Challenges to Learners in Interpreting Self as Other, Post COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted continuing constraints on the ability of students to interact with teachers and peers. Regarding this imposed segregation, what has not been considered is the effect of learners seeing self as other. With respect to augmentations of their body in interpersonal space by, (1) extending the body through witnessing themselves regularly in videoconferencing learning sessions, (2) isolating the body as a result of spending time apart from peers, social distancing at home, and (3) protecting the body through required mask-wearing where learners now consider who they represent in a mask, there are three important ways in which learners have felt unable to recognize themselves as they did pre-COVID-19. This migration from self to other, involving ingroup/outgroup distinctions, will be investigated from a number of perspectives—both sociological and psychological. Why the turning of self into other is problematic to the psyche will be discussed, as will the possible consequences for this ongoing lack of learner recognition long term, including focus on the new norms or embracing self-directed learning. Based on this analysis, the type of mentorship by teachers and parents that may be appropriate for helping learners contend with these changes will be recommended.

Face in collision: emotional looming stimuli modulate interpersonal space across development and gender

Basic visual functions have evolved to allow for rapid detection of dynamic stimuli in our surrounding environment. In particular, looming stimuli are of relevance because they are expected to enter the individual’s interpersonal space representing a potential threat. Different studies showed that emotions can modulate the perception of visual looming stimuli and the borders of interpersonal space, defined as the area around the body that individuals maintain between themselves and others during social interactions. Here, we investigated how emotions modulate the perception and the physiological correlates of interpersonal space and whether such indexes change across age and gender. Children and adults were asked to quickly react to emotional looming stimuli while measuring their skin conductance response (SCR). We found that emotional looming stimuli shrink the borders of interpersonal space of males more than females, and that this pattern does not change with age. In addition, adults reacted faster to angry than happy and neutral faces, which is in line with the notion that threatening stimuli capture attention more quickly than other types of emotional stimuli. However, this was not observed in children, suggesting that experience with negative stimuli, rather than the evolutionary meaning they possess, may influence the boundaries of interpersonal space. Overall, our study suggests that interpersonal space is modulated by emotions, but this appears to be modulated by gender and age: while behavioural responses to emotional looming stimuli refine with age, physiological responses are adult-like as early as 5 years of age.

Influence of Wearing Surgical Mask on Interpersonal Space Perception Between Mainland Chinese and Taiwanese People

Wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing of 1.5m are two common preventive measures against the spread of COVID-19. However, the interaction of these preventive measures in interpersonal space (IPS) perception remains unknown. This study evaluated the effects of wearing surgical masks, sex dyads, and approaching patterns on IPS judgment. Data were collected from participants from Mainland China (n=100) and Taiwan (n=100) through an online survey. Therefore, the regional differences were also examined. A smaller IPS was observed when participants faced confederates wearing surgical masks than in the no-mask condition. Female dyads tended to maintain a smaller IPS than did both male and mixed-sex dyads, and Taiwanese participants maintained a significantly larger IPS than did Mainland Chinese participants. No significant difference was observed between the active and passive pattern. Moreover, the interaction between region and mask had a significant influence on IPS perception. Among all test combinations, only the IPS perceived by Taiwanese participants facing confederates without surgical masks exceeded 1.5m. This study revealed that the wearing of surgical masks for health protection during the pandemic influences IPS perception in different regions. The current findings may provide useful information for social interaction and environmental design during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Action and social spaces in typical development and in autism spectrum disorder

Research in neuroscience reveals that the brain constructs multiple representations of space. Here, we primarily focus on interpersonal representation—i.e. the region of space immediately surrounding our body, in which we interact with other people, in individuals with a deficit of social interaction, such as autism. We review results from several studies, revealing that autism affects the interpersonal space regulation, influencing both its size (permeability) and its changes depending on social interaction (plasticity). Indeed, individuals with autism prefer larger or shorter interpersonal space compared to healthy controls, thereby indicating a deficit of interpersonal space permeability. Furthermore, individuals with autism fail to modify their interpersonal space following a brief cooperative interaction with an unfamiliar adult, suggesting a deficit in interpersonal space plasticity. Interestingly, the deficit observed in interpersonal space plasticity depends on the person’s perspective and reflects the severity of social impairment. Finally, the link between social competence, action, and space is addressed, showing that autism affects social-interpersonal space, but not action-peripersonal space.

The physiological correlates of interpersonal space

Interpersonal space (IPS) is the area around the body that individuals maintain between themselves and others during social interactions. When others violate our IPS, feeling of discomfort rise up, urging us to move farther away and reinstate an appropriate interpersonal distance. Previous studies showed that when individuals are exposed to closeness of an unknown person (a confederate), the skin conductance response (SCR) increases. However, if the SCR is modulated according to participant’s preferred IPS is still an open question. To test this hypothesis, we recorded the SCR in healthy participants when a confederate stood in front of them at various distances simulating either an approach or withdrawal movement (Experiment 1). Then, the comfort-distance task was adopted to measure IPS: participants stop the confederate, who moved either toward or away from them, when they felt comfortable with other’s proximity (Experiment 2). We found higher SCR when the confederate stood closer to participants simulating an IPS intrusion, compared to when the confederate moved farther away. Crucially, we provide the first evidence that SCR, acting as a warning signal, contributes to interpersonal distance preference suggesting a functional link between behavioral components of IPS regulation and the underlying physiological processes.

Neural correlates of interpersonal space permeability and flexibility in autism spectrum disorder

Interpersonal space can be defined as a safety zone immediately surrounding our body, which allows us to feel comfortable during social interactions. Previous studies indicate that the size of interpersonal space at which the other is perceived as intrusive (permeability) and the ability to adapt interpersonal distance based on contextual factors (flexibility) are altered in children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The present fMRI study aimed at extending the previous findings by investigating the behavioral and neurophysiological underpinnings of interpersonal space permeability and flexibility in adults with ASD.Individuals with ASD and matched controls (CTR) performed a modified version of the stop-distance paradigm for measuring interpersonal space preferences. Participants observed prerecorded videos of two confederates moving towards them and rated their comfort to the observed distance. The assessment of interpersonal space preferences was performed before and after engaging in cooperative and non-cooperative social interactions with the confederates, experimentally induced by means of a repeated trust game.We observed general lower comfort in response to an approaching confederate in the ASD group compared to the CTR group, indicating preference for larger interpersonal space in autism (altered permeability). This preference was accompanied by reduced activity in bilateral dorsal intraparietal sulcus (dIPS) and left fusiform face area (FFA), regions previously shown to be involved in interpersonal space regulation. Furthermore, we observed differences in effective connectivity among dIPS, FFA, and amygdala in ASDs compared to CTRs, depending on the level of experienced comfort. No differences between ASDs and CTRs were observed in the adaptation of interpersonal space following a cooperative and non-cooperative social interaction, suggesting preserved interpersonal space flexibility in the ASD adult population.The present study provides evidence for impaired permeability of interpersonal space in adults with ASD. The findings suggest that a dysregulation of the activity and connectivity of brain areas involved in the processing of interpersonal space may contribute to preference for larger distance and avoidance of physical proximity in ASDs. Future research is needed to examine whether the observed alteration of interpersonal space processing is an effect of or a contributing factor to the social disabilities characterizing autism.