Perry

Question 1

Define interpersonal distance in the context of personal space.

Answer 1

Interpersonal distance, or personal space, refers to the physical space that individuals prefer to maintain between themselves and others.

Question 2

Explain the findings of Perry et al. (2015) regarding interpersonal distance.

Answer 2

Perry et al. (2015) found that occupational therapy (OT) promotes closer interpersonal distance among highly empathic individuals.

Question 3

Describe the significance of studying interpersonal distance in psychology.

Answer 3

Studying interpersonal distance is significant in psychology as it helps understand social interactions, personal boundaries, and the effects of empathy on how individuals relate to one another.

Question 4

Describe the four zones of interpersonal distance according to Hall (1966).

Answer 4

The four zones of interpersonal distance are: intimate distance for close family members or intimate partners, personal distance for everyday interactions, social distance for formal interactions, and public distance for public figures like lecturers.

Question 5

Explain the role of oxytocin in social behavior.

Answer 5

Oxytocin is a social hormone that acts as a neurotransmitter, playing a significant role in social bonding, childbirth, and breastfeeding. It promotes prosocial behaviors but can also lead to envy or hostility towards strangers, depending on individual factors and social context.

Question 6

Define empathy and its two aspects in social relationships.

Answer 6

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. It includes cognitive empathy, which involves recognizing others’ emotions, and affective empathy, which relates to sharing those emotions.

Question 7

Describe the role of empathy in interpersonal distance preferences.

Answer 7

Individuals high in empathy are more attuned to subtle nonverbal cues of anxiety or discomfort in others, which prompts them to adjust their preferred interpersonal distance accordingly.

Question 8

Explain the relationship between the amygdala and personal space.

Answer 8

The amygdala regulates preferred interpersonal distance; damage to it is linked to a decreased need for personal space, while higher amygdala activity corresponds with discomfort in close proximity.

Question 9

Define the social salience hypothesis in relation to oxytocin.

Answer 9

The social salience hypothesis suggests that oxytocin heightens awareness of social cues, influencing how individuals perceive and react to these cues, leading to context-dependent effects on social behavior rather than universally making everyone more pro-social.

Question 10

Explain the main aims of the Perry et al. study regarding oxytocin and interpersonal distance preferences.

Answer 10

The main aims of the study were to determine if oxytocin affects preferred interpersonal distances, investigate whether empathy levels influence oxytocin’s effects on these preferences, and explore these effects in different social contexts, such as interactions with friends versus strangers.

Question 11

Describe the hypothesis regarding oxytocin’s effect on interpersonal distance based on empathy levels.

Answer 11

The researchers hypothesized that oxytocin would decrease preferred interpersonal distances in individuals with high levels of empathy, while it would increase preferred interpersonal distances in individuals with low levels of empathy.

Question 12

How was the experimental design structured in the Perry et al. study?

Answer 12

The study utilized a mixed-model design, incorporating a within-subjects design where each participant completed both oxytocin and placebo conditions, and a between-subjects design for the empathy group, which was divided into high and low empathy levels.

Question 13

Describe the procedure participants followed during their visits to the laboratory.

Answer 13

Participants attended the laboratory twice, one week apart, and were randomly assigned to self-administer either oxytocin or a placebo during their first visit. They then self-administered the alternative solution during their second visit and completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) questionnaire to assess empathy levels.

Question 14

Explain the purpose of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) in this study.

Answer 14

The IRI was used to assess the empathy levels of participants, allowing researchers to categorize them into high and low empathy groups for the purpose of the study.

Question 15

How were participants compensated for their involvement in the study?

Answer 15

Participants were compensated for their time with course credit in exchange for their participation in the study.

Question 16

Describe the CID paradigm used in the study.

Answer 16

The CID paradigm involved displaying words related to social context, showing a fixation point, presenting a circular room with a stick figure at the center, and animating a protagonist entering the room from various doors. Participants indicated their preferred interpersonal distance by pressing the spacebar to stop the protagonist.

Question 17

Explain how preferred interpersonal distance was measured in the CID paradigm.

Answer 17

Preferred interpersonal distance was measured as a percentage of the total possible distance between the protagonist and the central figure, ranging from 0% (closest proximity) to 100% (farthest proximity), based on where participants chose to stop the protagonist.

Question 18

Define the independent variables investigated in the CID study.

Answer 18

The study investigated three independent variables: empathy (high vs. low), treatment (oxytocin vs. placebo), and social context, to explore their effects on preferred interpersonal distance.

Question 19

Describe the procedure used to assess interpersonal distance preferences in the experiment.

Answer 19

Participants received either oxytocin or a placebo nasal spray, waited 45 minutes, and then completed a computerized task where they imagined themselves in a circular room. They pressed a button to stop approaching figures (friend, stranger, authority figure, or a ball) at a comfortable distance, repeating the task twice with each treatment one week apart.

Question 20

Explain the significance of the dependent variable in the study on interpersonal distance preferences.

Answer 20

The dependent variable was the percentage of remaining distance between the participant and the stopped protagonist. A higher percentage indicated a greater preferred distance, reflecting the participant’s need for personal space during interactions.

Question 21

How did the study ensure the reliability of the results regarding the effects of oxytocin on empathy and interpersonal distance?

Answer 21

The study employed a double-blind procedure, meaning neither the participants nor the researchers knew which treatment (oxytocin or placebo) was administered during each session, thus minimizing bias and ensuring the reliability of the results.

Question 22

Explain the purpose of manipulating the distance between the table and the plant in the study.

