PRIVACY and INTIMACY

Behaviour in space is conditioned by two personal factors Privacy and Intimacy. Such behaviour develops from the primary concern for survival. Survival is a defensive action where one tries to create a protective layer, yet it is an offensive activity where people form groups and make themselves more accessible to others.

PRIVACY
Privacy is achieved through number of means and conditions. It is basically achieved by obscuring own self, or by isolating from things and people. One can diffuse own self by merging with background or become less perceptible. Isolation is achieved by barricading. A person or group achieves insulation through physiological posturing. By posturing one can adjust the body exposure, control the communication, command the expression, contain or extend the reach of the body and re-calibrate the sensorial perception. Privacy  can help overcome many inhibitions through mental isolation. Psychological motivation helps one to ignore some side effects of privacy. 

Privacy provides the isolation whereas degree of intimacy determines the interference by others. Both are important means for individualization or branding of unique personality. In a space, primarily one tries to anchor to a spot where privacy and intimacy are controllable. And whenever these are compromised one may try to distance from others, adjust the posture and reorient. People inherently discern their relationship with others in terms of distances or spaces between them. In other words certain quality of distancing from others is required for individualization.

One requires many different types of privacy: Physical privacy -against someone making a close approach (touch or near approximations), Visual privacy -to limit others’ view of oneself, Audio privacy -insulation against being overheard and interference from background noise, and Olfactory privacy -that limits to reveal own physiological state or experiencing someone else’s such a state through hormones-odours. Other privacy parameters include the body temperature, breathing rate, heart beats, pulse rate, vibrations of the body, sweating and perspiration.

VISUAL PRIVACY
Visual privacy addresses the ability to limit others’ view of oneself. Inherent in human behaviour is the tendency to avoid situations in which one can be watched without being aware of who is watching. Visual privacy can be achieved through the use of furnishings, partitions or walls. In a private space or an office, people will often orient their desk in order to visually control the doorway and achieve a visually private space on one side of the desk. Similarly, people prefer to sit with a protected back, controlling the area they cannot see directly. In restaurants, the first seats to be filled are usually those along the walls. In outdoor spaces, people tend to sit against or beside objects such as trees and bushes rather than in the open.

AUDIO PRIVACY
Audio privacy in an interior space results from effective treatment of the acoustic environment as an interrelationship of many components: ceiling, partitions, furniture, equipment, and floor. A complete acoustic system will generally provide adequate speech privacy. Speech privacy is achieved when there is sufficient acoustic shielding to allow conversation to be unheard beyond the participants of the conversation. A high quality of speech privacy will significantly affect the level of communication, social interaction, and productivity. An appropriate relationship between background noise and that produced within the activity space is conducive to speech privacy. However complete insulation of a space, such as a study room, cuts-off the background noise, leading to loneliness or alienation. Hospital wards are hard finished due to issues of bacterial infections. The wards during daytime have high presence background noise that suppresses or subdues the noise from within the space. However, past midnight, in absence of background noise, the noise from inside the room becomes unbearable.

SOCIAL PRIVACY
Crowding occurs when personal space and territoriality mechanisms function ineffectively, resulting in an excess of undesired external social contact. Social privacy is often equated to ‘crowding’ in a space. It is reflected in degrees of accessibility a person or group offers to others. Crowding can have different meaning depending upon the situation. Crowding may be tolerated if it is temporary and for a definite purpose like for fun. Crowding or means both heightened accessibility or reduced interaction  depending on the need for expression, communication, physiological requirements and sense of belonging for group behaviour mechanisms (common purposes, beliefs). The scale of a room it's size relative to the occupants also influences conversational distance. As room scale diminishes, people tend to sit closer together. Likewise, increased noise levels and distractions drive people to sit closer together.

