Social Classical Study - Sherif et al (1954/1961) The Robbers Cave

How many experiments were done by Sherif before they successfully completed one?

2 experiments

What was the aim of the study?

To investigate intergroup relations over a period of time, focussing on group formation, effects of competition and resolution of conflict

How many participants were there?

22 boys aged 11-12 from middle-class protestant families from schools in Oklahoma city who didn’t know each other

How many stages were there in the procedure of the study?

3 stages

What happened in stage one of the study?

In-groups were created using cooperation tasks

How many days was stage one of the study?

5-6 days

What did the researchers observe in stage one?

The verbal and non-verbal communication within each group

What were the two group names that the groups picked for each other in stage one?

The Rattlers and the Eagles

What happened in stage two of the study?

The two groups were put in situations where they had to compete against each other for goals

How many days was stage two of the study?

4-6 days

What was the competition introduced in stage two?

A camp tournament which required each group member to contribute to win points towards the tournament goal

When the tournament was announced, what happened?

The Eagles burned the Rattlers’ camp flag and both groups began using derogatory terms towards each other such as “stinkers”, “braggers” and “sissies”

In stage two, what percentage of the boys said their friends were exclusively from their own in-group?

93%

What happened in stage three of the study?

Group hostility was reduced using superordinate goals

How many days was stage three of the study?

6-7 days

How many problem solving tasks were introduced in stage three?

3 tasks

What were the 3 problem solving tasks introduced in stage three?

Fixing the water tank that supplied water to both groups, a joint camp-over where members worked together for food and sleeping gear, and starting the broken camp bus

What happened between the groups when they were tasked to fix the camp water shortage?

They were seen mingling and no longer name calling while fixing the water tank, however later that day they were observed using derogatory language and throwing food

At the end of the study, what was found when friendship choices were reassessed?

There was a significant increase in the number of boys who’s friendships were with the out-group compared to the results in stage two

What were the conclusions of the study?

Strong in-group identities are formed initially, negative out-group bias is the result of competition and superordinate goals can reduce negative out-group bias as it reduces competition

Which social theory does this study support?

Realistic conflict theory

What was one strength of the generalisability of this study?

The participants were screened beforehand to remove any boys with antisocial behaviour or troubled backgrounds to make them more “normal” and have a sample with less anomalies

What was one weakness of the generalisability of this study?

The sample of participants were androcentric as they only contained boys, so generalisability to girls or mixed sex groups may not apply

What is one strength of the reliability of this study?

There was a numbered scoring system for the boys friendship patterns which collected quantitative data that is objective

What is one weakness of the reliability of this study?

The procedure was not standardised for example the boys requested a baseball match where Sherif had to intervene to prevent a fight, which makes it harder for the study to be replicated and its results to be confirmed

What is one strength of the ecological validity of this study?

The boys were in a real summer camp environment doing activities which seemed normal to the participants, so the participants would act a similar way if they were in a real-world setting

What is one weakness of the validity of this study?

There was no control group of a normal summer camp to compare the results to, and it may be normal for the events which occurred in the study to occur in regular summer camps

What was one strength of the ethics of this study?

The boys had a right to withdraw from the study for example two boys went home in the first week

What was one weakness of the ethics of this study?

The boys were not protected from physical or psychological harm as some of the fights weren’t stopped by the observers in favour of not disrupting the study such as the food fights

How could this study be applied?

This study shows that hostility between groups can be reduced if groups are made to work together towards a common goal, for example in controlling crowd behaviour and rioting