Edward T. Hall

An anthropologist and cross-cultural researcher, Edward T. Hall has contributed to the field of communication with his work in intercultural communication and his development of the non-verbal concept of proxemics.  The foundation for his research on cultural perceptions of space emerged from his World War II service in the U.S. Army in both Europe and the Philippines as well as his service immediately after as the director of the Foreign Service Institute training program for technicians assigned to overseas duty.  From such experience, he found that difficulties in communication were created by the failure of intercultural interaction and concluded that this was because members of different cultures perceived reality from a different lens, therefore creating  miscommunications (Rogers, Hart, & Miike, 2002).  From this, Hall developed his theory of proxemics in which he argued that perception of space is developed by culture.  As he states in his book, The Silent Language, "a U.S. male...stands 18 to 20 inches away when talking face to face to a man he does not know very well; talking to a woman under similar circumstances, he increases the distance about four inches. A distance of only 8 to 13 inches between males is considered...very aggressive. Yet in many parts of Latin America and the Middle East, distances which are almost sexual in connotation are the only ones at which people can talk comfortably.  [Therefore,] if you are a Latin American, talking to a North American at the distance he insists on maintaining is like trying to talk across a room" (Rogers et al., 2002).  As a result from his studies, Hall points out that proxemics plays an important role in communication, for it determines how and why people of different cultures sommunicate in an unique and individual manner. 

For more information on Hall's theory of proxemics, visit the Center for Spatially Integrated Social Science.