INTIMACY
Intimacy is a feeling of closeness or affinity between a person and another, or an object. If privacy is personal as well as group-based requirement, intimacy is an intra personal affair. Intimacy is also a biological need. Intimacy is considered a product of distance, and it relies on compatibility, sexual needs, glandular secretions, social acceptability, etc.  It is an attitude, mental conditioning or mental posture. Intimacy could be one-way feeling that is without reciprocal feeling. One can be intimate to another person or group of persons without the apparent need for privacy. So intimacy is not always a function of physical proximity. One can feel close to a person who is long dead -an illusory presence or through notional links (clothes, odours, recorded sounds, etc.). Distancing is also a matter of time, like remembrances.

Beyond security a person or group seeks privacy to flourish in an environment. It instills a sense of intimacy, a one to one relationship. An intimate relationship is with a person but an intimate space is one where occupant and object have intense relevance to each other. A private abode is an own world. An intimate situation is safe, predictable and reassuring.  Intimacy is like a domain where everything is under an exclusive command. Privacy  allows a person to develop a distinctive identity. In case of groups intimacy increases the affinity, unity, communication and expression.

Privacy and intimacy are factors of environment for conducting certain tasks. In appropriate environments it is easy to control ingress, distraction and unwanted participation by others. These are achieved in several ways: by placing required types of barriers, by physical and metaphorical declarations of the territorial markings, by suitable space planning and style of space occupation. Group behaviour is defined by the nature of privacy and degree of intimacy that is available.
 
Meaning of intimacy varies from relationship to relationship, and within a given relationship. Intimacy has more to do with rituals of connection. Intimacy is both the ability and the choice to be close, loving, and vulnerable. Intimacy requires identity development. Intimacy can have two main forms: emotional intimacy and physical intimacy. There could be other forms of empathy like cultural, intellectual, spiritual, social that are akin to intimacy in some conditions. Strategic relationship developed to take advantage of anyone could be very close but it is a make-believe intimacy.


DISTANCING FOR PRIVACY AND INTIMACY
Privacy is achieved by distancing from the threatening, disturbing or overwhelming elements. Privacy and intimacy both are determined by the distance one creates and perceives from other beings and objects. The distance from others is perceived in terms of space, intervening objects, physical reach and perceptibility. Distance is required to conduct tasks and for communication and expression. Distance is governed by environmental factors, social requirements, psychological make-up, time duration and the relevance of objects and people. Edward T. Hall defines four distinct distances at which interpersonal transactions normally take place: Intimate, Personal, Social and Public. Sociological determinants such as group dynamics and communication also affect personal interactions within an environment.

Interpersonal distance refers the range of distance between two or more people required to be maintained for best meaningful communication. The interpersonal distance may vary with culture.

According to Edward T. Hall there are four interpersonal distances: 

Intimate distance is used in intimate relation for embracing, kissing, touching or whispering and ranges from 0 to 450mm.

Personal distance is useful for interaction between good friends and family members and ranges 450mm to 1200mm.

Social distance is for interaction between social acquaintances and its range is from 1200mm to 3.5mt 

Public distance is mainly for public speaking and is above 3.5mt.

Distance also means the size of intervening space or affective extent of space.
Some Space Distance definitions are:

Intimate Area: There is a very Intimate area close to the body, within which it is possible to have physical touch, non verbal communication and emotional interactions. To gain such an intimate position one needs to be familiar with the other person or coerce. Even in the intimate space close to the body, the nature and level of intimacy is affected by the attitudes of the persons involved.
In case of objects such as tools and support systems are intimate. Here due to the intimate relationship one senses the texture, temperature, moisture, vibrations, energy, etc. One has to be very sure that by using these no harm will occur.

Personal area: There is an area immediate to the body that marks the Personal area. It is a zone of regulated and selective participation. This is an area where one can reach out through projection (expression), channels of communication, physically (through body limbs) or stretch out with gadgets (walking stick, stethoscope, etc.). Here the intimacy is regulated but it is not a private affair, unless some screening barriers  are used to achieve the privacy. One can dwell in a culture or state formed of metaphysical elements (beliefs, customs, etc.), to achieve the same.
In case of objects that are personal are not shared with others or its use is restricted. Others also sense such ownership or exclusive rights. The strong association to a person is imprinted on the object’s form or position. Chief guests chair, head chair at the end of a dining table are such personal entities.
 
