Week 7, Question 2: prox and chron emics

2). Explain proxemics and chronemics. Are there universal rules for all cultures regarding these concepts? Give personal examples if possible. Give examples of personal experience in other cultures regarding these two concepts.

Chronemics:   This term refers to the study of the use of time. One universal rule is that it’s rude to be late to a predetermined appointment and one should always be on-time or early. In small group interactions, this is especially true. “An individual who takes too much of a group’s time may be poorly perceived, and his or her contributions discounted” (Harris, 2008). A year ago during my COMM144F class, my group met up on the weekend at the King library to study/work. We agreed on 3p.m., yet only two of the group members were on time. I showed up over ½ late at 3:45pm and the other group member didn’t show up at all. Additionally, he never even called to let anyone know and it wasn’t until I called/texted him that we found out he wasn’t going to make it because he was caught in traffic from Frisco. Our late and tardiness affected us poorly after that because  we weren’t able to contribute as much as the on-time group members did, and they both ended up telling the instructor about our lack of participation that day. It also affected our role in the group from there on out. They didn’t totally trust us after that to get all our work done for the group and our role in the final presentation was limited since they were afraid we’d be late to the presentation.

Proxemics:  This term refers to “the ways we structure and use and are affected by space” (Neuliep, 2000). I’ll use an example of personal space on public transportation.  No one wants to sit next to a “stranger” on the bus or lightrail so frequently you’ll see people putting their backpack, books, or other personal object next to them to prevent anyone from sitting there.  Or sometimes they’ll just sit on the aisle seat to prevent anyone from sitting next to them. When the bus if full and someone gets one, looking for an available seat, you can always see the unwillingness in someone who is taking up two seats to offer their seat to the person who needs it by moving over to the window seat or moving their backpack, etc. And the unwritten rule when getting on the bus is to not sit next to anyone when/if they are other available seats that you can sit in so you don’t end up intruding on someone’s personal space.