Environment 6: Territory and Personal Space Flashcards
What was the aim of Wells (2000) study?
Territory and Personal Space
- Do men and women personalise their workspaces differently
- Is personalisation of workplaces associated with enhanced employee wellbeing
- Is personalisation of workspaces more important to women’s wellbeing than men’s
- Is a companies personalisation policy associated with organisation and wellbeing
What was the sample for Wells (2000) ?
Territory and Personal Space
Office workers in 20 companies in orange county California
-The small businesses volunteered and 661 surveys were distributed to office workers and 338 were returned
-For the case study follow up 23 employees from 5 of the companies were used data was collected in 2 ways
What was the method of Wells (2000) study?
Territory and Personal Space
Surveys:
7 sections; workspace personalisation, satisfaction with physical work environment, job satisfaction, wellbeing, employee perception of organisational wellbeing (staff morale), personality traits, personal demographic
Case study:
Tape recorded structured interviews lasting 10-15 mins
The workspace of the interviewee was then inspected and photographs taken
What were the results for the 4 aims of Wells (2000) study?
Territory and Personal Space
- Men and women personalise their workspaces differently - 11.12 items vs 7.68, women had family friends and pets whereas men had achievements and sports paraphernalia
- Personalisation significantly associated with satisfaction of the work environment, this is linked to job satisfaction
- Personalisation isn’t more important to men than women but in the interviews women said they wouldn’t work somewhere that didn’t let them personalise their workspace
- Companies who are more lenient with workspace personalisation reported a more positive organisational climate, greater staff morale and less staff turnover
What was the conclusion for Wells (2000) study?
Territory and Personal Space
Wells suggested caution when generalising the results of her study as there could be other policies that could lead to a feeling of wellbeing and may not be generalisable to large companies.
However there is practical application - if employers with to retain employees and keep them happy then they should let them personalise their workspace
What is Smiths study?
Territory and Personal Space
-Observation of different nationalities and how they compete for beach space
-On French, USA, West German beach
-Interviews on nationality, size of occupied space, number and type of territorial markers also recorded
-West Germans made more territorial claims and used sandcastles and ‘reserved signs’
-French couldn’t grasp the concept of territoriality
What was Halls study?
Territory and Personal Space
-Based on observations of white middle class Americans, Hall proposed personal space can be divided into 4 zones:
1. Public (12ft+)
2. Social (4 - 12ft)
3. Personal (1 1/2 - 4ft)
4. Intimate (0 - 1 1/2ft)
What was Middlemists study?
Territory and Personal Space
-Carried out in US University library toilets
-Test the impact that invasions of personal space can have including physiological reactions
-Measured the time length of delay of onset and duration of urinating with a stop watch
-There were three urinals in the bathrooom and three scenarios: participant not approached, confederate stood with 1 urinal inbetween, confederate stood next to participant
-Results confirmed that personal space invasions cause physiological arousal, urine persistence decreased
-Ethically dubious
What was Summer and Ross’ study?
Territory and Personal Space
-About seating arrangements
-Bisiyed newly decorated hospital ward to see why it was having an isolating and depressing effect on the patients
-Layout of the chairs meant that people could only sit in rows (sociofugal) and social contact was hard
-They changed the layout to a circle (sociopetal)
