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From strangers to friends: The interpersonal process model of intimacy in

developing interracial friendships

Article  in  Journal of Social and Personal Relationships · January 2010

DOI: 10.1177/0265407509346422

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 From strangers to friends:
The interpersonal process model
of intimacy in developing
interracial friendships
J. Nicole Shelton & Thomas E. Trail
Princeton University, USA

Tessa V. West
New York University, USA

Hilary B. Bergsieker
Princeton University, USA

ABSTRACT
We examine the processes involved in the development of
interracial friendships. Using Reis and Shaver’s intimacy model,
we explore the extent to which disclosure and perceived
partner responsiveness influence intimacy levels in develop-
ing interracial and intraracial friendships. White and ethnic
minority participants completed diary measures of self and
partner disclosure and partner responsiveness every two weeks
for 10 weeks about an in-group and an out-group person whom
they thought they would befriend over time. The results
revealed that perceived partner responsiveness mediated the
relationships between both self and partner disclosure and
intimacy in interracial and intraracial relationships. The impli-
cations of these results for intergroup relations are discussed.

KEY WORDS: friendships • intergroup contact • interracial friend-

ships • intimacy model • self disclosure

This research was supported by the Russell Sage Foundation. All correspondence concerning
this article should be addressed to J. Nicole Shelton, Department of Psychology, Green Hall,
Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA [e-mail: [email protected]]. Sandra
Metts was the Action Editor on this article.

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships © The Author(s), 2010. Reprints and permissions:
http://www.sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav, Vol. 27(1): 71–90.
DOI: 10.1177/0265407509346422
72 Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 27(1)

People like to establish intimate friendships with others. To create and

maintain friendships, people engage in a variety of behaviors, including
revealing information about themselves and responding in a supportive
manner to information that their friends reveal to them (Reis & Patrick,
1996). Although researchers have explored the behaviors contributing to
the development of friendships (e.g., Blieszner & Adams, 1992; Fehr, 1996;
Hays, 1985), and close relationships more generally (e.g., Reis & Shaver,
1988), the development of intergroup friendships has been understudied.
This omission is unfortunate, because it is the intimate, personal connection
associated with friendships that improves intergroup relations (Emerson,
Kimbro, & Yancey, 2002; Levin, van Laar, & Sidanius, 2003; Pettigrew &
Tropp, 2000). This improvement occurs, in part, because out-group friends
reduce people’s anxiety and negative expectations about intergroup experi-
ences (Page-Gould, Mendoza-Denton, & Tropp, 2008; Paolini, Hewstone,
Voci, Harwood, & Cairns, 2006). But what are the interpersonal processes
associated with developing an intergroup friendship, and do these pro-
cesses parallel those involved in intragroup friendship?
The present research aims to close the gap in the literature on the pro-
cesses associated with intergroup friendship development. We explore the
roles of disclosure – by self and partner – and perceived partner respon-
siveness, constructs that are known to be instrumental in close friendships
(Gore, Cross, & Morris, 2006), particularly in interracial friendship devel-
opment. Using a diary methodology, we explore the extent to which white
and black participants differ in their levels of self disclosure, partner disclo-
sure, and perceived partner responsiveness during weekly interactions with
a white and a black person whom participants did not know very well, but
thought they may become friends with over time. In addition, we examine
the relationship between disclosure and perceived partner responsiveness
in setting the stage for intimacy at the outset of interracial friendships.

Interpersonal process model of intimacy

According to Reis and Shaver (1988; see Reis & Patrick, 1996, for an expan-
sion), intimacy is a transactional process whereby two key components –
self disclosure and perceived responsiveness – facilitate or hinder a close
connection between people. Specifically, the intimacy process is initiated
when a person (speaker) discloses personal information and feelings to a
partner (listener). The listener responds by also disclosing personal infor-
mation and feelings. More importantly, for the interaction to be perceived
as intimate, the speaker must interpret the listener’s response as under-
standing, validating, and caring. In fact, Reis and Patrick (1996) suggest
than the interpretation of the listener’s response is more important for
developing intimacy than the speaker’s actual disclosure. Thus, according
to the model, self disclosure and partner disclosure both predict intimacy,
with perceived partner responsiveness as the key mediating factor in the
model.
Shelton et al.: Intimacy in interracial friendships 73

In an initial test of the interpersonal process model of intimacy, Lauren-

ceau, Feldman-Barrett, and Pietromonaco (1998) asked college students to
provide in-the-moment ratings of self disclosure, perceived partner disclo-
sure, and perceived partner responsiveness during every social interaction
for one week (Study 1) or two weeks (Study 2). Consistent with the model,
self disclosure and partner disclosure predicted intimacy, and these rela-
tionships were partially mediated by perceived partner responsiveness
(Laurenceau et al., 1998). In addition, emotional disclosure was more
strongly related to intimacy than factual disclosure. Additional support for
the model has been illustrated using cohabiting couples (Lippert & Prager,
2001), married couples (Laurenceau, Feldman-Barrett, & Rovine, 2005),
and couples coping with a difficult life stressor (Manne et al., 2004).
Building upon this previous work, we assess the different components of
the intimacy process as people develop interracial and intraracial friend-
ships. First, we examine mean differences in disclosure, perceived partner
responsiveness, and intimacy in interracial and intraracial interactions in
which people have the potential to establish a friendship. Second, we
explore the relationships between these three constructs as posited by Reis
and Shaver (1988), assessing the similarities and differences across inter-
racial and intraracial relationships.

