Personality Characteristics Related to Cross-Situational Consistency of Interpersonal Distance

Explored the relation of personality dimensions to cross-situational consistency in interpersonal distance. Sixty-five male and 52 female undergraduates were given the Personality Research Form A and the Maudsley Personality Inventory as well as four forms of a measure of interpersonal distance preference which covered 10 different situations. The relationship between the personality dimensions and the consistency of interpersonal distance choice was measured by multiple regression. Neuroticism emerged as having the most reliable relation to consistency, confirming previous data in this area. Multiple Rs ranging from .36 to .53 indicated that consistency may be reliably related to personality dimensions and that conceptualizing consistency as an individual difference or moderating variable may partially explain the difficulty in predicting directly from personality dimensions as the situation varies.