Sherif

• Aims of Robbers cave study: 1954

  • to test that ingroup/ outgroup conflict will create prejudice
  • also aimed to see if a set goal was given that their cooperation would be achieved and prejudice reduces
• What was the sample of boys for the Robbers cave Study ?

  22 boys aged 11, all from white protestant families in Oklahoma
• Procedure of Robbers cave study:

  • stage 1- in group formation. Two groups were set up norms and hierarchies. worked as groups to achieved goals in non competitive activities , roles etc in the groups were studied
  • stage 2- intergroup relations. tournament set up with competitive activities ie. tug of war, points earned and rewards. Groups became hostiles against one another and would obstruct other groups chance of winning
  • stage 3- integration phase of intergroup relations. introduced tasks that brought the two groups together by communicating. superordinate goals
• Findings of robbers cave study:

  • by end of stage 1 the boys had gave themelves names of rattlers and eagles. Status positions had occurred such as leaders
  • In stage 2, once heard about each other the boys wanted to compete. some name calling and issues such as burning other flag were mentioned between the boys
  • stage 3 hostility initially remained but a situation was et up where they needed to work together. Such as fixing the water supply
• Strengths of robbers cave study:

  • good application- shows effect of conflict and how to reduce it can be used in politics
  • high ecological valid as boys believed that the tasks were real even the subordinate goals which allowed observations to be made of their real behaviour
• Weaknesses of Robbers cave study:

  • Low generlsiability as the sample consists of the same characteristics throughout all the boys. Does not represent other cultures, ages or genders which can raise issues when applying the findings to situations
  • Low internal validity as it was a field experiment
  • Cannot be replicated as not all variables were controlled
• Reliability of sherif-robbers cave

  Reliability issues arise in this study because it involves observation. Because they were only with the boys for twelve hours a day, the observers were unable to see or hear everything that occurred. But Sherif made an effort to increase the study's credibility in spite of this. He gathered quantitative data by using a numbered scoring system to assess the boys' friendship patterns. Additionally, he occasionally employed multiple observers to increase inter-rater reliability.
• Ethics of sherif-robbers cave

  The boys never realized they were being experimented on, so they did not give their legitimate consent to participate in the study and do not appear to have received a debriefing afterward.HOWEVER the parents of the boys did provide presumed consent on their sons' behalf, knowing full well that this camp constituted some kind of psychology experiment. The boys appeared to be having fun, which implies that the harm they experienced was no more severe than what they would experience in their daily lives.
• conclusion of sherif 1954

  intergroup competition leads to increased ingroup favouritism but also outgroup hostility