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Wendall Horton
Professor Rand
ENGL 1103
11 November 2013
Dont Bump, Dont Speak, Dont Look:
The Impersonal American Public
Rollo May once said, Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding,
intimacy and mutual valuing. Without communication, any desire for community,
understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing within American society is an unattainable dream.
Humans are naturally social creature; however, Americans in recent decades have developed
patterns of behaviors that vary in response to various social situations. Most striking is the
lacking degree of interaction between individuals in public. As I sat in the Student Union at the
University of North Carolina at Charlotte, I observed students, faculty, and visitors as they
traveled through the public space. One prominent pattern of behavior was how individuals
would travel with varying degrees of haste or urgency and with different amounts of interaction
with others in their surroundings.
This is a behavior I have noted in my own patterns of travel. When focused on a
destination or task, I will unintentionally disregard people or happenings in my surroundings in
order to not be interrupted. When I am engaged by someone while Im focused on traveling to
my destination, I struggle with shifting my attention to that person instead of my destination.
As a result, I often remind myself to slow down and actively engage people and my
environment while I travel. Being aware of this habit of movement, piqued my interest into
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what causes the formation of such behaviors. To properly analyze those causes, we must
explore the history and factors of interpersonal relationships and nonverbal communications in
American society.
The birth of American society was in the context of colonial settlements along the
Atlantic coast. These early communities were highly homogenous and centralized. They
consisted of a couple of families that decided to live within a community and support each
other with food, goods, and services. Such colonies were highly centralized to provide security
and to conserve resources. As more colonist entered America, these colonies transformed into
forts, villages, and then towns; yet, cultures were generally divided with the French settling in
Canada, the British and Northern Europeans colonizing the Mid-Atlantic States, and the Spanish
and Portuguese claiming Florida and the Caribbean.
Fast forward about a century, and America entered a phase of westward exploration
and expansion in the 1800s. Just like early settlements, survival during exploration depended
upon unity between families as they traveled. Because mostly brave and adventurous families
decided to take the risk of moving, the result was a subtly homogenous population of settlers.
The greatest defining factor of these settlements were their decentralized nature as they
settled since families separated to claim their plots of land.
As time progressed, the United States filled with various communities with specialized
industries and products. In the 1900s America entered the Industrial Revolution. The transition
from the Industrial revolution to the Information Revolution of the 21
st
century marks the final
stage of American society. The industrial revolution was characterized by the creation of highly
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centralized cities focused on industry that attracted many individuals from various cultures in
search of employment. The result was the formation of a new, heterogeneous society.
Modern American society is a product of the consequences from a heterogeneous
culture being confined into highly centralized centers of activity. America is often described as a
large mixed salad, and the honest truth is that the individual piece will never naturally unite
into a single homogenous mixture. That means that the different cultures and lifestyles within
American society present barriers and confines on acceptable public behavior. Earlier in 2013,
Richard Renaldi, a photographer, introduced a new project titled Touching Strangers. Renaldi
fights the patterns of insensitivity and distance between passing strangers in American cities by
photographing strangers in intimate poses with one another (Frank). This project is so effective
because in towns and cities, a large emphasis is placed on the maintenance of personal space
according to predefined levels of intimacy between two individuals. In addition, one persons
gaze can alter perceptions of and reactions to another individual in public. Intimacy levels,
personal space, gaze, and walking speed are four major factors of interpersonal relationships
and nonverbal communication within the American public.
The core factor of interpersonal relationships is an individuals understanding and
perception of intimacy levels. Intimacy levels pervade daily interactions both in private life and
in public life. The equilibrium theory asserts that there is a comfortable or appropriate level of
intimacy (Patterson 107) between any two individuals in a given situation. Should one
individual increase the level of intimacy beyond the acceptable threshold, the other individual
will compensate by looking away or turning his body effectively returning the intimacy level
back to equilibrium (Patterson 108). In regards to the equilibrium theory, the manner in which a
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person reacts to an increase in intimacy depends on the arousal-labeling process. When the
increase is associated with positive feelings, such as with the embrace of a close friend, the
natural response is to reciprocate the increase of intimacy; however, the opposite applies to
uncomfortable situation, such as a close interaction with a stranger, in which the common
reaction is of compensation to decrease the intimacy to a comfortable level (Patterson 109). In
both public and private relationships, intimacy is an individually determined concept, so
conflicting levels may be daily occurrences. In public, most Americans do not want to be the
person causing the increase of intimacy because that risks embarrassment. Instead, Americans
attempt to proactively adjust their behavior to maintain a sense of social control and personal
space.