Answer 22

The manipulation served as a control condition to ensure that any observed effects were specific to interpersonal distance rather than a general preference for greater space.

Question 23

Describe the three independent variables used in the study.

Answer 23

1. Empathy (between-subjects): High Empathy (scores of 40 or above) and Low Empathy (scores of 33 or below). 2. Treatment (within-subjects): Oxytocin (24 IU intranasal) and Placebo (sterile saline solution). 3. Preferred choice of picture, chair distance to plant (within-subjects): Variations in distance between chairs and the table to the plant in virtual rooms.

Question 24

Define the significance of the chairs condition in the experiment.

Answer 24

The chairs condition represented the interpersonal distance variable, measured as the distance between two chairs in the virtual rooms, allowing researchers to assess the effects of oxytocin on interpersonal space.

Question 25

Describe how participants' comfort levels with physical proximity were assessed in the study.

Answer 25

Participants' comfort levels were assessed by their choices of rooms with varying chair distances. Choosing rooms with closer chair distances indicated a greater preference for closeness, while selecting rooms with farther chair distances suggested a preference for greater interpersonal space.

Question 26

Explain the significance of measuring the mean preferred angle between chairs in the study.

Answer 26

The mean preferred angle between chairs was measured to explore how it might influence the dynamics of social interaction. This variable allowed researchers to investigate whether factors like oxytocin or empathy affected not only the preferred distance but also the orientation for intimate conversations.

Question 27

How was the procedure structured for participants in the study regarding room selection?

Answer 27

Participants were administered either oxytocin or a placebo nasal spray and then shown pairs of virtual rooms on a computer screen. Each room featured two identical chairs, a table, a plant, and other furnishings, with variations in chair distance, table and plant positions, or chair angles. They chose their preferred room for an imagined conversation about personal topics.

Question 28

Explain how the type of approaching figure influences preferred interpersonal distance.

Answer 28

Participants preferred different interpersonal distances based on the perceived threat of the approaching figure, with friends representing the least threat and strangers the most.

Question 29

Describe the interaction effect of oxytocin and empathy on interpersonal distance preferences.

Answer 29

The effect of oxytocin on preferred interpersonal distance varied by empathy levels; high empathy individuals preferred closer distances with oxytocin, while low empathy individuals preferred greater distances.

Question 30

Define the three-way interaction observed in the study regarding treatment, condition, and empathy.

Answer 30

The study found a significant three-way interaction between treatment (oxytocin vs. placebo), condition (type of protagonist), and empathy (high vs. low), indicating that oxytocin's effect on distance preferences was influenced by both the type of protagonist and the participant's empathy level.

Question 31

Describe the main findings regarding the effects of oxytocin and empathy on chair distance preferences.

Answer 31

The study found no significant main effects of oxytocin or empathy on preferred chair distance when considered in isolation. However, a significant interaction was observed where high empathy participants preferred closer chair distances in the oxytocin condition.

Question 32

Explain the significance of the interaction between oxytocin and empathy in the context of interpersonal distance.

Answer 32

The interaction between oxytocin and empathy was significant only for the chairs condition, indicating that oxytocin's effects on preferred distance were specific to social contexts involving anticipated interaction with another person.

Question 33

Do the results suggest any differences in behavior towards inanimate objects versus social interactions?

Answer 33

Yes, the results indicated that oxytocin and empathy did not influence preferred distances in the control condition involving a table and plant, suggesting that the effects were specific to social interactions rather than inanimate objects.

Question 34

Explain the significance of the three-way interaction found in the study regarding oxytocin, condition, and empathy.

Answer 34

The three-way interaction indicates that the effect of oxytocin on preferred interpersonal distance is influenced by the specific condition (chairs vs. tables) and the participant's level of empathy, suggesting that oxytocin's impact varies based on these factors.

Question 35

Describe how oxytocin affects interpersonal distance preferences in individuals with different empathy levels.

Answer 35

Oxytocin leads highly empathic individuals to prefer closer interpersonal distances, while low empathy individuals tend to prefer greater distances, highlighting the hormone's role in social interactions.

Question 36

Define the 'social salience hypothesis' in the context of oxytocin's effects on social behavior.

Answer 36

The social salience hypothesis posits that oxytocin enhances the perception of social cues, resulting in varying social behaviors based on individual traits, such as empathy, and the context of the interaction.

Question 37

Explain the significance of random allocation in the context of a study involving oxytocin and placebo.

Answer 37

Random allocation reduces the risk of systematic differences between treatment groups, enhancing the internal validity of the study. It ensures that any observed effects are more likely due to the manipulation of the independent variable (oxytocin) rather than pre-existing differences among participants.

Question 38

Describe the importance of having two experimental sessions spaced one week apart in the study.

Answer 38

The one-week gap between sessions minimizes carryover effects, ensuring that the effects of oxytocin from the first session have dissipated before the second. It also allows for a within-subjects design, where each participant serves as their own control, enhancing statistical power by reducing individual differences.

Question 39

How does replication across experiments contribute to the reliability of the study's findings on interpersonal distance preferences?

Answer 39

Replication across experiments, using different paradigms yet yielding similar results, strengthens the reliability of the findings. It demonstrates that oxytocin influences interpersonal distance preferences consistently, promoting closer distances in highly empathetic individuals and greater distances in those low in empathy.

Question 40

Explain the concept of low ecological validity in research studies.

Answer 40

Low ecological validity refers to the extent to which the findings of a study can be generalized to real-world settings. In the context of the experiments mentioned, the use of computerized tasks to assess interpersonal distance preferences may not accurately reflect how individuals behave in natural social interactions.