Self disclosure
Self disclosure refers to revealing personal facts, thoughts, and emotions to
a partner (Altman & Taylor, 1973). Disclosure between two people in an
interaction is often reciprocal; people are more likely to disclose to others
who disclose to them (Derlega, Metts, Petronio, & Margulis, 1993). As long
as people’s level of self disclosure does not exceed social norms (i.e., by
disclosing too much too soon), self disclosure is positively related to liking
(Collins & Miller, 1994). Specifically, people tend to disclose more to partners
whom they like, and partners tend to like people as a result of having been
disclosed to during interactions. These patterns have been demonstrated in
intragroup and intergroup contexts. With respect to an intergroup context,
for example, black interviewees disclosed more information to a white
interviewer who disclosed (versus did not disclose) personal information to
them; the black interviewees also liked the white interviewer who disclosed
information more than the one who did not (Berg & Wright-Buckley,
1988). In addition, out-group members who reveal self-disclosing informa-
tion are perceived as more trustworthy and desirable as friends (Ensari &
Miller, 2002).
As most of the research on self disclosure in an intergroup setting manip-
ulates disclosure, we know very little about the extent to which people
spontaneously reveal personal information in interracial interactions. We
do know that when asked to imagine having a discussion with a partner,
whites are less willing to discuss intimate topics with a black partner than
with a white partner (Johnson, Olson, & Fazio, 2009), undermining their
potential to enhance affinity. Moreover, although whites are willing to discuss
controversial, race-related topics with a black partner, they are most willing
74 Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 27(1)

to do so when the black partner initiates the discussion (Johnson et al.,

2009). Expanding on this laboratory research, in the present research we
explore both whites’ and blacks’ levels of self disclosure with an in-group
and an out-group member whom they wish to befriend in their everyday
lives. Although people may have a desire to develop a friendship with
someone from another racial group, fears and anxieties about their own
ability to do so (Plant & Devine, 2003), as well as their doubts that the out-
group person is interested in doing so (Shelton & Richeson, 2005), may
interfere with their desire to reveal personal information about themselves.

Perceived partner responsiveness. Individuals’ perceptions of their partners’

responsiveness to self disclosure is crucial for the development of intimacy.
People need to feel as though their partner understands who they are, values
and respects them and their perspective, and cares for them as a person.
Opening up to someone who is disengaged or responds in a distant way can
be devastating, and it could inhibit people from moving forward to form a
close bond. Indeed, research has shown that whites who feel as though their
(perceived) communicated interest in getting to know a Chinese partner is
not reciprocated eventually become disengaged from pursing a friendship
with that person (Vorauer & Sakamoto, 2006).
Often a partner’s response to a person’s self disclosure is ambiguous and
subtle, leaving room for doubt as to whether these behaviors indeed signal
genuine caring. Expectations, motives, goals, and fears influence how people
interpret responses and the extent to which they believe that their partners
care about their welfare (Reis & Patrick, 1996). These influences can inhibit
interracial relationship development because expectations are negative and
fears are high (Mallet, Wilson, & Gilbert, 2008; Mendes, Blascovich, Hunter,
Lickel, & Jost, 2007). As a result, whites and blacks are likely to have trouble
accurately interpreting their partners’ responsive behaviors. For example,
whites and blacks have trouble reading each other’s emotions (Elfenbein
& Ambady, 2002; Gray, Mendes, & Denny-Brown, 2008). Gray et al. (2008)
found that people were better at recognizing an in-group, compared to out-
group, member’s anxiety during a stressful interaction. The inability to
recognize out-group members’ emotions accurately can have deleterious
consequences, including potentially construing an out-group member’s
neutral, emotionless expression as hostile and threatening (Butz & Plant,
2006). Thus, when individuals disclose personal information that reveals
their vulnerabilities to an out-group partner, the partner may fail to recog-
nize the emotions expressed in the disclosure, and the discloser may mis-
interpret the partner’s genuinely empathetic response as instead reflecting
a negative emotion (e.g., disapproval).

