Cultural differences in nonverbal power behavior contribute to misunderstandings. Eye gaze is a power cue in mainstream U.S. culture, and differences in patterns between black and white American communicators may lead to interactional difficulties. La-France and Mayo (1976,1978) reported that black speakers look at their conversational partner less while listening than while speaking. The patterns for white communicators is the opposite (kendon,1967). In a black-white conversation, a black listener will look less than a white speaker expects, which suggests that the black listener is uninterested. Conversely, when the black interactant is talking both parties will be looking more than each expects. Such long, mutual gazes are often interpreted as hostility. In this example, cultural patterning in power-related nonverbal cues may produce interpretations of disinterest and hostility. In addition, blacks decrease gaze in the presence of powerful people, whereas whites increase the amount of gaze in these situations, and the two ethnic groups differ in their interpretations of conversational regulators such as rising and falling inflections.