Realistic Conflict theory

• 4 Keys to prejudice:

  1. Competition: When 2 or more groups are striving for the same goal, prejudice and hostility will intensify.
  2. Negative Interdependence: Occurs in situations where 2 groups are seeking to achieve the same goal, yet only one group can reach that goal.
  3. Limited Resources: The struggle between groups may be for material or physical resources, such as political power and authority.
  4. Lack of superordinate Goals: Prejudice can be reduced when groups work cooperatively to accomplish a common goal, but in the absence of such goals, prejudice and discrimination may increase.
• Intergroup Competition:


  • the key to prejudice is competition
  • When 2 or more groups are striving for the same goal, prejudice and hostility will intensify. E.g football teams strive to achieve the same goal.
• Negative interdependence: 


  • Occurs in Situations where 2 groups are seeking to achieve the same goal that is important to both of them, yet only one group can reach that goal.
  • The negative aspect refers to the fact that each group will try to obstruct (stop it from happening) the other groups achievement.
  • The interdependence aspect is that one group has to lose in order for the other to win.
  • Interactions with members of the other group will become hostile while there will be increased cooperation within their group.
• Limited resources


  • The struggle between the groups may be for material or physical resources such as political power + authority.
  • Involving competition or physical or limited resources often lead to higher levels of prejudice + discrimination.
  • If some form of compromise is possible, levels of prejudice + discrimination are much lower.
• Positive interdependence + Superordinate goals

  • Prejudice that has risen through intergroup conflict can be reduced through groups working cooperatively to accomplish a common goal.(Favouring or dislike something without a good reason)
  • Positive interdependence = occurs in situations where neither group can reach its goals unless that other group also reaches theirs.
  • Superordinate goals = goals which can only be achieved through intergroup cooperation.
  • The introduction of these goals can be useful in reducing prejudice leading to favourable perceptions of the opposing group
• What is a strength of Realistic Conflict Theory (RCT) in reducing prejudice?

  RCT proposes that intergroup relations can be enhanced through the introduction of superordinate goals, which require in and out group members to work together to achieve a goal that would be unobtainable without “joint effort”.
• What experiment supports the idea that competition leads to intergroup hostility and prejudice?

  The Robbers Cave experiment (Sherif et al., 1961) supports this idea, where a sporting tournament created a situation of negative interdependence, leading to increased intergroup hostility and prejudice.
• What is Realistic Conflict Theory?

  Realistic Conflict Theory states that competition for limited resources leads to intergroup conflict and prejudice.
• Weaknesses:

  • Competition may not be necessary : Tajfel (1970) found that boys will treat each other differently based on information about the group members alone,suggesting that prejudice may be less about competition and more about our own knowledge of who we are which can be assessed through comparison with others.
  • Chain of reasoning for strength: Although this is a field experiment and has ecological validity as it was in a natural setting.Therefore,you can’t control all the variables because it is a natural setting.