In America, interactions involving personal space can be very uncomfortable. Each
individual has that one invisible sphere in which certain individuals are expected to never enter;
however, Edward Hall discusses a hierarchy of four concentric spheres concerning interpersonal
space. Each region denotes a level of intimacy and relationship type. The four regions are:
public, social, personal, and intimate, with intimate being the smallest (Hall 220-221). The range
of these sectors vary according to an individuals preferences in order to properly regulate
intimacy and avoid unwanted sensory stimulation (Matsumoto 84). As discussed earlier,
differences in understood intimacy levels may result in an imbalance of the intimacy
equilibrium often in the form of invading personal space. Americanstend to value some
degree of personal space even when among crowds of strangers and are offended or insulted if
people invade that space (Matsumoto 85). In America, unlike in many Arab countries,
invasions of personal space are not socially acceptable. One experiment documented by Kleinke
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studied how individuals reacted to an invasion of personal space. One experimenter sat close to
his subjects while the other experiment gave a comfortable between himself and his subjects.
The result was that the individuals whose personal space was invaded stood-up and left much
sooner than the individuals whose personal space was not invaded (Kleinke 37). Because
invasions of personal space are common occurrences in public, one would think Americans are
becoming more accustomed to that type of encounter; however, I see American becoming
more callused and frustrated towards people that interfere with their path or interrupt them.
This American sentiment against interpersonal relationships in public is observed even in the
simple form of an individuals gaze.
The fourth smallest organ in the body holds the portal to the soul and the power to
communicate without words (Top). In nonverbal communication, the eyes and their gaze can
influence people and communicate positivity or negativity. A great amount of intimacy in public
relationships can be observed through the effect of gaze. Kleinke dedicated many of his studies
to the observation of how gaze affects individuals behaviors and perceptions of the gazer. A
direct gaze can communicate dominance or threat. As a result, an uncomfortable situation
involving direct eye-contact from a stranger can result in the recipient shifting his gaze away to
lower the level of intimacy (Kleinke 22-23). Exline found two schools of thought on the effects
of gaze, or a mutual glance. According to Simmel, the mutual glance signifies unionwhether
we seek or avoid such visual contact depends upon our desire for union with each other (Exline
67). On the other hand, Sartre believes mutual glances present a threat to individual
autonomy (Exline 67). A mutual glance expressing union serves its purpose in familiar and
intimate relationships, but in public relationships, communicating a desire for union would
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increase the intimacy level above an acceptable, comfortable level. The second observed effect
of gaze aligns with Kleinkes observations of eye-contact with a stranger. Americans try to avoid
making eye contact by looking at a specific point, distracting themselves with a phone or tablet,
or even altering their gate.
Gate, or the pace of walking, is the final factor involved with interpersonal relationships
and nonverbal communication. According to Matsumoto, being in different emotional states
can affect the gait patterns of individuals. Another study found that observing an individuals
gait can offers clues to his or her personality characteristics. A couple of study have been
conducted to observe how individuals from various cultures, including Americans, generally
travel through their cities. They show that gait is associated with punctuality, coronary heart
disease, and a variety of attitudinal and personality traits (Matsumoto 98). However, the lack
of studies connecting culture, posture, and gait show that there is much room to grow in
understanding this subject.
Combining the findings of human behavior within society, many connections can be
found between intimacy, personal space, gaze, and gait. Myers-Briggs personality type test
determines an individuals temperament in four dichotomies: Extroversion or Introversion,
iNtuitive or Sensory, Feeling or Thinking, and Judging or Perceiving. The two dichotomies that
play a role in interpersonal relationships is Extroversion/Introversion and Judging/Perceiving.
The first category is how an individual gains energy: extroverts are energized by interacting with
people while an introvert gains energy by spending time alone (Friedman). In regards to
interpersonal relationships, an extrovert is more likely to engage people visually and tactually in
public than an introvert is. As is the case with both Andrika Rikochev and Tanya Jackson. They
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are both extroverts, and when asked if a friend was approaching them that did not notice them
there, both women expressed using an elevated voice and touch to get their attention
(Rikochev). When asked how they would engage a stranger in a close encounter, they both
detailed extending a greeting and making eye-contact as they person passed (Jackson). Judging
and Perceiving relates to decision making. A judger likes to quickly reach a final decision and
not waver, whereas a perceiver like to keep his or her options open until a decision is absolutely
necessary. In my personal experience as a judger, I tend to become tunnel-visioned as I focus
on reaching my destination. As a result, I miss opportunities to engage people in conversation.
