Physical distancing and the perception of interpersonal distance in the COVID-19 crisis

Abstract In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been mandated to keep enlarged distances from others. We interviewed 136 German subjects over five weeks from the end of March to the end of April 2020 during the first wave of infections about their preferred interpersonal distance (IPD) before,...

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Autores principales:	Robin Welsch, Marlene Wessels, Christoph Bernhard, Sven Thönes, Christoph von Castell
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/5d2cc4a479db43e38f1b06e996b3bed6
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:5d2cc4a479db43e38f1b06e996b3bed62021-12-02T17:51:22ZPhysical distancing and the perception of interpersonal distance in the COVID-19 crisis10.1038/s41598-021-90714-52045-2322https://doaj.org/article/5d2cc4a479db43e38f1b06e996b3bed62021-06-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-90714-5https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been mandated to keep enlarged distances from others. We interviewed 136 German subjects over five weeks from the end of March to the end of April 2020 during the first wave of infections about their preferred interpersonal distance (IPD) before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the pandemic, subjects adapted to distance requirements and preferred a larger IPD. This enlarged IPD was judged to partially persist after the pandemic crisis. People anticipated keeping more IPD to others even if there was no longer any risk of a SARS-CoV-2 infection. We also sampled two follow-up measurements, one in August, after the first wave of infections had been flattened, and one in October 2020, at the beginning of the second wave. Here, we observed that IPD varied with the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 within Germany. Overall, our data indicated that adaptation to distance requirements might happen asymmetrically. Preferred IPD rapidly adapted in response to distance requirements, but an enlargement of IPD may partially linger after the COVID-19 pandemic-crisis. We discuss our findings in light of proxemic theory and as an indicator for socio-cultural adaptation beyond the course of the pandemic.Robin WelschMarlene WesselsChristoph BernhardSven ThönesChristoph von CastellNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Robin Welsch Marlene Wessels Christoph Bernhard Sven Thönes Christoph von Castell Physical distancing and the perception of interpersonal distance in the COVID-19 crisis
description	Abstract In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been mandated to keep enlarged distances from others. We interviewed 136 German subjects over five weeks from the end of March to the end of April 2020 during the first wave of infections about their preferred interpersonal distance (IPD) before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the pandemic, subjects adapted to distance requirements and preferred a larger IPD. This enlarged IPD was judged to partially persist after the pandemic crisis. People anticipated keeping more IPD to others even if there was no longer any risk of a SARS-CoV-2 infection. We also sampled two follow-up measurements, one in August, after the first wave of infections had been flattened, and one in October 2020, at the beginning of the second wave. Here, we observed that IPD varied with the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 within Germany. Overall, our data indicated that adaptation to distance requirements might happen asymmetrically. Preferred IPD rapidly adapted in response to distance requirements, but an enlargement of IPD may partially linger after the COVID-19 pandemic-crisis. We discuss our findings in light of proxemic theory and as an indicator for socio-cultural adaptation beyond the course of the pandemic.
format	article
author	Robin Welsch Marlene Wessels Christoph Bernhard Sven Thönes Christoph von Castell
author_facet	Robin Welsch Marlene Wessels Christoph Bernhard Sven Thönes Christoph von Castell
author_sort	Robin Welsch
title	Physical distancing and the perception of interpersonal distance in the COVID-19 crisis
title_short	Physical distancing and the perception of interpersonal distance in the COVID-19 crisis
title_full	Physical distancing and the perception of interpersonal distance in the COVID-19 crisis
title_fullStr	Physical distancing and the perception of interpersonal distance in the COVID-19 crisis
title_full_unstemmed	Physical distancing and the perception of interpersonal distance in the COVID-19 crisis
title_sort	physical distancing and the perception of interpersonal distance in the covid-19 crisis
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/5d2cc4a479db43e38f1b06e996b3bed6
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Physical distancing and the perception of interpersonal distance in the COVID-19 crisis

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