If we’ve suffered at Christmas for anything, it’s been the family lunches and dinners, one after the other. For this reason, the center of all interactions during this holiday season is that table where we all gather , catch up, eat, laugh and celebrate.

But not all tables are the same, nor are all places around them. The spatial arrangement exerts different influences on people; on their level of participation and their nature. This is the object of study in environmental psychology and group psychology, disciplines that have detailed what effects your position at the table produces.

Types of arrangements in space

In terms of the variety of arrangements in space, there are three classics: the focused , the sociopathic and the sociopathic .

1. Focused

All seats are oriented in a specific direction. With this arrangement attention to a focus is enhanced and interaction between users is reduced ; participation is from the focus to the users and vice versa. This is the typical orientation of school classrooms, in which students are asked to attend to the teacher and not talk to each other.

2. Socio-Fugitive

All seats face outwards. By arranging themselves in this way, users turn their backs on each other, so interpersonal communication is limited . The little interaction that takes place in this arrangement tends to be at an intrapersonal level and directed at oneself. Although it is not usual, socioprofessional dispositions are used, for example in some currents of psychoanalysis in which the patient has his back to the psychotherapist, facilitating introspection.

3. Sociopaths

All seats face inwards. In this case, the opposite is true; the users are oriented towards each other, facilitating interpersonal communication and bringing it towards intragroupness . For processes of trust and cohesion it is fundamental, because of the facilities it promotes for interaction and exchange. It is the most typical in our society in group meetings, where the focus is the group itself.

Sociópeta disposition: the most common in daily life

Now, of all these dispositions, the one that we find most in our daily life is the sociopath .

We all meet at tables either to be with friends, family or at work meetings. This makes the sociopathic disposition the most influential in the areas of our lives and from which we can most benefit by getting to know it. Within a sociopathic disposition, depending on where you are, you do not participate in the same way, nor with whom. If orientation has its effects, so does geometry.

Square

A square table has all four sides the same, so everyone has the same option to speak to the group and there doesn’t seem to be much difference . However, it does influence smaller relationships, in dyads or triads. People sitting next to each other, i.e. in adjacent seats, tend to cooperate, reinforce each other and agree. On the other hand, in opposite seats there is a tendency to compete, favouring disagreements and questioning. However, there is a greater degree of interaction in one arrangement than in another than if we sit in the corners.

Rectangular

On rectangular tables there are two narrower sides where the header effect occurs: by occupying this position more status is conferred . In the headboard there is not as much ease of communication as in the middle of the wide sides, as it limits eye contact and costs more to be seen. However, when speaking, attention is more easily attracted, as the same leaks from the table direct the gaze towards the headboard and make it easier for the person to focus. As for the wide sides, if someone is in the middle, it shows that that person wants to get involved and interact. On the other hand, those in the corner prefer to stay out of the way, see what’s going on first and then intervene – or not. This facilitates the roles of participant and initiator in the centre and observer and follower in the corners.

Circular

In circular arrangements the orientation of the seats does not change as drastically as in more rigid geometric shapes such as square and rectangular. Because of this, the above effects tend to diminish, e.g. there is no location that denotes a higher status , nor a place where one can take shelter, since all are equally exposed. However, there is the Steinzor effect, whereby you tend to interact to a greater degree with the people in front of you, because you have more eye contact; so if you have something to say to someone, sit down in front, which will help you.

Other environmental factors

Other environmental factors in group ecology may be temperature, which at high levels promotes irritability or noise as a cause of stress. Even the size of a room can influence the number of people, as it is not the same as being five, to hold the meeting in a big room or a small room. But of all of them, the most controllable is where we sit and, who knows, we may want to change places for next Christmas .