Classic Study Sherif

Question 1

What was the aim of Sherif experiment?

Answer 1

To investigate what factors make two groups develop hostile relationships and then to see how this hostility can be reduced.

Question 2

What was the sample of Sherif’s experiment?

Answer 2

22 male children aged between 11 and 12.
All came from similar background: white, Protestant and middle class.

Question 3

Describe the procedure of Sherif Classic study

Answer 3

In group Formation stage
Firstly, the children were encouraged to bond in their groups by engaging in activities such as swimming or hiking.
The groups create their own names: Eagles and Rattlers and developed their own cultures.

Friction stage
A series of competitions were carried out including baseball and tug of war.
Winners would receive trophies, medals and pocket knives as reward- These acted as the limited resource.

Integration stage
The two groups were brought together to engage in non competitive activities with common superordinate goals to accomplish. For example, the boys had ton work together to pull out a food truck that had got stuck, another time the children had to work together to fix the water tank.

Question 4

Describe the results of Sherif study

Answer 4

In group formation stage
-the boys bonded with their own groups creating their own cultures and social groups

Friction stage
-The boys became aggressive and violent towards each other- name calling began, looting and physical fights.

Integration stage
-The superordinate goal eliminated prejudice
-Relationships began to form outside teams
There was a 30% increase in the number of out group friendships made in the Rattlers team between the end of the friction phase and the end of the integration stage.

Question 5

Evaluate Sherif Classic study (8 marks)

Answer 5

Generalisability- Strength and Weakness
Only a small sample size of 22 children all males, white, Protestant and middle class.
Therefore, does not represent a larger population
However, it can be justified because Sherif intentionally removed extraneous variables that could had influence prejudice beliefs.

Reliability- Strength
High levels of inter rater reliability.
Sherif and the camp counsellors observed the behaviours and created categories to recognise forms of hostility and aggression.
Therefore, this means observations are consistent and results are not bias or misinterpreted.

Application- Strength
Sherifs results suggest that prejudice is a result of competition for limited resources.
His results can be used to reduce prejudice in society by introducing common goals.

Validity- Strength and Weakness
High levels of ecological validity
Field experiment- the investigation represented a real life setting with tasks that would usually occur within the environment. Therefore, results are more likely to represent prejudice in a natural setting.
Extraneous variables such as testosterone could have affected levels of prejudice- violence and hostility- between the groups.

Ethics- Strength and Weakness
Protection of participants as fights were broken up and the boys were observed for the majority of the day to ensure safety.
Fully informed consent given by parents who were debriefed about the nature of the investigation
However, Sherif is criticised for encouraging violence by creating fierce competition between the two groups- therefore increasing the risk of harm.