Intimacy model and interracial friendship development

Given the general course of friendship development, we expect that the
interpersonal processes involved in facilitating intimacy should be the same
across interracial and intraracial friendships. That is, self disclosure and
partner disclosure should be positively related to intimacy in both intra-
Shelton et al.: Intimacy in interracial friendships 75

and interracial friendships, and those relationships should be mediated by

perceived partner responsiveness. Perceived partner responsiveness is likely
to be an important factor for whites in developing interracial friendships
due to whites’ concerns with appearing prejudiced during interracial inter-
actions (Vorauer, 2005). These interpersonal prejudice concerns play a role
in whites’ desire to be liked by ethnic minorities in interracial interactions
(Bergsieker, Shelton, & Richeson, in press). One way that whites may deter-
mine whether their minority partner indeed likes them is by assessing their
partner’s responsiveness to them during interactions. The more responsive
whites perceive their ethnic minority partner to be, the more they will think
their partner likes them, which, in turn should strengthen whites’ own level
of intimacy with their partner.
Perceived partner responsiveness is also likely to be important for blacks
in developing interracial friendships because of their concerns with being
the target of prejudice. Because their group is often the target of racial bias,
blacks are likely to believe that they will be perceived through the lens of
racial prejudice. As a result, blacks may focus on whites’ responses to their
self disclosure in order to determine whether they can trust whites or should
expect to be treated in a prejudiced manner. Therefore, interpersonal con-
cerns with prejudice may increase the extent to which whites and blacks
care about how their partner responds to them during interactions.

The present research

In the present research, we examined the roles of self disclosure and

perceived partner responsiveness in interracial and intraracial friendship
development. We had white and black participants select a white and a
black person whom they did not know very well at the beginning of the
study but wanted to befriend over time. Every two weeks, across a total of
10 weeks, participants completed a questionnaire about the nature of the
interactions they had with these two people during the past two weeks. We
examined two sets of predictions. First, we examined mean differences in
self disclosure, partner disclosure, and perceived partner responsiveness as
a function of participants’ race and race of their potential friend. We
predicted that whites and blacks will reveal an in-group bias, such that they
will report higher levels of self disclosure, partner disclosure, and perceived
partner responsiveness with an in-group compared with an out-group person
whom they are befriending. Second, we examined Reis and Shaver’s (1988)
intimacy model for interracial and intraracial friendships among white and
black participants. We predicted that, for both black and white participants,
self disclosure and perceived partner disclosure will enhance intimacy in
both interracial and intraracial friendships, and perceived partner respon-
siveness will mediate these relationships. Moreover, we predict that the
intimacy model will be significant for both whites and blacks.
76 Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 27(1)

Method

Participants
We recruited 50 white and 24 black students to participate in a study on
friendship development for $50 and a chance to win additional monetary
prizes in a drawing. The sample consisted of 42 females (14 black and 28
white) and 32 males (10 black and 22 white).

Procedures
Upon agreeing to participate in the study, all participants attended an
orientation session where they were told that they would select two people
of their same sex whom they did not know very well at that time but might
become good friends with as the semester progressed. We required the
participants to select a white and a black potential friend. In addition, we
told the participants that they would complete a questionnaire about each
of the potential friends every two weeks for the next 10 weeks. We emailed
reminders to all participants on the day the questionnaires needed to be
completed. The participants completed the questionnaires online or in
pencil-and-paper format. We gave participants who completed the ques-
tionnaire via hardcopy a campus mail envelope to return the questionnaires
as soon as they completed them every two weeks. At the end of the 10-week
period, the participants attended a post-study session where they completed
a final questionnaire, were informed of the purpose of the study, and
received their payment.

Measurement
At the beginning of the study, participants indicated their friends’ race and
gender. Every two weeks, we instructed participants to reflect upon the
interactions they had with each friend over the previous two weeks.

Self disclosure. Participants rated the degree to which they disclosed their
feelings (“How much of your feelings did you express to your friend?”) and
personal information (“How much personal information [e.g., information
about you personally and your views] did you disclose to this friend during
your interactions?”) to their two friends, using a 7-point scale (1 = very
little, 7 = very much). We combined both items to form two self-disclosure
composites: a white friend self-disclosure composite (Cronbach’s α = .81 at
Time 1) and a black friend self-disclosure composite (Cronbach’s α = .88
at Time 1).

Perceived partner disclosure. Participants rated the degree to which they

believed each friend disclosed his or her feelings (“How much of his/her
feelings did your friend express to you?”) and personal information (“How
much personal information [e.g., information about his/her personally and
his/her views] did your friend disclose during your interactions?”) to the
participants, using a 7-point scale (1 = very little, 7 = very much). We
combined both items to form a perceived partner disclosure with a white
Shelton et al.: Intimacy in interracial friendships 77

friend composite (Cronbach’s α = .88 at Time 1) and a perceived partner

disclosure with a black friend composite (Cronbach’s α = .88 at Time 1).

Perceived partner responsiveness. Participants rated the degree to which

they felt understood (“How well do you feel your friend understands you?”),
accepted (“During these interactions, how much did you feel that you were
accepted by your friend?”), and cared for (“During these interactions, how
much did you feel that you were cared for by your friend?”), using a 7-point
scale (1 = very little, 7 = very much). We combined the three items to form
a perceived partner responsiveness with white friend composite (Cronbach’s
α = .86 at Time 1) and a perceived partner responsiveness with black friend
composite (Cronbach’s α = .85 at Time 1).

