Reducing negative affect and increasing rapport improve interracial mentorship outcomes.

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Organizational Behavior
• Interpersonal Communication

Background:

• Interracial mentoring relationships often face challenges like negative affect and low rapport.
• Strategies to mitigate these issues are crucial for relationship success.
• Previous research has not empirically tested interventions for these specific challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if mutual self-disclosure can decrease negative affect and increase rapport in interracial mentoring.
• To examine the impact of self-disclosure on mentee and mentor performance outcomes.
• To determine the mediating roles of affect and rapport in these relationships.

Main Methods:

• Conducted three studies involving video-chats and face-to-face meetings between mentees and mentors.
• Manipulated the degree of mutual self-disclosure between participants.
• Measured negative affect, rapport, mentee speech quality, and mentor warmth/helpfulness.

Main Results:

• Increased self-disclosure significantly decreased negative affect and increased rapport for both mentees and mentors.
• Reduced negative affect in mentees predicted better performance.
• Increased rapport in mentors predicted warmer and more helpful feedback.
• A meta-analysis confirmed these findings across studies.

Conclusions:

• Mutual self-disclosure is an effective strategy for improving interracial mentoring relationships.
• Affect and rapport are critical mediators for positive outcomes in these diverse mentoring dyads.
• Findings highlight the importance of targeted interventions to foster trust and performance.