Viewing Police Officer-Civilian Interactions As Anxiety Provoking

Abstract

More and more, exposure to third-person perspective video recordings of violent police officer-civilian encounters has become common. These interactions have the potential to be anxiety-provoking for the individuals viewing them, which could lead to significant effects on both physical and mental health later on. We investigate the extent to which perceivers’ evaluations of police officer-civilian interactions is influenced by stress levels of the perceiver as well as civilian race and perceiver race. Participants (n = 376 White, 392 Black) viewed videos varying in overall aggression of a White police officer arresting either Black or White civilians. Then they rated both the police officer and civilian on aggression level, guilt, and use of force legitimacy. Results found that stress responses generally showed differences in evaluations, as well as differences based on racial group membership regardless of stress level.