Intimacy. Participants indicated how close they felt to each friend (“Rela-
tive to all your other relationships, how would you characterize your rela-
tionship with your friend?”), using a 7-point scale (1 = not at all close, 7 =
extremely close). Similar to Laurenceau et al. (2005), we used the word
closeness, rather than intimacy, to capture psychological closeness instead
of sexual closeness/intimacy. In addition, participants indicated how much
they liked each friend (“Compared to other friends you have, how much do
you like this friend?”), using a 7-point scale (1= not at all, 7 = a great deal).
We combined the items to form an intimacy with white friend composite
(Cronbach’s α = .70 at Time 1) and an intimacy with black friend compos-
ite (Cronbach’s α = .80 at Time 1).

Analytic strategy
In the present data, there are three factors: time, partner (in-group or out-
group friend), and participant race (white or black). Our data conform to
a two-level multilevel structure, with Level 1 being time and Level 2 being
participant race, and because the level of time is the same for the ratings
of the two partners for each participant, the data are crossed (i.e., the data
are not a 3-level model where time points are nested within partners, and
partners are nested within participants). Level 1 data were measured for
each partner at each time point, and include self disclosure, perceived
partner disclosure, perceived partner responsiveness, and intimacy. The
Level 2 data unit was the participant; at Level 2, participant race and friend
race were included. Given the multilevel structure of the data, the data
must be analyzed using a multilevel modeling procedure to control for the
non-independence of responses. Our model is an elaboration of Kenny,
Kashy, and Cook’s (2006) one-with-many model, which is estimated using
the PROC MIXED procedure in SAS. Data are considered one-with-many
because the participant (i.e., the one) reported on two friends (i.e., the
many). The analysis strategy used allows us to simultaneously examine
within-subject and between-subject variation.
Two sets of models are reported. In the first set of models, linear changes
across time in self disclosure, perceived partner disclosure, perceived partner
responsiveness, and intimacy were examined. In addition, participant race,
78 Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 27(1)

friend race, and the participant race by friend race interaction (which com-
pares same-race to mixed-race pairs) were examined as moderators of the
overall effects of the friendship variables, and as moderators of the inter-
actions between the friendship variables and time. That is, we examined
whether the race variables moderated the linear trajectories of the friend-
ship variables. At the level of the random effects, we estimated the variance
of the intercept, time, and the covariance between the intercept and time.
Only results of the fixed effects are reported.
In the second set of models, we tested the hypothesis that the relation-
ship between disclosure (for self and partner) and intimacy was mediated
by perceived partner responsiveness, and that the process of mediation
differed by participant race, friend race, and their interaction. The results
from the first set of models revealed little evidence for linear changes in the
friendship variables across time (i.e., perceptions of disclosure, perceived
partner responsiveness, and intimacy did not increase or decrease across
time). Thus, to examine the mediation models depicted in Figures 1(b) and
2(b), we dropped time as a parameter in the mediation models. The results
therefore refer to the effects of mediation over the five time-point sampling
period.

Results

Table 1 presents the means, standard deviations, and correlations among

self disclosure, perceived partner disclosure, perceived partner responsive-
ness, and intimacy averaged across all five time points, respectively. To
verify that participants chose black and white friends with whom they were
equally acquainted at the beginning of the study, we conducted a two
(participant race: black versus white) by two (friend race: black versus
white) mixed analysis of variance on how long the participants had known
each of their friends (1 = less than a week, 2 = 1–2 weeks, 3 = a month, 4 =
a few months), which was measured during the first week (Time 1) of the
study. No significant effects emerged from this analysis, confirming that
participants chose black and white friends whom they knew equally well at
the beginning of the study. We also examined the self disclosure, partner
disclosure, perceived partner responsiveness, and intimacy variables for
differences by participant gender, but found none to be significant.

Mean differences by participant race and friend race

Means by participant race and friend race for each week of the study are
reported in Table 2. We first examined reports of self disclosure as predicted
by participant race, friend race (both coded –1 = white, 1 = black), time, and
the interaction of these variables. A marginally significant effect of friend
race emerged, t(306) = 1.91. p = .056, which was qualified by a significant
interaction between participant race and friend race, t(306) = 3.37, p < .001.
On average, black participants reported higher levels of self disclosure
toward black friends (M = 3.18) than toward white friends (M = 2.53),
Shelton et al.: Intimacy in interracial friendships 79

FIGURE 1
Models predicting intimacy in intraracial friendships from (a) self- and friend
disclosure, and (b) disclosure mediated by perceived friend responsiveness

(a)
Self-Disclosure

.52/.40

.87/.82 I n t i m a cy

.03/.12
Friend Disclosure

(b) S e l f - D is c l o s u r e

.31/.23
.39/.40

.87/.82 Perceived Partner .61/.47 Intim a cy

Responsiveness

.09/.17
– .03/.03

Friend
Disclosure

Note. The slope for Black participants with Black friends appears first, followed by the slope for
White participants with White friends.

