Transcript Definition: Privacy

Definition: Privacy
• Psychology: Selective access to oneself
or one’s group.
• Legal: The right to be left alone
• What is the difference between privacy
and secrecy? Both are concerned with
boundaries and restricted access.
A. Westin: Typology of Privacy
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Solitude
Intimacy
Anonymity
Reserve
Westin, A. (1976). Privacy and freedom. New York: Atheneum.
Functions of Privacy
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Personal autonomy
Emotional release
Self-evaluation
Limited and protected communication
What is acedia?
Privileged communication
Privacy Mechanisms
• Verbal content
• Verbal structure
• Nonverbal mechanisms
– Eye contact research
– Spatial invasion studies
– Facial gestures
Privacy Mechanisms
• Environmentally based mechanisms
– Office design
– Barriers around the house (landscaping)
– Clothing
Privacy Mechanisms
• Culturally based mechanisms
– Variations in cultural patterns in personal
space, touching, crowding, territory
– E. Goffman’s notion of “on and off stage”
– Use of rooms with limited access
(bedrooms, bathrooms)
Personal Space
= a portable, invisible boundary
surrounding us, into which others may
not trespass
• changes in size depending on
situational cues
• a mechanism used to obtain privacy
(Altman’s model)
Personal Space
• Methods for Studying Personal Space
– Spatial Invasion Studies
– Comfortable Interpersonal Distance Scale
(CIDS)
Personal Space
• Methods for Studying Personal Space
– Spatial Invasion Studies
– Comfortable Interpersonal Distance Scale
(CIDS)
– Footsteps
Personal Space
• Personal space research is useful for many
occupations
– E.g., counsellor/nurse
– E.g., waitress
– E.g., interior design
• Women are more upset by spatial invasions from the
side. They prefer side-by-side seating.
• Men are more upset by spatial invasions from the
front. They prefer face-to-face seating.
Film: Beyond Shelter
1. How do the various designs seen in
the film either facilitate or hamper
privacy needs?
2. What is the relationship between
privacy and perceived control over the
environment?