Edward Hall
-Born May 16, 1914
-Served in U.S. Army in Europe and the Philippines in World War II, while serving, he became interested in different conceptions of personal space between different cultures
(mainly between Americans and Europeans)
-Studied proxemics (which is the concept of personal space and different cultures’ views and conventions regarding it) and its role in different cultures. Hall was particularly interested in the differences in proxemics between Americans and Europeans.
-Developed his theory of proxemics in 1966 in his book, The Hidden Dimension, in which he stated that culture, not human nature, is responsible for forming our notions of personal space; he also defined three different realms of personal space: the “bubble,” which is only accessible to an individual’s closest friends and family.
-Found that Europeans are much more comfortable standing closer to each other than Americans are (usually half the distance).
-His theory later influenced scholars and researchers in the field of anthropology, where his ideas have become major hallmarks of that field (csiss.org).
