Territoriality and Encroachment

Territoriality and Encroachment

An Interactive Guide

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Territory

Territory is a geographical space we claim to be our own.Territoriality is the bahvior associated with percieved ownership over an area. It often includes defense of the territory and can extend to objects and ideas. Three types of territory include primary, secondary, and public

Primary Territory refers to to a territory that is exclusively owned by an individual or group. Typically this type of territory cannot be encroached upon without the consent of the owner. This territory is essential for daily functioning.

Public territory is not owned or associated with by any group or individual permanantly. It can be used by anyone- giving it a temporary ownership available to all.

Territories are understood to essentially be social constructs. They come to exist when a group or individual wants to express their ownership of a place, object, or idea to the public (Brown & Baer, 2015).

Secondary Territory is a territory that is not distinctly owned but rather associated with those that frequent the area or object. It is encroached upon much more often than a primary territory.

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Encroachment

Encroachment is the idea of intruding on or breaching another's territory.

Contamination is a type of encroachment that deals not with ones body but instead what they leave behind in an a territory owned by someone else. This can sully the territory by defiling it in ways not granted by its owner. example: blowing leaves into neighbors yard

Whether this encroachment is perceived as positive or negative can depend on a number factors such as who is enacting it and what reason they have for doing so.

Invasion is the final and most severe form of enchroachment. This type of enchroachment involves taking control of anothers territory and assuming ownership of such. It is far more serious than a violation because of the action taken and its lasting effects.

The three types of encroachment are violation, contamination, and invasion.

Violation is the first and least offensive type of encroachment that refers to an unnessesary use of anothers territory. It is generally done by one's body and is a less severe version of an invasion. example: looking into someones bag without their consent

Kirk et al. found that there are three signals that establish psychological ownership and trigger perceived infringement: control, personal investment, and intimate knowledge (2018).

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Territorial Defense

Reactions are defensive responses to encroachment. The four types of reactions are: withdrawl, insulation, turf defense, and linguistic collusion

Preventions and Reactions

Preventions refers to the various methods of how owners attempt to protect their territory. The three types of prevention are: markers & labels, offensive displays, and tenure

Withdawal refers to someone physically moving away from a perceived encroacher. Insulation uses behavior and markers to prevent encroachment. Turf defense involves the removal of someone from a territory. Linguistic collusion occurs when the integrity of a group is in question, then is reaffirmed with the outsider labeled as an invader.

Markers and labels are personal objects that are placed to show ownership over something. Offensive displays, like glaring and shifting postures, can convey irritation. Tenure refers to when someone has spent a long period of time in an area and is now identified with it.

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End!

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