Proxemic Behaviors During Gay/Straight Interactions: An Automated Analysis Through Kinect Depth-Sensing Camera

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Nonverbal Communication

Background:

• Sexual prejudice significantly impacts interpersonal dynamics.
• Proxemics, the study of personal space, offers insights into social interactions.
• Measuring interpersonal volume provides a novel, comprehensive approach to proxemics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate proxemic behaviors in gay/straight dyadic interactions.
• To examine the relationship between implicit sexual bias and interpersonal volume.
• To explore the cognitive costs associated with controlling nonverbal expressions of prejudice.

Main Methods:

• Two experimental studies (N=150) utilized an IR depth camera to measure interpersonal volume.
• Participants interacted with confederates presented as gay or straight.
• Implicit and explicit sexual biases were assessed, alongside cognitive depletion.

Main Results:

• Implicit sexual bias, not explicit prejudice, predicted interpersonal volume with gay confederates.
• Higher implicit bias correlated with smaller interpersonal volume, particularly during intergroup topics.
• Highly implicitly biased individuals showed greater cognitive depletion after interacting with gay confederates.

Conclusions:

• Implicit bias influences nonverbal proxemic behavior in intergroup interactions.
• Controlling nonverbal displays of prejudice may incur cognitive costs.
• Findings suggest subtle, unconscious biases drive nonverbal behaviors and require cognitive effort to manage.