Two experiments tested the hypothesis that the higher the level of abstraction of a disagreement between two individuals, the greater would be the damage of the disagreement to interpersonal perceptions. In the first experiment, paper and pencil stimulus persons differing in race (black-white) and agreement versus disagreement on values (highly abstract), norms, roles, and facilities beliefs (least abstract) were presented to subjects who indicated their evaluation of and behavioral intentions toward the stimuli. The hypothesis was partially supported. In the second, slides coordinated with tape recordings of a white foreman agreeing or disagreeing with a black or white worker were presented to eighty white and eighty black males who guessed how the foreman or worker would evaluate each other and how they would intend to behave toward each other. The agreements/disagreements differed in level of abstraction. The hypothesis was supported. In addition, the order of presentation of agreements was a determinant of attraction, with an agreement following a series of disagreements leading to more attraction than an agreement following a series of agreements.
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