COVID-19 and social distancingCroy, Ilona (Avtor) Avsec, Andreja (Avtor) Kavčič, Tina (Avtor) Musil, Bojan (Avtor) Plohl, Nejc (Avtor) Zager Kocjan, Gaja (Avtor) Zupančič, Maja (Avtor) nonverbal communicationinterpersonal distance preferencesinterpersonal touch behaviourCOVID-19 pandemiccross-cultural psychologyCOVID-19physical distancingcoronavirusThe COVID-19 pandemic has led to the introduction of unprecedented safety measures, one of them being physical distancing recommendations. Here, we assessed whether the pandemic has led to long-term effects on two important physical distancing aspects, namely interpersonal distance preferences and interpersonal touch behaviors. We analyzed nearly 14,000 individual cases from two large, cross-cultural surveys – the first conducted 2 years prior to the pandemic and the second during a relatively stable period of a decreased infection rate in May-June 2021. Preferred interpersonal distances increased by 54% globally during the COVID-19 pandemic. This increase was observable across all types of relationships, all countries, and was more pronounced in individuals with higher self-reported vulnerability to diseases. Unexpectedly, participants reported a higher incidence of interpersonal touch behaviors during than before the pandemic. We discuss our results in the context of prosocial and self-protection motivations that potentially promote different social behaviors.20242024-05-22 14:25:30Članek v reviji156369UDK: 159.922.4:616-036.22ISSN pri članku: 1069-3971DOI: 10.1177/10693971231174935COBISS_ID: 173478403sl