Sherif et al's Robbers cave experiment (pack 2 prejudice) Flashcards
What was the aim of this study?
to investigate inter-group relations over a period of time when various experimentally induced situations were introduced
what 3 things was the study particularly interested in?
- group formation
- the effect of competition
- conditions under which conflict could be resolved
What was the sample?
twenty-two 11 year old boys.
White, American, lower middle class and protestant
All above- average IQ
From Oklahoma
In what four ways was data gathered?
- Observation
- Sociometric analysis
- experiment
- tape recordings
What were the 3 stages called?
- in-group formation stage
- friction phase
- intergroup relations: integration phase
what happened in the in-group formation stage?
First 5-6 days, kept separate and each group given tasks to carry out together
Each given a name (eagles and rattlers) to strengthen their group identity
told about other group at the end
What happened in the friction phase?
next 4-6 days of the camp
told groups about each other, as soon as they knew about the other group, they expressed hostility
encouraged conflict- had to compete for prizes such as pen knifes
What happened in the integration phase?
final 6-7 days
reduce tension and bring about conflict resolution through superordinate goals
For example:
water supply blocked by vandals and had to work to remove blockage
a joint camp-over were they worked together for food and sleeping equipment
free a truck stuck in the mud
results of in-group formation stage?
bonded, developed norms and came up with names and both had a recognised leader
used words like ‘us’ and ‘them’
results of friction phase?
competition led to immediate hostility
- Eagles refused to eat with rattlers
- came close to physical violence
- raided each others rooms and burned flags
When asked to self-report who their friends were…93% selected boys from own group
results of integration phase?
simply getting groups together without competition did NOT reduce hostility
joint problem solving did work to reduce hostility and evidence for this is that they chose to ride bus home together
by end of stage 3, boys had friends from other groups
What are two conclusions of the study?
some hostility found when the groups were made aware of each other, this suggest some prejudice can arise without competition
contact between groups not enough to reduce hostility
ecological validity?
S- high as it was conducted in a real-world environment
W- boys divided into groups artificially as well as the competition (so can’t generalise to real life situations such as rival inner-city gangs where group membership is meaningful)
reliability?
W- real-world so uncontrolled extraneous variables
S- Boys matched for age, socio-economic status and religion, this ensured home background and individual factors were not the reasons for behaviour.
validity?
S- ppt observers, covert and would only intervene for safety, not aware of aims of research, no demand characteristics so validity high