1.3.1 - Classic Study (Sherif)

Question 1

AO1 x 6

Answer 1

Aim
- To see whether it is possible to instil prejudice between two very similar groups by putting them in competition with each other
- to see how ingroup behaviour developed to include related outgroup hostility and to see how such friction could be reduce

Procedure
- Participants were 22 white boys all aged 11, from similar backgrounds - lower middle class Protestant families from schools in Oklahoma
- The researchers acted as camp counsellors and initially, each group was unaware of the other’s existence
- a nominal fee was charged for the camp and parents were asked not to visit as it might make the boys homesick

Results
- in phase 2 when the groups came into contact, there was name calling and evidence of negative attitudes towards the outgroup eg burning flags
- at the end of phase one the groups named themselves, the rattlers and the Eagles

Question 2

AO3 x 3

strengths

Answer 2

• the study is reliable as it has well controlled procedures. For example the participants were matched by ratings for IQ and sporting ability by their teachers so that there would be less variables to affect attitudes and judgments. Therefore the study is replicable and the cause and effect on relationships could be confidently drawn that competition causes conflict
• the study has application to SoC. In phase three, results showed that superordinate goals, such as pooling resources to afford film were introduced, both groups cooperated to achieve the same goal of watching a film. Therefore this has application as we can do cooperative activities between different groups, such as ethnic groups to reduce hostility in a work or school environment
• the study had ecological and task validity. 11 year old boys in the US in the 1950s often attended summer camps with tasks such as baseball tournaments, that they would normally be expected to do. Therefore the level of prejudice and hostility between boys represented real life behaviour

Question 3

AO3 x 2

weaknesses

Answer 3

• Sherifs experiment was not generalizable. The participants were 22 white boys all aged 11, from similar backgrounds; lower middle class Protestant families from schools in Oklahoma. Therefore it wasn’t representative of women, ages other than 11 or other nationalities and religions other than Protestant white American
• the study was not ethical. In order to produce natural groups, participants were not aware that they were in a study and believed it was a summer camp. Therefore there was no informed consent as the boys did not consent to being involved in a study about instilling prejudice between groups