Protection theoryEquilibrium theory Expectancy violations theory

Establish a body buffer zone around yourself as protection against unwanted touching or attack. When you feel threatened or be attacked your body buffer zone increase E.g. If you walk alone at night and someone come close to you (entering your buffer zone) you probably feel threatened and seek to expand the distance by walking faster.

Holds that intimacy and interpersonal distance vary together. The greater the intimacy, the closer the distance or the lower the intimacy, the greater the distance.You maintain close distance with those with whom you have close interpersonal relationship and that you maintain greater distance with those with whom you do not have close relationship.

Explains what happens when you increase or decrease the distance between yourself and another in an interpersonal interaction This theory assume that people have expectancies toward the distance that need to maintain in their conversations. In a conversation, if someone that you like violate the expectancies (distance) by say, standing too close you will like the person even more as a result of this violation.

But if someone that you do not like violate your expectancies you will like the person even less as a result of the violation.