NCJ Number
86718
Journal
Journal of Social Psychology Volume: 113 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1981) Pages: 217-229
Date Published
1981
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study used two interview procedures incorporating empirically derived differences in nonverbal behavior and personal space arrangements between blacks and Anglo-Americans to study their effects in the context of a standing police interview.
Abstract
Subjects were 30 black male undergraduates. One interview involved the use of several specified nonverbal behaviors and personal space arrangements typical of black-Americans, the other included behaviors and spatial arrangements typical of Anglo-Americans. The interviews were conducted by two uniformed, Anglo-American university police officers who had been trained and rehearsed in the enactment of both the black- and Anglo-American styles of interview. Following the interviews, subjects were asked to report their preferences for the police officer performing in either the black- or Anglo-American interview within a personal, social, and professional context. As predicted, black subjects showed a significant preference in all contexts for those interviews in which the police officer employed black-American nonverbal behaviors and spatial arrangements. A recency effect and a preference for a particular officer were also found. The importance of training police officers in subcultural interaction patterns is discussed. Tabular data, footnotes, and 16 references are given. (Author abstract modified)