The role of ethnicity in observers' ratings of mother-child behavior.

This study examined the role of ethnicity in untrained observers' ratings of videotaped mother-child interactions. Participants were Black, White, and Latino undergraduates (N = 109), who rated videotapes of 4 Black, 4 White, and 4 Latino mother-child dyads. Overall, participants of different ethnicities showed more similarities than differences in their ratings of parent-child behavior.