2014 West AccuracyBiasPerceptionsRelationship
The article investigates how perceived anxiety in a roommate influences two perceptual processes—tracking accuracy (the ability to follow a partner’s true interest in remaining roommates over time) and positive directional bias (systematic overestimation of that interest)—within both intergroup (cross‑race) and intragroup (same‑race) college roommate dyads. Drawing on the Truth and Bias model, the authors hypothesized that high perceived anxiety would diminish both accuracy and bias for all dyads, whereas low perceived anxiety would allow Whites to show greater tracking accuracy and stronger positive bias than minority partners, especially in cross‑race pairs. A longitudinal field study with 134 first‑year students (67 same‑sex roommate pairs) collected twice‑weekly self‑reports of anxiety, perceived partner anxiety, and desire to stay roommates over six weeks. Mixed‑effects models (PROC MIXED) incorporating the Truth and Bias framework examined the main effects and interactions of perceived anxiety, dyad race composition, and perceiver race. Results showed that overall participants displayed a modest positive directional bias, but this bias vanished under high perceived anxiety. Tracking accuracy was generally low under high anxiety across all dyads. Under low anxiety, Whites with minority roommates achieved significant tracking accuracy, while minorities with White roommates remained inaccurate regardless of anxiety level. Whites with White roommates showed poor tracking when adjusted for assumed similarity, but displayed accuracy when similarity was not controlled, suggesting reliance on perceived similarity. Directional bias was strongest for Whites (both same‑ and cross‑race) under low anxiety and for minorities only when their White partners were perceived as low‑anxiety. The discussion interprets these patterns in terms of interpersonal versus intergroup orientations, the “poor target” hypothesis, and the role of assumed similarity, and highlights unexpected findings (e.g., anxiety increasing accuracy for White‑White dyads). The authors propose future work to examine target behaviors, experimental manipulations of anxiety, and varied social contexts to better understand how anxiety shapes perceptual accuracy and bias in intergroup relationship formation.
Topics
Motivation: Anxiety as a Barrier to Intergroup Friendship Formation
The authors outline how perceived anxiety in intergroup interactions hampers the development of cross‑group friendships and note the scarcity of research on accuracy and bias in such naturalistic settings.