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I wonder if this somewhat “explains” the awkward silences of strangers in confined spaces such as elevators. Fascinating theory.

• combatentropy 6y ago
  People in elevators are not more silent. The reason they're quiet is because they're strangers, not because they're standing too close. In a more open space, like a grocery store, strangers still aren't chatting. Or maybe you're asking why elevators feel more awkward. It feels awkward because the physical relationship does not match the emotional one. Also, the stranger has an up-close view of you: any flaw in your appearance or words is received by someone who you don't trust, don't understand. You can only guess what they'll think. They'll likely be polite and say nothing critical, but the thought that they might secretly think something critical is enough to hold back most people. The concern for what strangers think is another interesting subject in psychology.
  • perl4ever 6y ago
    You can observe a bunch of people and say, "they are not talking to each other because they are strangers". But if you observed a randomly selected group over a decade, you would see that some of them talk to strangers now and then, and those are the ones that have a tremendous advantage in creating new relationships, whereas the ones that never talk to strangers might even be handicapped/pathological. Like, there's a huge difference between someone who, on average, consistently starts a conversation with 1 of 1000 people they meet vs. someone who does that with nobody. But observing people for a minute or two at a time, you wouldn't see the difference.