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Free keywords:
Aggression; Implicit attitudes; Proxemics; Prejudice; Nonverbal behavior
Abstract:
This study investigated the relationship between participant proxemic
behavior and overt aggression during interactions with Black and White
agents in an immersive virtual environment. In a series of two tasks,
participants first interacted with two male agents (each of the same race) and
then engaged in a violent shooting game with those agents. Participants’
proxemic behaviors (interpersonal distance and head movements) during the
first task predicted aggressive and hostile participant shots against Black but
not White agents in the subsequent task. Results supported the value of
proxemic variables in predicting aggression and the utility of IVET for
experimental social psychology.
