Do mp3 players 'shrink' our concept of personal space?

Listening to music that makes you happy can make reduce your need for personal space, according to new research.

(Image credit: Tim Pannell/Corbis)

last updated 8 January 2015

Remember this the next time you board a crowded train: According to new research from the University of London, listening to music through headphones can make us feel more comfortable with people packed closely around us. The authors of the study, published in the journal PLoS One, concluded that the right music can shrink our personal space — the comfort zone "around the human body that people feel is 'their space.'" Here's what you should know:

How was the study carried out?

The researchers wanted to know why so many people listen to music through headphones on subways, trains, and buses. They had volunteers listen to piano music — through speakers and headphones — while a stranger walked toward them. Some of the music was meant to stir up positive emotions, some negative. To measure any change in the volunteers' personal comfort zones, they were instructed to say "stop" when they felt the stranger was too close.