Privacy preferences and classroom seat selection

The relationship between privacy preferences and the location of selected seats in a classroom was investigated. Subjects were 17 men and 34 women in an undergraduate psychology class. The location of the seat selected in a rectangular classroom was described according to depth: front, middle, and back. Privacy preferences were measured using Marshalls (1974) Privacy Preference Scale. Those who opted to sit in the back were significantly higher on the Not Neighboring and Seclusion scales.