Hall’s space theoryProxemics，a term coined by Edward T. Hall in The Hidden Dimension (1966)，designates“the interrelated observations and theories of man’s use of space as a specialized elaboration of culture” (Hall 1966:1 ).Hall distinguishes four distances kept by people in social situation：intimate，personal，social，and public. This proxemics behavior is dynamics，culturally conditioned and usually occurs without one’s awareness. The data collected is based on his research on a small group of friends who were upper-middle-class Eastern professionals. So we could expect variation in other classes in the United States，and in other cultures. But later studies echo that the four proxemic zones are universal though the length of the distance could be various.Intimate distance (0 to 18 inches).This is the distance of wrestling and lovemaking，comforting and protecting. At this close range，vision is distorted and any vocalization is a whisper，moan or grunt. One’s main ways of judging the intervening space are though body heat，smell and touch. Hall postulates a mutual chemical impact when our thermal spheres overlap. That explains why we sometimes change our felling to match another person’s emotions.Person distance (18 inches to 4 feet). Here we lose the sense of body heat and could focus eyesight. The other person is about an arm’s length. People stand in this range are usually friends or close in relationship.Social distance (4 to12 feet ).This is the distance of impersonal business，the phases communicating degrees of involvement and formality. Eye contact plays a vital role here，and we spend more time at each other at far than at closer ranges.Public distance (12 to 25 feet and beyond). It’s the distance of the lecture hall and mass meetings. Here we are less likely to get involved in conversations with others who inhabit this zone. If we do，we tend to engage in the more formal style of speaking-loud voice，large gestures，sharp enunciation and slow cadence.Hall’s classificationIn The Dance of Life: The Other Dimension of Time Hall，put forward the terms of monochromic time and polychromic time:Years of exposure to other cultures demonstrated that complex societies organize time in at least two different ways: (1) events scheduled as separate time – one thing at a time – as in North Europe; or (2) following the Mediterranean model of involvement in several things at once…I have termed doing man y things at once: polychronic，P-time. The North European system – doing one thing at a time – is monochronic，M-time (Hall 2003:262).People in North Europe (including Germany，Austria，Switzerland etc.) and America follow M-time system.M-time is tangible. It can be saved ，spend，wasted，lost，made up and killed. It crawls，ran out，and files. M-time is “oriented to tasks，schedules，and procedures”(Hall 2003:266) .In M-time cultures，tasks are to be accomplished according to the schedule and procedure. Before one finishes with one task，he will not move on to other tasks. Social and business life is schedule dominated.People in mediterranean area，the middle east，Latin America and Spanish-speaking cultures generally follow P-time system.Matters in P-time culture seem in a constant state of flux.”Nothing is solid or firm，particularly plans for the future; even important plans may be changed right up to the minute of execution. ”(Hall 2003:263) P-time is oriented to people. Here “people” doses not refer to anyone，but the person who is of close relationship,《跨文化沟通心理学》第三节跨文化沟通的社会场景跨文化沟通是一种社会沟通，即沟通双方之间的社会关系在某种程度上决定了双方之间的沟通方式、过程和质量。
有些社会关系具有显而易见的特征，因此这些特征的差异对沟通方式、过程和结果的影响相对而言是比较明显的。
沟通双方的种族差异会使得一些具有较强种族主义倾向的的沟通者，采用一种傲慢的居高临下的方式与对方进行沟通。
沟通双方的宗教差异对沟通的影响也是不言而喻的，特别是一些与宗教有关的信念、典故和经书会对不同宗教之间的跨文化沟通产生阻碍，因为这些信念、典故和经书往往不大容易被对方理解。
比如中国人对一位西方人说，“你这个人真贾宝玉”，他可能就不知道这句话蕴含的调侃意味。
有些社会关系是比较隐蔽的，不易被人直接观察或意识到，但他对跨文化沟通的影响却比人们所知晓和承认的作用要大得多，这就包括与社会关系相联系的社会背景因素。
哪些社会背景因素会影响到跨文化沟通的过程和质量呢？1.地盘跨文化沟通的地域在某种程度上决定了双方之间的优略势，掌握了主场优势（Home Count Advantage）的沟通者，往往会在决定沟通的时间、方式、长度甚至议题上有很大的优势。
就像体育比赛的主场效应一样，跨文化沟通地域的主客场差异会决定沟通的结果，这就是为什么很多重要的跨文化沟通，比如国家之间的谈判，都要选择在第三方的地盘上进行。
为什么会产生主场效应呢？心理学家认为，主场效应是由于社会助长的作用。
也就是说，当与自己有关的人在场时，我们的行为就会受到这些人的影响。
有许多心理学的实验验证了这种社会助长作用的存在。
比如，有研究发现，优秀的台球选手在没有人观看的情况下，能有71％的击中率，如果有他人观看的话，他们的击中率会提高到80％，而不那么优秀的台球选手，在没有他人观看的情况下，击中率可以达到36％，而在被别人观看时，击中率则降为25％（Michael ＆Others,1982）。
在体育比赛中主场优势是非常明显的。
根据一项对美国、英国和加拿大八万项体育比赛赛事的研究，发现足球比赛的主场优势最高，达到了69％，也就是说有19％的比赛结果与双方的实力无关，而只与是否选择了自己的地盘来进行比赛有关。
篮球比赛的主场优势为64％，冰球为61.1％，橄榄球为57.3％，棒球为54.3％（Courneya ＆carron,1992）。