Need for privacy and its effect upon interpersonal attraction and interaction

The present study explored the implications of variations in privacy preferences for the quality and style of interpersonal behavior in an initial encounter situation. The influence of situational variations in privacy upon interpersonal behavior was also examined. Past research has shown that people with a high preference for privacy are more introverted than extraverted, logical and analytic rather than sympathetic and feeling, prefer not to include themselves in social groups, and do not express or need affection as much as people with low privacy preferences. It has been theorized that people with a high need for privacy have low self esteem and a poor self concept and hence need more privacy in which to develop a sense of self and allow for self evaluation. Hence, it was hypothesized that: (a) persons with a high preference for privacy are less attracted to and interact less with a stranger than people with a low preference; and, (b) differences between privacy preference groups in attraction and interaction are greater in a situation which places high rather than low demands upon privacy. The research design was a 2 (privacy preference) by 2 (situational variation in privacy) by 2 (gender) design. Situational demands upon privacy were varied by means of a self disclosure task in which subjects discussed relatively intimate or nonintimate topics.

The findings showed that for those with high compared with low privacy preferences, interaction with a stranger was rated as significantly more awkward, tense, and unnatural. High privacy individuals verbally reinforced speaking by the strangers significantly less than low privacy individuals. Trends on the other behavioral measures were consistent with these findings. There were no group differences on the measures of interpersonal attraction.

The results of this study support previous research which has suggested that people with a high preference for privacy may interact less and be less comfortable with a stranger than people with a low preference. No support was found for the proposition that intimate self disclosure significantly alters attraction to or interaction with a stranger more so for individuals with high versus low preferences for privacy. The implications of these findings for relationship development and interpersonal skills training were discussed. Further research should be devoted to measuring the effects of other kinds of situational demands. It is also important to empirically determine the relationship between self-esteem and need for privacy. Finally, research is needed to explore the antecedents of privacy preferences and to determine how they change over time.