Abstract
Subjects from four South African cultural groups placed pairs of dolls to represent six social interactions in a 2 × 3 design. Two pairs of dolls (man-man and man-woman) were each placed at three levels of acquaintance, Friends, Acquaintances, and Strangers. Friends were placed closer than Acquaintances or Strangers by all groups. The less acculturated two groups perceived Acquaintance interactions as unfriendly and this was reflected in both the orientations of and the distance between the dolls. In placing man-woman pairs Xhosa subjects tended to place the dolls so that the man faced more directly than the woman. In placements by English-speaking white students neither man nor woman tended to face more directly.

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