Too close for comfort: Sex differences in response to invasions of personal space.

It was hypothesized that females respond more negatively than males to sideby-side invasions of personal space, while males respond more negatively than females to face-to-face invasions. In an experimental field study, 62 males and 63 females were invaded by a male or female confederate in one of three spatial positions. Regardless of the invader's sex, a consistent pattern of interactions was observed such that affect (p ==.05), environmental perceptions (p < .004), and attributions of intent (p < .005) were negative for males when a stranger sat across from them and negative for females when a stranger sat adjacent to them. In an observational field study of 66 students, solitary males in a library were observed to erect barriers against face-to-face invasions, and females were found to erect barriers against adjacent invasions (p < .02).