Touch and Proxemics

One of the first things you’ll notice upon reaching Italy is the great amount of physical contact between people. If you’re from another country, it would easily appear that way, but in order to gain the full experience of being abroad, it’s best to learn to accept and initiate touch more often in order to better immerse yourself in the new culture. 

The concepts of proxemics and touch are often overlooked until one is actually in a predicament where personal distance is misinterpreted between people of different cultures. In Italy, personal bubbles are typically much smaller than in the US, so the closer you stand to your group, the less likely you’ll be spotted out as non-Italian if you truly wanted to blend in. It’s also particularly important to note that Italians in general are “typically portrayed as a high-contact culture, whereas the United States is typically considered a low-contact culture” (Dibiase & Gunnoe, 2004, p. 6). This means that interpersonal touching is less frequent in the US (a low-contact culture) versus in Italy (a high-contact culture). In fact, according to Dibiase and Gunnoe, Southern Europeans are more affectionate by nature than Northern Europeans so this particular trait is a likely influencing factor on their touching habits. A good example to illustrate the differences would that hugging and kissing as greetings are much more common in countries like Italy as opposed to countries like Sweden (and certainly in comparison to the US where we like the classic handshake). Since “Italians are known for their expressive communication, and touching appears to be an important aspect of their social behavior” (Dibiase & Gunnoe, 2004, p. 7) if you are hugged or kissed by someone you were just introduced to during a visit, just keep in mind that all countries have different cultural standards and meanings attached to these same gestures. Don’t be too standoffish as that might be interpreted as rude behavior. No harm is meant! The more we are conscious of these little details, the better we will be able to communicate with the people of Italy. After all, the point of traveling abroad is to learn and have fun (preferably with as few embarrassing moments as possible). Alright, I’m off now, until next time.

Ciao!

Cindy Bai

Dibiase, R., & Gunnoe, J. (2004). Gender and Culture Differences in Touching Behavior. The Journal of          Social Psychology, 144(1), 5-7.