Preferences for Seating Arrangements in Two Countries

Abstract

Choice of seating positions around a table under various conditions in England and Sweden are reported. The major result is that Swedish subjects (N = 156) choose opposite seating to a greater extent than English subjects (N = 145). The results are reasonably supportive of the hypotheses put forward on the basis of informants' impressions regarding differences between English and Swedish social behaviour and of personality data obtained from previous studies. Explanations for the various differences in terms of differing levels of motivation in the two countries are put forward, and the implications for intercultural interaction situations are discussed.