Communication Between Cultures

New inmates quickly learn the culture of prison by finding the correct ways to use

space. They soon discover how and when to enter another cell, what part of the exer-

cise yard they can visit, how reduction of a person’s space is a form of punishment,

and that they must form lines for nearly all activities.

Women and men also use space differently. For example, women normally“estab-

lish closer proximity to others”than do men.^131 Years of research have also revealed

other gender differences in the use of space: (1) men claim more personal space than

women, (2) women manifest less discomfort than men when confronted with a small

amount of space, (3) men seem to approach females more closely than females who

move toward men, (4) women, when given the opportunity, seek to interact at a

closer distance than do men, and (5) men more frequently walk in front of their

female partner than vice versa.^132 Spatial distance is also a variable when interacting

with members of the deaf culture. When using ASL, it is necessary for the person

signing to sit far enough away from the other person so that they can be seen. It

would not be uncommon for two signers to sit across from one another at a distance

that hearing people might perceive as impersonal.^133

Seating

As is the case with many features of nonverbal communication, seating arrangements

send both inconspicuous and obvious messages. The producing of a very subtle mes-

sage could be witnessed at an important diplomatic meeting between the Turkish

ambassador and his counterpart from Israel. The Turkish representative was extremely

distressed that he was asked to sit on a sofa that was lower than the one occupied by

the Israeli officials. His anger was so intense that he refused to allow the media to

take a picture of the meeting since he felt it humiliated him and his country. This

real-life example vividly demonstrates that seating arrangements can be a powerful

The way people use

space, including how

they arrange

themselves in a group,

is often rooted in their

culture.

Curt Carnemark/World Bank Group

Space and Distance 325

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