Proxemics: what it is and how it helps us understand spaces

The spaces we hold between us say a lot about the way we think.

Proxemics is the study of the relationships and communication that we human beings establish through space and through the distances we put between ourselves and towards each other. through space and through the distances we put between ourselves and towards the things around us. around us.

Next, we will see what proxemics we will see what proxemics isWhat has this theory contributed to the communication sciences and how it differs from other forms of nonverbal communication, such as kinesthesia.

What is proxemics?

Proxemics is a theory that arose in the 1960s and was developed by the anthropologist was developed by the American anthropologist Edward T. Hallwho studied how we perceive space in different cultures and how we use it to establish different relationships.

In other words, proxemics is the study of proximityand how proximity allows us to communicate with each other and even build relationships and a particular worldview.

Also known as proxemia, it is considered a part of semiotics (which is the study of the signs we use to communicate), because it pays attention to how the physical distances that are established in different cultures cause us to communicate in different ways and in ways that are not necessarily verbal.

In other words, proxemics includes not only individual communicative competencies but also the way in which social and cultural norms about space limit or condition these competencies. That is why it is considered one of the most complex branches of human communication systems.

Communication systems and some types

To explain in more detail what proxemia consists of, let's remember that human communication is a very complex system. In basic terms it consists of understanding and using a set of signs and symbols to convey certain information (e.g. ideas, feelings, opinions, emotions, moods, etc.).

In other words, the process and the ability to communicate is not reduced to linguistic is not reduced to linguistic skills (such as being able to speak or understand a language), but involves a much more complex set of actions in which our body always participates.

The standard and most basic scheme of communication includes two main characters: a sender and a receiver; who are the ones who emit, encode and receive a message.

This message can include both linguistic signs, such as words, phrases or statements, and body movements that also transmit information. In turn, this information, and how it is organized and transmitted, depends on the social, geographic and cultural situation in which the sender and receiver find themselves; as well as on their own grammatical, discursive, strategic and sociolinguistic competences..

Two main types of communication are generally recognized: verbal and non-verbal, which are not really separate from each other, but are manifested together in every relationship we establish with other people.

Non-verbal communication and the difference between proxemics and kinesics

Verbal communication is that which is established on the basis of linguistic signs and symbols transmitted by means of the spoken word. Non-verbal communication, on the other hand, is that which is established by means of non-verbal signs that generally transmit information about character, personality or mood..

These latter signs may include, for example, crying, laughing, shouting (which are paralinguistic signs); or they may involve gestures, signs or mimicry (which are kinesthetic signs). Both types of signs, paralinguistic and kinesthetic, constitute elements of basic nonverbal communication. But there is also another type of nonverbal communication that is more complex because it involves cultural and social elements that define how we use the body and space, and even time, to convey information in different contexts and situations.

The latter are the proxemic system (whose signs are basically the habits related to the use of space). related to the use of space(for example, the distances we keep between us depending on whether we are at home with our partner, or at the office with our work colleagues); and the chronemic system (where the perception and use of time in different cultures is mainly studied).

In other words, the difference between proxemics and kinesics is that the former refers to non-verbal communication established through the physical distances we put when relating to each other; and kinesics is the non-verbal communication established through body movements such as gestures and also through proprioception.

Its importance in communication and social studies

According to Hall, the physical distances we establish are determined by cultural norms that tell us, for example, what are the limits in public space and what are the limits in private space, or what the word inside and the word outside means with respect to furniture or individual spaces within the home; spaces that are also influenced by age or gender or social rank. spaces within the home; spaces that are also influenced by age or gender or social rank.

Proxemic norms, moreover, are those that reaffirm a group of human beings as a "group" and not as another, i.e., as a "group". and not as another, i.e., they delimit the characteristics that some people have in common, reinforcing intragroup identity, and sometimes hindering intergroup identity.

This is why it has important effects on the communication we establish both with our group of belonging and with similar groups, and allows us to understand how we construct a particular image of the world, as well as the rules of coexistence in different contexts.