t(306) = –3.11, p = .002. In contrast, white participants reported similar

levels of self disclosure toward black (M = 2.65) and white friends (M =
2.83), t(306) = –1.38, p = .17. We next examined perceived friend disclosure
and found a significant effect for friend race, t(298) = 2.76, p = .006, which
was qualified by a significant interaction between participant race and
friend race, t(298) = 3.92, p < .0001. Overall, black participants reported
higher levels of perceived disclosure by black friends (M = 3.30) than white
friends (M = 2.49), t(298) = –3.95, p < .0001. White participants reported
similar levels of disclosure by black friends (M = 2.63) and white friends
(M = 2.77), t(300) = –1.09, p = .28.
An analysis of perceived friend responsiveness yielded a significant effect
of friend race, t(304) = 3.39, p < .001, which was qualified by a significant
interaction between participant race and friend race, t(304) = 4.28, p < .0001.
80 Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 27(1)

FIGURE 2
Models predicting intimacy in interracial friendships from (a) self- and friend
disclosure, and (b) disclosure mediated by perceived friend responsiveness

(a)
Self-Disclosure

.35/.45

.74/.80 Intimacy

.21/.11
Friend Disclosure

(b) Self-Disclosure

.26/.26
.26/.37

.74/.80 Perceived Partner .41/.53 Intim a cy

Responsiveness

.26/.26
.08/ – .03

Friend
Disclosure

Note. The slope for Black participants with White friends appears first, followed by the slope
for White participants with Black friends.

Overall, black participants reported higher levels of perceived responsive-

ness by black friends (M = 4.37) than white friends (M = 3.57), t(303) =
–4.53, p < .0001. White participants reported similar levels of responsive-
ness by black friends (M = 3.83) and white friends (M = 3.92), t(305) =
–0.83, p = .41. Finally, examining relationship intimacy yielded a marginally
significant main effect of friend race, t(315) = 1.89, p = .059, which was qual-
ified by a significant interaction between participant race and friend race,
t(315) = 6.94, p < .0001. Overall, black participants reported higher levels
of intimacy with black friends (M = 4.11) than with white friends (M =
3.18), t(316) = –5.18, p < .0001. White participants reported less intimacy
with their black friends (M = 3.29) than with their white friends (M = 3.83),
t(312) = –4.18, p < .0001. Thus, black participants experienced higher levels
of self and friend disclosure, responsiveness, and intimacy in their relation-
ships with black friends than white friends. In contrast, white participants
Shelton et al.: Intimacy in interracial friendships 81

TABLE 1
Descriptive statistics and correlations between measures across all time points

Correlations

Mean (SD) 1 2 3 4

1. Self disclosure 2.75 (1.62) –

2. Partner disclosure 2.74 (1.65) .84 –
3. Perceived partner responsiveness 3.93 (1.44) .66 .64 –
4. Intimacy 3.57 (1.39) .71 .63 .79 –

Note. All correlations are significant at p < .001.

TABLE 2
Mean ratings of in-group and out-group relationships across time

Time

1 2 3 4 5

Blacks with black friend

Self disclosure 3.00 3.25 2.88 3.15 3.14
Partner disclosure 3.29 3.19 2.94 3.50 3.14
Perceived partner responsiveness 4.41 4.50 4.47 4.27 4.26
Intimacy 3.93 4.08 4.03 4.09 4.25
Whites with white friend
Self disclosure 2.71 3.03 2.97 2.69 2.82
Partner disclosure 2.69 2.97 2.74 2.88 2.71
Perceived partner responsiveness 3.88 4.13 4.05 3.93 3.87
Intimacy 3.76 3.87 3.95 3.77 3.82
Blacks with white friend
Self disclosure 2.25 2.03 2.38 2.40 2.76
Partner disclosure 2.13 2.50 2.06 2.53 2.38
Perceived partner responsiveness 3.42 3.51 3.54 3.27 3.76
Intimacy 2.95 3.06 3.13 3.16 3.18
Whites with black friend
Self disclosure 2.51 2.55 2.77 2.63 2.90
Partner disclosure 2.46 2.55 2.57 2.65 3.08
Perceived partner responsiveness 3.88 3.80 3.77 3.79 4.06
Intimacy 3.16 3.33 3.32 3.24 3.46

experienced similar levels of self and friend disclosure with black and white
friends, but they reported feeling less intimate with their black friends than
their white friends.

