Physiological reactions of black, Puerto Rican, and white students in suggested ethnic encounters.

Abstract

Summary Eighty-eight male and female black, Puerto Rican, and white university students were asked five questions that suggested ethnic interactions with one another. The study examined (a) level of stress each group experienced in relation to one another, (b) relative stress one group has toward the other two, (c) comparative stress two groups experience toward the third group, (d) a possible trend of greater stress as encounters are more intimate, (e) difference between self-reported and measured stress. All three groups were found to experience stress toward one another in suggested encounters. Each group experienced similar stress toward the other two. White students experienced more stress than blacks and Puerto Ricans in certain situations. A tendency of more stress in situations that contained an element of the “unknown” rather than “intimacy” was found. Students verbally reported greater comfort in ethnic encounters than was measured in their physiological reactions.