Nearness Zone: There is a zone of varying nearness. The nearness is defined by the position and duration of the eye contact, sound pitch and language call, olfactory sensation and body heat perception. The zone  is used for sensing the time and space of happenings. The time (duration) and space (distance), are used alternatively to compensate the other. This is a zone of participation without personal involvement. It is also called a non-committal area.
As per the protocol, leaders of the two nations never share a seat, but rather occupy separate seats distanced with a small table or flower vase.  Similarly deputies accompanying their leaders, are made to sit at some distance, from where they get a sense of participation but have no chance of intervention. On public platforms one intentionally uses lower sound pitch to draw attention. On very large dining table one can effectively hold conversation with members sitting on the two sides, but not across the table. In gatherings one uses differing sound pitch to reach desired distance.

Reach Zones: These are within the domain that one occupies. Though these are not within an anthropometric ambit, but one can if required ‘reach’ out. Such zones are marked by a predominantly assigned task, such as dining area, entrance, cooking, study, etc. Zones like prayer area are marked by the associated sanctimony. In reach zones intimacy or privacy of personal nature is not available, yet one can announce it through metaphoric presentations. Reach zones usually have one consistent environment. Such zones are unitary spaces and so there is a sense of belonging, safety, security and personalized identity. 

Neighbourhood areas: These are spaces beyond the current domain, like the street, neighbourhood, and such public areas. Here the ‘privacy’ is afforded by the familiarity of the surroundings and security of nearness. These areas have intimacy of the distance such as within the  visible range, reach of shout or call, and the odour. These are part of the ‘home’ setting. Such public areas foster non-intimate group behaviour. Mothers allow children to play in these spaces, as these are under surveillance.

Domain edge zones: These have personal relevance so far as there is a link active in time and space. It is a place for a sporadic encounter, however effects of which could persist as a remembrance or experience. Frequent occurrences belie a consistency or permanency. It functions like a networked zone (web) where something relevant is always available. So no matter where a person arrives, it begins to manifest familiarity or is pregnant with possibilities.

TERRITORIALITY AS A DECLARATION OF PRIVACY
A person or group carves own space by different territorial markings. The territorial markings such as of physical, metaphysical, metaphorical nature present spaces of  many different characteristics. Territoriality is a means of achieving a desired level of privacy. It involves creating and maintaining an exclusive control over a space by an individual or group. This control implies privileges and may involve aggressive actions in its defence. For the individual, territorial control provides security and identity, and is communicated through personalization and definition of the space. For the group, territorial control, is the cause of their being an entity, and is expressed through the common behaviour.

Hargie & Dickson identify 4 spatial territories:

Primary territory: This refers to an area associated with someone who has exclusive use of it. For example, a house that others cannot enter without the owner’s permission.
 
Secondary territory: This is like ‘social’ sharing territory.  There is no right to occupancy, but people may still feel some degree of ownership (belonging) of a particular space. For example, someone may sit in the same seat on a train every day and feel aggrieved if someone else sits there.

Public territory: This are public spaces that are available to all, but only for a set period with conditions. Such as a parking space or a seat in a library. Although people have only a limited claim over that space, they often want to exceed that claim, to show their interest in it. For example, it was found that people take longer to leave a parking space when someone is waiting to take that space.

Interaction territory: This is space created by others when people are interacting. For example, when a group is talking to each other on a footpath, others will walk around the group rather than disturb it.

SPATIAL MANIFESTATIONS OF INTIMACY
The need to be alone or be part of a group arises from factors like personal (psychological and physiological), intra-personal (communication, exchanges) and group behaviour mechanisms (sense of belonging, sharing, participation, confirmation).

For an individual the space that permits one to ‘distance’ from others is a private space. However, for a group, a space that allows easy communication and recognition (without any aids or extra strain) are intimate spaces.

Enclosing space forms (corners, cones, concaves) force individuals to be closely spaced and be intimate enough to form a group.

