In this study, we examined the effects of participants’ emotional states on personal space when an approaching person’s face was either masked or unmasked. We used the participants’ uncomfortable stop-distance as our method of measuring personal space. Inducing a positive emotion narrowed perceived personal space, whereas inducing a negative emotion widened personal space. For both positive and negative emotions, the perceived interpersonal distance was shorter when the approaching face was unmasked than masked. There was no interaction effect on personal space between induced affect and masking or unmasking the approaching face. This study might provide insight into interpersonal behavior during a pandemic juncture.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.