Intimacy model by participant race and friend race

Following Laurenceau et al. (1998), we constructed two models predicting
intimacy. The first model includes both self disclosure and perceived partner
disclosure as predictors of intimacy, and the second model adds perceived
82 Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 27(1)

responsiveness as a mediator of the relationship between disclosure and

intimacy. Furthermore, to examine how these models function in intra- and
interracial friendships, we interacted all terms in the model with participant
race, friend race (both coded –1 = white, 1 = black), and the participant race
by friend-race interaction. Thus, each mediation path was moderated by the
three race variables. As discussed in the analysis strategy section, note that
because we found no effects of time in previous models, time was trimmed
from these models, at the level of the fixed and random effects.
First, the model with self disclosure and friend disclosure predicting
intimacy revealed, replicating previous findings in the literature, that the
effect of self disclosure on intimacy controlling for partner disclosure was
reliable: unstandardized effect estimate = .431, t(535) = 9.90, p < .0001. The
effect of friend disclosure on intimacy controlling for self disclosure was also
statistically reliable: unstandardized effect estimate = .117, t(510) = 2.72, p =
.007. Neither self disclosure nor perceived partner disclosure reliably inter-
acted with participant race, friend race, or participant race by friend race.
Thus, as demonstrated in previous research, both self disclosure and friend
disclosure reliably predicted intimacy. In addition, these processes work
similarly for intraracial (see Figure 1(a) for estimates) and interracial (see
Figure 2(a) for estimates) friendships for both white and black participants.
Next, in the second model, we examined the mediating role of perceived
partner responsiveness on the relationship between disclosure (self and
perceived partner) and intimacy. We constructed a model predicting inti-
macy from self disclosure, friend disclosure, and perceived partner respon-
siveness. To examine differences in this model by participant and friend
race, we interacted all terms in the model by participant race, friend race,
and participant race by friend race (see Figures 1(b) and 2(b)).
To test for the mediating role of perceived responsiveness on the rela-
tionship between disclosure and intimacy, we first estimated a model pre-
dicting perceived partner responsiveness from self disclosure, perceived
partner disclosure, and the interaction of each of those terms with partici-
pant race, friend race, and the participant race by friend race interaction
(i.e., the path from the predictors to the mediator; step 2 in Baron & Kenny,
1986). Self disclosure reliably predicted perceived partner responsiveness:
unstandardized effect estimate = .353, t(559) = 7.34, p < .0001. Perceived
partner disclosure also reliably predicted perceived partner responsiveness:
unstandardized effect estimate = .197, t(552) = 4.10, p < .0001. Neither self
disclosure nor perceived partner disclosure reliably interacted with any of
the race variables.
We next examined the effect of perceived partner responsiveness (the
mediator) on intimacy (the outcome), controlling for self disclosure and
perceived partner disclosure (i.e., step 3 in Baron & Kenny, 1986). A main
effect of perceived responsiveness was found, indicating that perceived
partner responsiveness reliably predicted intimacy: unstandardized effect
estimate = .508, t(550) = 15.30, p < .0001. Perceived partner responsiveness
did not reliably interact with participant race, friend race, or participant
race by friend race.
Shelton et al.: Intimacy in interracial friendships 83

As predicted, perceived partner responsiveness mediated the relation-

ship between self disclosure and intimacy, Sobel’s test = 6.61, p < .0001. The
average effect of self disclosure on intimacy was reduced from .431 in the
disclosure model to .263 in the mediation model. However, the effect of self
disclosure on intimacy remained significant, t(559) = 6.82, p < .0001, demon-
strating partial mediation. In addition, perceived responsiveness mediated
the relationship between perceived partner disclosure and intimacy, Sobel’s
test = 3.96, p < .0001. The average effect of friend disclosure was reduced
from .117 in the disclosure model to .014 in the mediation model, and was
no longer significant, t(542) = 0.38, p = .70. Thus, our results replicate pre-
vious findings that confirm the intimacy model of friendships; however, we
showed this effect across intra- and interracial developing friendships.

Discussion

To our knowledge, this is the first empirical demonstration of the intimacy

model applied to intergroup friendships, in particular during the initial stages
of the friendship development. Gore et al. (2006) examined the intimacy
model among potential friends by studying previously unacquainted room-
mates; however, the roommate dyads were presumably mostly same race.
Our research provides insight into how people who voluntarily want to
establish a friendship across racial lines create such connections. Our data
show that they create meaningful intergroup relationships by revealing per-
sonal information and construing their out-group partners’ responses in a
positive light.
In most close relationships, people want their partners to be concerned
about their thoughts and emotions. When people feel that their partners are
responsive to them, trust, perceived security, and relationship satisfaction
increase (Collins & Feeney, 2000; Reis, Clark, & Holmes, 2004). In inter-
racial interactions, people often think they are being responsive and con-
veying how delighted they are to learn about the other person, even more
so than in intraracial interactions, but their partners are unlikely to perceive
the situation similarly (Vorauer, 2005; Vorauer & Sakamoto, 2006). Our
results illuminated the importance of perceived acceptance, validation, and
caring in an intergroup relationship. Notably, we did not measure actual
partner responsiveness. Consistent with Reis and Shaver’s theoretical stance,
however, we showed that simply believing one’s partner is concerned,
regardless of how one’s partner actually feels, has important implications for
intimacy. The importance of perceived partner responsiveness as “one of the
central organizing principles that will help advance relationship science”
(Reis, 2007, p. 19) is supported by empirical work on dyads demonstrating
that perceived partner responsiveness predicts individuals’ relationship
satisfaction better than their partner’s self-reported level of responsiveness
(Lemay, Clark, & Feeney, 2007).
Interracial interactions tend to be strained by anxiety that often yields mis-
understandings (Shelton, Dovidio, Hebl, & Richeson, 2009). The breakdown
84 Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 27(1)

