Realistic Conflict Theory

Question 1

Who was this theory proposed by?

Answer 1

Sherif

Question 2

What does the RCT say?

Answer 2

People are prejudice with an outgroup due to competiton for limited resources

Question 3

An example of conflict that has occured outside of the UK?

Answer 3

Mass genocide occured between the Tutis tribe from the Hutus tribe in Rwanda
- Crop failure and limited resources to share
- Before both tribes lived in social harmony

Question 4

An example of conflict that has occured in the UK?

Answer 4

Regards to immigration:
- Prejudice increase with the perceived idea of sharing of resources, which are houses and jobs

Question 5

RCT states intergroup conflict will occur when negative interdependence occurs…

Answer 5

• Where one group gains from the loss of the other
• Seen in the RCS, prejudical language and aggression arose due to competition

Question 6

RCT can reduce prejudice…

Answer 6

Superordinate goals is a common goal shared between the 2 and can’t be obtained without each other’s participation
- English people in a match in France sing their national anthem in support of the terror attacks
- Sport also bring people in together, different ethical background supporting one country - football

Question 7

CREDIBILITY:
- Robber’s cave experiment

Answer 7

• 2 groups of 11 years old, put into teams and made to compete against each other
• Results showed, creation of groups = created competiton when its high, prejudice is high
• Supports the idea of superordinate goals: when the boys were asked to pull a foodtruch out of a ditch it amended their relations as they were working together
• Can’t generalise
• Can’t be ethnocentric as this is done in western culture - India was under british control yet they tend to be friendly to the UK

Question 8

OBJECTIONS:
- Social Identity Theory
- Right-winged personalities

Answer 8

Social Identity Theory
- Where ingroup and outgroups will automatically br prejudice to each other
- Starts to rise when a person starts to identify and adopt the behaviours of their group
- Backed up by Jejfels study: where more people showed a positive review of people who shared a similar opinion
- Right-winged personalities - tend to dislike other people who are different, don’t like giving up their resources for others

Question 9

DIFFERENCE

Answer 9

Prejudice isn’t always seen in 2 different groups
- Lower league team won’t be prejudice to the higher league as they don’t compete each other

Question 10

APPLICATION

Answer 10

Can prevent prejudice by introducing superordinate goals, bringing in people together to fight common causes
- Done through sports, charities, working together in jobs

Question 11

CONCLUSION

Answer 11

• Difficult to know the cause of prejudice as most cases we see resources as the cause although its for irrational needs to increase a groups self-esteem
• Reductionsit, only believe that prejudice comes from competition and doesn’t consider other examples
• Doesn’t consider other personality types (RWA)

Question 12

Apply RCT to this scenario

Answer 12

Sherif’s (1966) research found that competition, such as between the two schools of Elk and Seaside High, can cause intergroup conflict (1).
Realistic conflict theory suggests that whenever Seaside High are in competition with Elk Manor for the hockey cup conflict will occur and prejudice follows (1).
This means that Elk Manor may judge Seaside High as having an inferior sports team, therefore would try to be louder and more encouraging to their team (1). The schools could create superordinate goals to encourage the sports teams to work together which may reduce the hostility (1).