Effect of group success and failure upon interpersonal attraction in cooperating interracial groups.

The effect of group success and failure upon interpersonal attraction in cooperating interracial groups was investigated in a 2X2X2 factorially designed experiment. The level of participation in the group's decision making (high or low) and race (black or white) served as the additional independent variables. The 56 military subjects exhibited significantly greater attraction for groupmates under the success as opposed to the failure condition (p < .001). No main effects for the race of the group member being evaluated or the level of participation in decision making were obtained, nor were there interactions among any of the three independent variables. Separate analyses of the attraction ratings given the white and the black groupmates further revealed that whatever elevated or depressed the ratings for one, similarly affected the ratings for the other. A general satisfaction-dissatisfaction interpretation is offered to explain the effect of group success-failure on interpersonal attraction. Implications for the scapegoat hypothesis are discussed. Reviews of the literature on interpersonal and attitudinal outcomes of personal contact with representatives of a disliked group make it clear that these outcomes vary