Close is clever! Spatial proximity shapes expertise attribution
Publication date
2026-08-24
Document type
Forschungsartikel
Author
Organisational unit
Publisher
Frontiers Research Foundation
Series or journal
Frontiers in Psychology
ISSN
Periodical volume
17
Article ID
1763841
Peer-reviewed
✅
Part of the university bibliography
✅
Language
English
Keyword
spatial proximity
expertise
person perception
social cognition
persuasion
Abstract
Individuals infer expertise from spatial proximity: the closer a person is to an object, the more expertise they are presumed to have. In four experiments (total N = 606) we investigated the relationship between spatial proximity and attributed domain-specific expertise, as well as its influence on persuasion. Study 1 indicated that participants attributed greater expertise to individuals depicted with (vs. without) domain-relevant objects. Study 2 showed that individuals positioned proximally (vs. distally) to objects were ascribed more expertise. Study 3 revealed a bidirectional relationship: participants placed domain-relevant objects closer to individuals described as experts in the corresponding domains. Study 4 demonstrated that spatial proximity also affects persuasion. A communicator positioned proximally (vs. distally) to the attitude object elicited stronger attitude change. Together, these findings provide first empirical evidence that spatial proximity influences perceived expertise, highlighting the relevance of spatial cues in person perception and persuasion.
Description
This is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Version
Published version
Access right on openHSU
Metadata only access