Empirically derived differences in nonverbal behavior and personal space arrangements between Black- and Anglo-Americans were incorporated into two interview procedures in order to study their effects in the context of a standing police interview. Ss 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, each S was asked to report his preferences for the police officer performing in either the Black- or Anglo-American interview within a personal, social, and professional context. As predicted, black Ss showed a significant preference in all contexts for those interviews in which the policeman 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Social Psychology is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)