Trawalter Sophie, Adam Emma K, Chase-Lansdale P Lindsay, Richeson Jennifer A
Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, University of Virginia.
J Exp Soc Psychol. 2012 May 1;48(3):682-693. doi: 10.1016/j.jesp.2011.12.003.
Many White Americans are concerned about appearing prejudiced. How these concerns affect responses during actual interracial interactions, however, remains understudied. The present work examines stress responses to interracial contact-both in the moment, during interracial interactions (Study 1), and over time as individuals have repeated interracial contact (Study 2). Results of Study 1 revealed that concerns about appearing prejudiced were associated with heightened stress responses during interracial encounters (Study 1). White participants concerned about appearing prejudiced exhibited significant increases in cortisol "stress hormone" levels as well as increases in anxious behavior during interracial but not same-race contact. Participants relatively unconcerned about appearing prejudiced did not exhibit these stress responses. Study 2 examined stress responses to interracial contact over an entire academic year. Results revealed that White participants exhibited shifts in cortisol diurnal rhythms on days after interracial contact. Moreover, participants' cortisol rhythms across the academic year, from fall to spring, were related to their concerns about appearing prejudiced and their interracial contact experiences. Taken together, these data offer the first evidence that chronic concerns about appearing prejudiced are related to short- and longer-term stress responses to interracial contact. Implications for life in diverse spaces are discussed.
许多美国白人担心表现出偏见。然而，这些担忧如何在实际的跨种族互动中影响反应，仍有待深入研究。本研究考察了对跨种族接触的应激反应——既考察了跨种族互动当下的反应（研究1），也考察了随着个体反复进行跨种族接触，长期的反应（研究2）。研究1的结果显示，担心表现出偏见与跨种族接触期间增强的应激反应有关（研究1）。担心表现出偏见的白人参与者在跨种族接触而非同种族接触期间，皮质醇（“应激激素”）水平显著升高，焦虑行为也有所增加。相对不担心表现出偏见的参与者则没有表现出这些应激反应。研究2考察了整个学年中对跨种族接触的应激反应。结果显示，白人参与者在跨种族接触后的日子里，皮质醇昼夜节律出现了变化。此外，参与者在整个学年（从秋季到春季）的皮质醇节律与他们对表现出偏见的担忧以及跨种族接触经历有关。综合来看，这些数据首次证明，长期担心表现出偏见与对跨种族接触的短期和长期应激反应有关。文中还讨论了这些研究结果对多元环境下生活的影响。
