Effect of an Approval-Seeking Induction on Interpersonal Proximity

To determine whether interpersonal proximity is used as an instrumental act for the attainment of social approval female Ss were assigned approval-seeking or approval-avoiding roles and were compared for their subsequent proximity to a female confederate in an otherwise unstructured social situation. Approval-seeking Ss positioned themselves significantly closer to the confederate. Angles of confrontation did not differ between the experimental groups. The study was interpreted as a first step in the development of a comprehensive description of expressions of positive interpersonal affect in informal interaction.