Intergroup interactions between racial or ethnic majority and minority groups are often stressful for members of both groups; however, the dynamic processes that promote or alleviate tension in intergroup interaction remain poorly understood. Here we identify a behavioral mechanism—response delay—that can uniquely contribute to anxiety and promote disengagement from intergroup contact. Minimally acquainted White, Black, and Latino participants engaged in intergroup or intragroup dyadic conversation either in real time or with a subtle temporal disruption (1-s delay) in audiovisual feedback. Whereas intergroup dyads reported greater anxiety and less interest in contact after engaging in delayed conversation than after engaging in real-time conversation, intragroup dyads reported less anxiety in the delay condition than they did after interacting in real time. These findings have theoretical and practical implications for understanding intergroup communication and social dynamics and for promoting positive intergroup contact.

中文翻译：

---

群体间关系的脆弱性

种族或族裔多数与少数群体之间的群体间互动通常会给这两个群体的成员带来压力；然而，促进或缓解群体间互动紧张的动态过程仍然知之甚少。在这里，我们确定了一种行为机制——反应延迟——它可以独特地导致焦虑并促进群体间接触的脱离。最少熟悉的白人、黑人和拉丁裔参与者实时或在视听反馈中以微妙的时间中断（1 秒延迟）进行组间或组内二元对话。而群际二人报告说，在进行延迟对话后，与进行实时对话后相比，他们更焦虑，对接触的兴趣更小，与实时互动后，群内二人组报告的延迟条件下的焦虑更少。这些发现对于理解群体间交流和社会动态以及促进积极的群体间接触具有理论和实践意义。