Of status and suits: Personal space invasions in an administrative setting

In the present experiment we sought to determine if status would affect avoidance of personal space invasions. The drinking behavior of male passersby at a water fountain in an administration building was recorded by a female observer. Either a low status, high status, or no confederate stood near the fountain. The results showed that there was a significantly lower rate of drinking at the water fountain when a high status confederate stood nearby than when no confederate was present.