in communication processes as a result of the anxiety is extremely detri-

mental in interracial relationships because people are more likely to make
negative attributions about why partners are not responsive, opening the
door for prejudice to be used as an explanation (Pearson et al., 2008). Our
data suggest that believing that partners are concerned is essential for
reducing uncertainty and negative expectations (which are often interpreted
as prejudice) in interracial relationships.
We found mean differences in self disclosure, perceived friend disclosure,
and perceived partner responsiveness among blacks describing intraracial
versus interracial friendships, such that they reported more disclosure and
perceived partner responsiveness with an in-group than an out-group friend.
This finding is consistent with previous research showing that blacks feel
more comfortable interacting with other blacks than with whites (e.g., Trail,
Shelton, & West, 2009). Interestingly, blacks with black friends reported the
highest mean levels of self disclosure, partner disclosure, and perceived
partner responsiveness. This effect may indicate that black students at a
predominately white university particularly appreciate having a potential
in-group friend with whom to socialize and become friends. That is, because
black students are scarce at such universities, black students encountering
a potential black friend may be more likely to self disclose extensively and
feel connected to this person on the basis of their shared ethnic group
membership.
Prior research suggests several causal mechanisms that might cause black
students to have more numerous or more intimate friendships with blacks
than whites, particularly blacks’ past experiences as the targets of dis-
crimination or prejudice. For instance, black students’ race-based rejection
sensitivity negatively predicts their number of white friends (Mendoza-
Denton & Page-Gould, 2008). Moreover, black students’ liking of white
friends is mediated by the perception that these white friends have thought
about racial issues, yet whites friends are perceived on average to have
thought about racial issues less than black friends (Shelton & Bergsieker,
2010). Also, black students tend to feel greater belonging when dual identity
representations (which acknowledge racial and superordinate identities)
are prevalent, but whites are less likely than blacks to endorse such repre-
sentations and in fact hold more negative attitudes towards blacks who
express dual identities than those who do not (Dovidio, Gaertner, & Saguy,
2007). Although we did not assess these specific mechanisms, they may have
contributed to blacks’ higher levels of intimacy, self disclosure, partner dis-
closure, and perceived partner responsiveness with a black friend than a
white friend.
Surprisingly, however, we did not find any in-group and out-group mean
differences in self disclosure, perceived friend disclosure, and perceived
partner responsiveness among whites. These responses could reflect social
desirability concerns; that is, whites might be motivated to avoid reporting
more negative responses for an out-group than an in-group friend. However,
whites did report lower levels of intimacy (i.e., less closeness and liking)
with black friends than white friends, a result that belies any efforts to
Shelton et al.: Intimacy in interracial friendships 85

appear egalitarian. Conceivably, whites might opt to misrepresent their

behavior as non-discriminatory while admitting to more negative affective
responses toward blacks than whites, but this pattern of results seems un-
likely to arise from social desirability concerns, given strong contemporary
social norms against anti-black prejudice (i.e., against “feeling negatively”
toward blacks; Crandall, Eshleman, & O’Brien, 2002). A more plausible
alternative explanation asserts that whites may be honestly but mistakenly
reporting their own and their partners’ behavior. Whites may genuinely
believe that they treat white and black friends comparably and receive
similar disclosures and responsiveness in return, but these perceptions may
be driven by signal amplification and transparency biases that can distort
whites’ meta-perceptions in intergroup settings (Vorauer, 2005; Vorauer &
Sakamoto, 2006). Although it remains unclear whether whites perceive self
disclosure, perceived partner disclosure, and perceived partner disclosure
are completely accurately, we do not think that social desirability effects
provide a sufficient explanation for our pattern of results. In addition, it
bears noting that the disclosure and responsiveness variables do not
account for all the variance in intimacy, leaving open the possibility that
another variable (e.g., prejudice) leads whites to report less intimacy with
black friends than white friends.
Although interpreting null effects is difficult, in a sense these findings are
uplifting. Despite the anxieties and fears associated with interracial inter-
actions, these results imply that in novel relationships in a real-world context,
whites report sharing a similar amount of personal information with in-group
and out-group potential friends, and they interpret those potential friends’
responses in a similarly positive manner. Notably, participants in this study
selected people whom they did not know well but wanted to get to know.
This procedure is markedly different from lab studies that randomly assigned
participants to interact with an in-group or out-group stranger, presumably
someone with whom they do not have a strong desire to interact again.
Thus, once whites have selected someone they would like to get know, as
was the case in our research, perhaps that person’s race does not matter
when it comes to opening up and revealing information about the self.

