Differences between Saudi and U.S. students in reaction to same- and mixed-sex intimacy shown by others

U.S. and Saudi male and female students were shown 3 photos of 2 women sitting at a close, intermediate, and far distance from each other. Participants were then asked to imagine 2 sisters, 2 brothers, and a brother-sister team sitting at each of these 3 distances and to rate their comfort or discomfort with each scene. As predicted, the U.S. students felt more comfortable the farther away 2 brothers were sitting and the closer a brother and sister were sitting, whereas the Saudi students showed the opposite reaction. It was suggested that distances between the sexes in conservative Muslim countries is maintained even in intrafamily contact and that the aversion to public displays of male-male intimacy found in the United States and Europe does not generalize to other cultures.