Human Development
Life space
Description:
[Life space] may be defined as the physical "field" within which an individual acts and which is, to a greater or lesser extent, affected by the behaviour of the individual. This [territory of the self] (Ewing Goffman) is defended against actions by others which threaten the boundaries of that territory. A particular example is the [body space] or [personal space] surrounding an individual, which may be observed when people are crowded together (on a beach, at a party and so on). The entry of another person into the physical space an individual considers to be his own will cause him to feel threatened, and social rituals have been evolved to relate to the intruder in this situation. Non-spatial territories (a person's body, possessions) are also protected by the individual according to socially accepted conditions, depending on the circumstances.