Close encounters: Interpersonal proximity amplifies social appraisals

Veranic, Kristina, Bayliss, Andrew P., Zhao, Mintao, Stephen, Ian D. and Ewing, Louise (2025) Close encounters: Interpersonal proximity amplifies social appraisals. British Journal of Psychology. ISSN 0007-1269

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Abstract

Social appraisals reflect the rapid integration of available perceptual information with broader contextual factors (e.g., intentions). While interpersonal distance affects both information availability and social context, how it changes trait impressions remains unknown. Over four experiments we used a novel paradigm to address this question. In Experiment 1 we assessed participants’ attributions of attractiveness, competence, dominance, and trustworthiness of life size full body images of people when they appeared at near (1m) and far (4m) distances. Proximity amplified the relative magnitude of both positive and negative socio-evaluative impressions. However, this effect of proximity leading to more extreme positive or negative ratings was selectively weaker for aesthetic (attractiveness) judgements. In Experiment 2 (size) and Experiment 3 (spatial frequency), we held distance constant while manipulating visual cues relating to implied distance, revealing broadly similar results to Experiment 1. In Experiment 4, we used the interpersonal comfort distance paradigm to confirm that our life-sized projected images elicited similar comfort distance to interacting with a real person, helping to validate our general approach. These findings demonstrate the crucial role of interpersonal distance in impression judgements.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT: The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in OSF at http://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/KJ6YC FUNDING INFORMATION: This research was supported by University of East Anglia Postgraduate grant to KV, a BIAL Foundation Project Grant 147/18 to APB and LE, and by a Leverhulme Trust Project Grant RPG-2023-106 to APB.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	3* ,/dk/atira/pure/researchoutput/REFrank/3_
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Psychology
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Social Cognition Research Group Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Cognition, Action and Perception Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Centres > Centre for Behavioural and Experimental Social Sciences Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Developmental Science
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	03 Feb 2025 12:30
Last Modified:	21 Feb 2025 14:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/98345
DOI:	10.1111/bjop.12781

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