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Two experiments were conducted which studied seating distance of subjects in a small group discussion situation. In Experiment I groups of three subjects sat on cushions in a bare carpeted room along with a moderator and discussed a socially relevant issue. The distances generated by subjects' placement of their cushions servt as the main dependent variable, The predominant seating pattern was a semicircular arrangement of the subjects relative to the moderator. The interaction distances cOosen were within Hall's (1966) personal and social zones. . In Experiment II an attempt was made to influence where subjects sat by including in the group a confederate who always sat down first either very near or far from the moderator. iResultsshowed that subjects attempted to accommodate both the moderator and the confederate in choosing tijeir seating positions. When the confederate sat far way from the moderator, two distinct types of seating patterns emerged, but both seemed functionally equi-alent in terms of orientation and distance accommodation to the moderator and confederate. _
Hendrick et al. (Sat,) studied this question.