The Development of Spatial Behavior Norms in Black and White Primary School Children

Unobtrusive observations of the proxemic behavior or in teracting (same-sex, same-race) pairs of kindergarten, second-, and fourth-grade children were made in playground settings of six upper lower-class, racially heterogeneous (Black-White), Oakland, California, elementary schools. Blacks were found to stand closer than Whites at the earlier grade levels. The difference, however, nearly disappeared by the fourth grade. Also, Black female children stood closest to and White female children most distant from each other during verbal in teraction. In axis (shoulder) orientation, Blacks faced one another less directly than Whites. The difference in creased as a function of grade level. Males of both racial groups were found to stand less directly than females, replicating the results of previous studies of adult axis behavior, and thus suggesting that sex-typed behavior is acquired very early. The results in general indicate that racial differences in distance and axis are learned early in life.