Territory and property

The personal property of a person or the space that he constantly uses is his personal territory, and the person is ready to fight to protect it. Home, office and car are territories, each of which has clearly defined borders in the form of walls, gates, fences and doors. Each territory may include some subterritories. For example, in the house of a woman’s personal territory there may be a kitchen, and then she will not like it if other family members appear on it when she is a priest. A businessman can have a favorite place at a meeting table, regulars always sit at a restaurant at the same table, parents have their favorite chairs. Personal territories are marked either with personal items left on them or with frequent use. A café frequenter can even mark “his” place with his own initials, and a businessman can leave a folder, pen, book or jacket in “his” place, and these items will be located so as to limit the 46-centimeter intimate zone. Studies conducted by psychologist Desmond Morris in libraries have shown that a book or personal item left on a table retains an unallocated space for 77 minutes; jacket on the back of a chair - for two hours. At home, a family member can mark his favorite chair, leaving a personal item on it - a handbag or a magazine, thereby stating the right of ownership.
If the owner of the house offers the guest to sit down and he inadvertently takes his chair, such an invasion irritates the host and translates him into a defensive mood. Ask: “Where do you usually sit?” - and you will manage to avoid embarrassment and unpleasant territorial error.