Sherif et al. robbers cave Flashcards
what was the aim?
to explore how competition and frustration of a group’s goals can lead to prejudice toward an outgroup
who were the participants?
- protestant
- 11 yr olds
- all from oklahoma
none of them knew each other
what was the procedure?
- they were divided into two groups of equal ability
there were three stages:
1- group formation
2- friction
3- reducing friction
what happened in stage 1?
group formation
- the boys took part in non-competitive activities to bond with their group
they did not meet the other group of boys
what happened in stage 2?
friction
the groups learned of each other
- a tournament with prizes was established (e.g. basketball comp) and extra points were awarded for mundane things such as clean bunks
what happened in stage 3?
reducing friction
initial tasks involved increased social contact and then superordinate goals were introduced such as getting water together
what were the findings in stage 1?
- leaders were established
- social norms became apparent
one group swore lots whereas the other cried more
what were the findings in stage 2?
both groups wanted to challenge the other and hostility was created
- fights occurred and trashing cabins
ingroup members were seen as brave and friendly whereas outgroup members were seen as sneaky or stinkers
6.4% of rattlers’ friends were eagles and 7.5% of eagles friends were rattlers
what were the findings in stage 3?
social contact and superordinate goals did very little to reduce friction initially but after a while they did become more friendly with one another.
36.4% of rattlers’ friends were eagles
23.2% of eagles friends were rattlers
what is a strength of the study?
Sherif matched the groups very well which improved the INTERNAL VALIDITY
- over 300 hours was spent observing, interviewing and testing ppts until they found the final boys
this ensured that final results could not be explained as due to pre-existing differences between the groups
what is the competing argument against the strength of the study?
two of the eagles went home before the end of the study which disintegrated the careful matching process as now the rattlers’ had 2 more members
- this reduces the internal validity
what is a weakness of the study?
subsequent research of sea troops failed to replicate the findings.
- TYERMAN studied his sea scout troops of 30 boys who all knew each other well and belonged to one of 4 groups.
- ingroup solidarity did not increase and may have decreased by the end of the two week camp
this suggests that competition may only create prejudice amongst those who do not know each other well
how can you apply this study?
using the idea of superordinate goals, prejudice can be reduced in society
- ARONSON and BRIDGEMAN (1979) used SHERIF’s ideas of superordinate goals to develop the jigsaw classroom which was to tackle racial prejudice in america.
- students had to work together and take responsibility for different areas of a project
the end result was increased likeness and empathy for the outgroup