Limitations
Although our findings are insightful, our methodology raises concerns about
how to interpret our findings. First, the interpretation of our findings is
constrained by the correlational nature of the data. The relationships be-
tween the components in the model are likely reciprocal – for instance,
intimacy causes more disclosure. Second, participants made their ratings
once every two weeks, reflecting back upon the past two weeks. Therefore,
we were unable to examine the interaction-by-interaction exchanges that
Reis and Shaver (1988) posited in their theoretical model. Our methodol-
ogy, however, is similar to that of other researchers who have examined
interactions at the daily level (Laurenceau et al., 2005). Finally, it is feasible
that the process of reporting on their relationship made the relationship
more salient to participants on a regular basis and caused them to put more
86 Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 27(1)

effort into trying to establish a successful relationship. As a result, our results

would not reflect the natural processes that occur in friendship development.
Although we acknowledge this possibility, we do not believe it occurred in
our research. If participants had put more effort into establishing a relation-
ship, we should have seen higher mean values for the key variables over time
or on average. Instead, most means are at the midpoint or below.

Future directions
Because we were interested in examining the basic processes associated with
interracial friendship development, we did not explore individual differ-
ences that may moderate the processes in the intimacy model. Cross and
her colleagues (Cross, Bacon, & Morris, 2000; Gore et al., 2006) showed that
relational self construal influences the interpersonal process model among
predominately same-race strangers and roommates. Similarly, it is feasible
that concerns with prejudice and racial attitudes may influence the pro-
cesses discussed here in interracial friendships. Indeed, previous research
has shown that both concerns with prejudice and racial attitudes influence
the extent to which ethnic minorities self disclose to whites. Specifically,
results from a daily diary study of roommate relationships revealed that
among ethnic minorities who had a white roommate, the more they expect
to be the target of prejudice, the greater their tendency to self disclose to
their roommate (Shelton, Richeson, & Salvatore, 2005). Among ethnic
minorities who had an ethnic minority roommate, however, prejudice expec-
tations were unrelated to self disclosure. In addition, results from a study
on interracial friendships revealed that the more negative ethnic minori-
ties’ attitudes toward whites, the less comfortable they felt disclosing infor-
mation to a white friend (Shelton & Richeson, 2006). By contrast, among
the students reflecting about a black friend, there was no relationship be-
tween racial attitudes and self disclosure. These racial factors may not only
influence the extent of self disclosure, but may also influence the entire
interpersonal intimacy process. Future research is needed to address this
issue. Nevertheless, we believe our research is an important first step
toward revealing the processes that are important for the development of
intimate interracial friendships.
Another important consideration for future research is to examine the
actual content of disclosure between potential out-group friends. Prior
work has established that objectively observed partner responsiveness is
associated with greater relationship satisfaction in romantic relationships
(Collins & Feeney, 2000), and objective measures of partner responsiveness
could provide valuable insights about the development of satisfaction and
intimacy in interracial friendships. The distinction between race-related
content and more intimate but non-race-related content is likely to influ-
ence the amount of disclosure, as well as people’s interpretation of their
partner’s responsiveness to the disclosure. Similarly, it would be useful to
explore the extent to which the stereotypicality of the disclosed informa-
tion influences the intimacy process. A black male who discloses that he has
a relative in prison may feel less intimate with a white partner if this disclo-
Shelton et al.: Intimacy in interracial friendships 87

sure makes their differences salient rather than reinforcing their common-
alities. Similarly, a white female may perceive her black partner as distant,
as opposed to validating and understanding, if she discloses that she would
never date black men because she thinks they are criminals. Thus, addi-
tional work that begins to address disclosure content may enable better
understanding of the path to meaningful interracial friendships.
Finally, in future research it would be useful to include both people in a
potential friendship dyad in order to examine projection and accuracy of
perceived responsiveness. As in romantic relationships (Lemay et al., 2007),
it is possible that same-race friends project their own motivation to be
responsive onto their friends’ motivation to be responsive to them. In the
case of developing interracial friendships, however, we suspect that this is
less likely to occur. Whites and ethnic minorities report that they are inter-
ested in intergroup contact, but that out-group members are not (Shelton
& Richeson, 2005), and they see their overtures as signaling interest in
intergroup friendship, but are less likely to see out-group members’ over-
tures as doing so (Vorauer, 2005). Thus, it is likely that people who think they
are responsive to a potential out-group friend assume (often erroneously)
that this person will not be responsive to them, setting the stage for misun-
derstandings that undermine friendship development.

Conclusion

People like to interact with, become friends with, and date people who are
similar to them, especially those who are racially similar (Levin, Taylor, &
Caudle, 2007; McPherson, Smith-Lovin, & Cook, 2001). In this research, we
have provided a window into the interpersonal processes involved in moving
people out of their comfort zones and establishing friendships across racial
lines (see also Shelton, Richeson, & Bergsieker, 2009). Although whites
and blacks are less likely to become friends (McPherson, Smith-Lovin, and
Cook, 2001), the road to such friendships is paved the same way it is for
intraracial friendships, namely, with revealing information about oneself
and accepting the other person for who that person is.

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