Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Invading Personal Space















This is a great example of an invasion of personal space.  Here, Steve Spagnuolo, the head coach of the St. Louis Rams, gives a one armed hug to Navy officer Chris Scholl.  On the sporting field, men will often hug, slap, show affection and commaraderie for each other - that the same men wouldn't show off the field.  While it may be okay for a coach to hug "his men" on the sidelines of this televised game, this permission is not granted by everyone, certainly not by an officer in uniform. Coach Spagnuolo forgets this here.  

Navy officer Scholl shows several signs of his disapproval for this PDA.  He is leaning slightly away from coach Spagnuolo, and although his head is partially turned toward the coach, officer Scholl's body remains pointed straight ahead. This is always a very strong sign that the affection is not reciprocated. Chris Scholl's eyes are also slightly narrowed (a la' Clint Eastwood) and his mouth is closed in a slight frown. His arms remain locked at his side as well.

________________________________________________________________________________________