tomorrow.
Sources: The Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, International Journal for Equity and Health, The Hidden Dimension, International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, CSISS Classics