Crowded spaces force intimacy of coexistence. The coexistence may force an individual to mentally barricade own-self or open-up.

Some environmental and other effects are highly focussed (illuminated spot, under the fan area, sunny patch, breezy path)  and force a group to share the same zone and so breed intimacy.

Eye contact could be both intimate and non-intimate. A direct eye contact allows better nonverbal communication (empathy), but a direct eye contact also subdues the other person and thus is less-intimate. Persons meeting  in one to one setting are more intimate, than their encounter in public presence or a gaze.

Audio intimacy occurs over a chat on telephone or mobile, web chatting, videoconferencing. These are forms of being audio intimate.

Virtual proximity Intimacy is also achieved by entering into some one’s private domain like home, a bedroom, toilet, study area. Homes and work places of great persons provide illusion of physical intimacy.

A person projects privacy and intimacy in various proportions, whereas the space facilitates various levels of physical closeness, isolation and insulation. The mental needs ultimately define the degree of involvement. The culture defines the acceptable or inappropriate types of intimacies. A crowded stair, elevator, metro carriage do not project an intimate atmosphere. A hand shake or hug nominally has no sexual meaning in many cultures. In some cultures privacy achieved by a veil is considered retardant of intimacy. Intimacy could be a display or an expression with physical touch but with no apparent mental feelings.

Two persons or members of a group can talk in whispers and give out an impression of intimacy in spite of the apparent distance between them. Conversely talk-discussions in high pitch could be used to present bonhomie and thereby a close-knit entity. Politicians and celebrities talk in whispers to state things that need to be made public and talk loudly things that need not be public, both ways they draw the attention. A public orator changes the pitch from normal to very low or high to draw the attention of the audience and thereby register a point.

SPATIAL SEPARATION AND RELATIONS
Hall (1959) has stipulated that spatial separation also serves an expansive function. He  made a study of the spatial relations that seem appropriate to various kinds of interactions. They vary with intimacy, and depend on the possibility of eye contact. They vary with the culture.

One can easily distinguish strangers from friends in an airport lounge. Strangers will keep a distance taking alternate seats wherever possible. Friends tend to form clots, and families even pile one on the top of another. Total strangers will comfortably seat themselves only inches apart if the seats are back to back, but friends and the members of the family never arrange themselves in this way. Eye contact invites interaction and so is sought to the degree that intimacy already exists. (Hall E. T. 1959 The silent language).

Hall argues that there are spatial zones appropriate to various types of interactions. Distances through virtual communication technology mediated  interactions are likely to be different. Hall has also shown the cultural variations that South American needs much closer distance for impersonal information than a North American desire or is accustomed to.

Very close          75 to 150mm           Soft whisper, top secret
Close                 200 to 300mm         Audible whispers, very confidential
Near                  300 to 500mm         Soft voice, confidential
Neutral               500 to 900mm        Soft voice, low volume, personal subject matter
Neutral              1300 to 1500mm     Full voice, impersonal information
Public               1700 to 2500mm      Slightly over-loud, information for others to hear
Across room       2500 to 6000mm     Loud voice, talking to a group
Hailing privately 6000 to 7500 mm    Indoors, Loud voice departures
Hailing public     30.00 mts              Outdoors, Loud voice shouting, departures and calls

Impersonal discussion, takes place at 1200 to 1500 mm; cross the inner boundary of this zone and one’s interlocutor will retreat; cross the outer boundary and he will advance or subtly change the manner in which he behaves adopting the pattern appropriate to the new distance. One can move from impersonal discussion to personal matter by reducing the distance, or to a non personal information exchange by increasing the distance. TV anchors do the distance trick on their show. For an intimate question the anchor pushes forward own body (Larry King of CNN ), but as soon as the question sinks in with the guest, the anchor withdraws not just to the nominal position but little further backward. These distancing movements allow the guest to deliver the answer more objectively and the camera frames the guest alone for such a ‘heroic effort’. However, a host may intimidate the guest by doing exactly opposite of this.