Myers-Briggs Personality Types can correlate and predict certain behaviors on public.
Personality traits are intrinsic characteristics; however, regional stereotypes illustrate
learned behaviors that still affect interpersonal relations. In the North, the stereotype is that
they are not friendly and focus on their own lives. The weather in the north can be a huge
factor affecting how people interact in public. For a large portion of the year, the North is
affected by harsh winter weather. Because of this, people try to spend as much time within
buildings and not exposed to the weather. In the daily routine, that means walking quickly
when outside or going between buildings, keeping conversations short and concise, and
prioritizing who to talk with. These behaviors become habit and carry-over into other aspects of
their lives. They end-up traveling quickly to destinations and missing chances to converse,
especially is they are not familiar with that individual.
Americas history formed a society in which many people of different cultures are placed
into centralized areas. As a result natural borders of communication exist. The main factors of
interpersonal relationships and nonverbal communication are: levels of intimacy, personal
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space, gaze, and walking speed. Altogether these factors are subject to personality types and
regional learned behaviors that manipulate how those factors are expressed. These are not
deterministic; the American public can become a more unified, personal country by
defamiliarizing itself with the habits of society in the past and recreating the prospects of the
future.

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Reflection
I enjoyed learning about the patterns behavior within interpersonal relationships, especially
about the intimacy level equilibrium theory which is why people look away when you make eye contact.
It showed me the background psychology to many behaviors I have observed in myself and others
throughout my life.
I struggled with changing my topic. I was focused the journey vs. destination topic, but as I
began researching, I found so much information beyond just walking. The knowledge was so interesting,
but I didnt know how to fit it inside my topic of the journey and destination. Finally, on the night before
this paper was due, I laid out a plan using index cards that incorporated all of my research. Looking at
the overall scheme, and the desperation of needing to finish my paper, I was able to make sense of my
research.
My inquiry question changed not too much, but in a very dramatic timing. It began as the
Journey vs destination, but that topic was based solely on walking speed. As I found more research I
need to change the topic but was reluctant to. Finally on the night before my paper was due, I changed
my topic to why Americans are so impersonal in public. It changed because there was such a great
breadth of research available that covered a wider topic than journey vs. destination.
A historical view of this topic is important because society is constantly morphing and changing.
What was socially acceptable a century ago is not necessarily socially acceptable today. The same goes
for social behavior patterns. The actions and choices of society in the past may have repercussions that
are currently affecting how the public interacts with each other.
I am more comfortable working with books now. I wanted to find only peer-reviewed articles
because they are shorter and I could use ctrl+f to search the document. Books are not the easier
option but they offered a variety of information within one publication. I am much better at reading
quickly to find the main idea and gleaning the details from the most important parts of the book.
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I am most proud of my ability to find connections between so many types of behavioral patterns
and their various causes or implications. Although my communication of this understanding is not very
well expressed in my paper because I limited myself into only a few hours to write my paper.
I still want to know what factors such as personality type or regional learned behaviors affect
walking speed. That was my original question and it was the one least answered because of the lack of
research.


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Works Cited
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Brainy Quotes. Book Rags Media Network, n.d. Web. 10 November 2013.
Exline, Ralph V. Visual Interaction: The Glances of Power and Preference. Nonverbal
Communication. Ed. Shirley Weitz. New York: Oxford University Press, 1974. Print.
Frank, Priscilla. Richard Renaldi's 'Touching Strangers' Brings Intimacy To Portraiture. The
Huffington Post. 16 July 2013. Web. 29 October 2013.
Friedman, Harley. MBTI Personality Type Test. Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. 2007.
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Hall, Edward T. Proxemics. Nonverbal Communication. Ed. Shirley Weitz. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1974. Print.
Jackson, Tanya. Personal Interview. 11 November 2013.
Kleinke, Chris L. First Impressions: The Psychology of Encountering Others. Englewood Cliffs:
Prentince-Hall, 1975. Print.
Matsumoto, David and Hyi Sung Hwang. Body and Gestures. Nonverbal Communication:
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Patterson, Miles L. Intimacy, Social Control, and Nonverbal Involvement: A Functional
Approach. Communication, Intimacy, and Close Relationships. Ed. Valerian Derlega.
Orlando: Academic Press, 1984. 105-132. Print.
Rikochev, Andrika. Personal Interview. 8 November 2013.
Top 10 Smallest Body Organs. HealthFiend. n.d. Web. 11 November 2013.