TY - JOUR
T1 - When Compensation Fails
T2 - Mediating Effects of Sex and Locus of Control at Extended Interaction Distances
AU - Aiello, John R.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by a Rutgers University Research Council grant and by aNIH Biomedical Research Support Grant 5S07 RR07087-12. Some of these data were presented at the meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Washington, D.C., 1978. Theauthors wish to express their thanks to Denise Imbriglio, Steven Shea, Leandra Skerpac, and Scott Taylor for their assistance in this investigation and to Andrew Baum, John H. Harvey, Eric Sundstrom, and Barbara S. Wallston for their critical reading of this paper.
PY - 1980/3/1
Y1 - 1980/3/1
N2 - Male and female physiological, social, and emotional responses were examined at an interpersonal distance beyond that which is typically chosen for conversation in order to test an extension of an equilibrium theory of socialintimacy. This model posits that beyond a critical discomfort level, compensatory processes are relatively ineffective in restoring a desired level ofinvolvement. The results of the present study strongly support the predictionthat people experience much discomfort and react negatively when interactingat an interpersonal distance outside of the compensatory range-that is, the area within which adjustments in behavior on dimensions other than distancecan restore a preferred level of involvement for an interaction. Further, two individual difference variables, sex and locus of control, were found to mediate stress reactions at the inappropriate distance, with women and individuals characterized by an internal locus-of-control being more negatively affected by these environmental conditions.
AB - Male and female physiological, social, and emotional responses were examined at an interpersonal distance beyond that which is typically chosen for conversation in order to test an extension of an equilibrium theory of socialintimacy. This model posits that beyond a critical discomfort level, compensatory processes are relatively ineffective in restoring a desired level ofinvolvement. The results of the present study strongly support the predictionthat people experience much discomfort and react negatively when interactingat an interpersonal distance outside of the compensatory range-that is, the area within which adjustments in behavior on dimensions other than distancecan restore a preferred level of involvement for an interaction. Further, two individual difference variables, sex and locus of control, were found to mediate stress reactions at the inappropriate distance, with women and individuals characterized by an internal locus-of-control being more negatively affected by these environmental conditions.
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U2 - 10.1207/s15324834basp0101_5
DO - 10.1207/s15324834basp0101_5
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:34047213423
SN - 0197-3533
VL - 1
SP - 65
EP - 82
JO - Basic and Applied Social Psychology
JF - Basic and Applied Social Psychology
IS - 1
ER -