The experiments here reported represent attempts to produce "equal status interaction" in four-man groups of junior high school boys, two of whom are white and two black. The theory is that equality is not a consequence of interracial task performance. Rather, it is likely that generally held beliefs about the differential competence of the two races affect the new situation via initial expectations, resulting in a differential activity and influence rate, a case of self-fulfilling prophecy. The three experiments used three treatments, respectively. The first involved giving the black subjects (Ss) superior training on a task unrelated to the criterion task, a game situation. The second involved having the black Ss teach the white Ss the training task prior to the game. Neither was successful in inducing "equal status interaction." However, a third treatment, in which the black Ss were specifically instructed on the relevance of the training task to the game situation by a black trainer prior to teaching the white Ss, was successful. The implication of these results for educators is the necessity to treat expectations of both black and white Ss to attain racial balance in these integrated groups. The condition in which only black expectations were treated produced results similar to those of previous studies. (Author/JM)