sherif classic study

• Classic study - sample

  22 white protestant boys

  11/12 years old
• Classic study - procedure

  phase 1

  • two separate groups were created
  • group names were made
  • did activities within the groups like building campfires

  Phase 2

  • conflict introduced through competitions. eg, sport
  • Name-calling, violence, stealing started to occur.

  phase 3

  • resolution, gave the same superordinate goal to both groups so they had to work together to get it eg, mending a broken water supply
• classic study -findings

  when conflict was added, hostility developed rapidly

  ingroup members were seen as brave and friendly whereas outgroup members were seen as sneaky or stinkers

  • after superordinate goals were created, outgroups friendships increased largely
• Classic study - generalisability

  • small sample of only white protestant boys from oklahoma
  • was not representative of the whole country let alone the whole world. - so cannot be generalised
• Classic study - reliability

  • sherif used multiple methods of collecting data. He collected quantitative and qualitative.
  • he used multiple observers often, increasing inter-rater reliability
  • he tried to tape record the boys' conversations so they could be played back and analysed later.
• Classic study - application

  • can be applied to reducing prejudice in society today by using the idea of superordinate goals
  • used to tackle racial prejudice within schools eg, projects
  • shows that sherif's study led to interventions which have helped students from ethnic minorites to reach academic potential at school rather than being held back by discrimination
• Classic study - reliability

  • observers were only with the boys for 12 hours as they went home at nights
  • meaning a large chunk of activity was not recorded or observed
  • so puts a question upon the reliability of the study
• classic study - validity

  Ecological validity - boys at real summer camp doing real tasks