The damage mechanisms in three different systems, namely, acrylonitrilebutadiene-styrene, methacrylate-butadiene-styrene modified poly(vinyl chloride), and styrene-butadiene-styrene have been investigated. The damage was analyzed over a range of biaxial stress states with confocal microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The macroscopic yield followed a linear behavior for all the systems in an octahedral shear stress versus mean stress plot, whereas popular models for this class of materials predicted a nonlinear response. Over a certain range of biaxial stress states, a damage pattern generic to all the systems was observed. The damage pattern consisted of an array of cracks propagating perpendicular to the direction of the maximum tensile principal stress and arranged itself in a more or less periodic fashion. There was also self-similarity in the patterns at various length scales. Similar patterns have also occurred in several other polymeric systems. The interaction in the ensemble of cracks created seems to lead to stress reduction at the crack tips, thereby limiting the crack sizes. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.