Racially minoritized individuals' responses to identity-safety and -threat relational cues in imagined interactions with white strangers, friends, and allies.

OBJECTIVES

The goal of this research was to investigate how marginalized group members interpret relational cues (e.g., words, behaviors) that signal their likelihood of experiencing identity-threat or identity-safety during interracial interactions during novel interactions with White strangers, compared to established relationships with White friends or White allies.

METHOD: Across two preregistered experiments, Latine (N = 513) and Black (N = 478) Americans imagined discussing a racist incident with a White stranger (Studies 1 and 2), friend (Studies 1 and 2), or ally (Study 2) who demonstrated relational safety (e.g., asking your perspective) and threat (e.g., avoiding eye contact) cues.

RESULTS

Latine participants expected greater identity-safety, comfort, and willingness to disclose a race-related experience to White friends (Studies 1 and 2) and allies (Study 2) versus White strangers, regardless of cue content. In Study 1, Black participants expected greater identity-safety and disclosure willingness in response to safety cues from a White friend (vs. stranger). In Study 2, they reported greater comfort and disclosure willingness in response to safety cues from a White ally (vs. stranger), but not a White friend.

CONCLUSIONS

This research clarifies how Black and Latine individuals interpret relational cues from White strangers, friends, and allies during potentially contentious conversations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).