University of Missouri, USA
Curtis. D. Hardin
Brooklyn College, USA
Shared reality theory postulates that interpersonal relationships are regulated by the degree to which participants share experiences and attitudes (Hardin & Conley, 2001; Hardin & Higgins, 1996). We were interested in whether these shared beliefs can promote positive interpersonal relationships. This postulate was tested by examining the consequences of activating thought about the O.J. Simpson murder trial on actual interactions among Blacks and Whites at three time points: directly following the trial, five years after the trial, and ten years after the trial. In three experiments, mixed-ethnicity and same-ethnicity dyads participated in cooperative problem-solving tasks after being reminded of the Simpson trial. Because the trial represents a dimension of belief discrepancy between Blacks and Whites but a dimension of shared beliefs among Whites and among Blacks, we hypothesized that activating the trial would affect interpersonal interactions differently depending upon the ethnic composition of participant pairs. As predicted, activating the Simpson trial caused the quality of interpersonal perceptions and behaviors to decrease for mixed-ethnicity dyads, but increase for same-ethnicity dyads. The latter finding concerning the increased positive perceptions among same ethnicity dyads is uniquely predicted by shared reality. These findings indicate that shared reality promotes the development of positive relationships. The findings are strongly consistent with shared reality theory but only weakly, if at all, supportive of other alternatives, such as social identity theory, a similarity-breeds-liking perspective, or a stereotyping perspective.
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