Classic study (Sherif)

• Aim?

  To see if prejudice could be formed by groups competing for scarce resources and to see if it could be reduced by superordinate goals.
• Procedure ?

  22 boys aged 11 from Oklahoma who didn’t know each other matched into groups based on their IQ, behaviour and sporting ability. Experiment took place at Robbers Cave state park and boys were unaware that they were taking part in research.
• Data Collection?

  participants were observed and the use of derogatory terms was recorded. The boys’ friendship patterns and performance in tasks were also measured.
• Stages?

  During in group formation a group leader and status positions were in place along with group names the Rattlers and the Eagles.

  During the friction phrase of intergroup relations a tournament was set up between the Rattlers and Eagles with many activities such as tug of war with rewards for the winners. Insults and bad behaviours started here due to competition.

  During integration both groups had to work together for mutually beneficial goals such as fixing a water tank.
• Results ?

  At the end of the friction phase there were 6.4% Rattlers and 7.5% Eagles out group friendship choices. And at the end of the integration phase there were 36.4% and 23.2% out group friendship choices.
• In conclusion competition between the 2 groups led to in group solidarity and intergroup hostility. Groups also needed to collaborate towards a superordinate (mutually beneficial) goal for friction to be reduced.
• How would you improve this study ?

  I would change the sample and make participants both male and female so the study is more generalisable to the wider population and therefore more representative of how prejudice is caused.
• One strength of sherifs study is that each boy was was matched on criteria such as IQ to reduce the impact of individual differences. This is a strength as it reduces the number of extraneous variables influencing the study into prejudice which increases the accuracy of the data.
• One weakness of sherif’s study is a restricted sample as only 11 year old boys were used in the research about development of prejudice. This is a weakness because it may mean that results aren’t representative of how prejudice develops in girls.
• Another limitation of Sheriff's study is that he didn't use an experimental design, instead using a quasi-experimental design. Therefore we can not say whether the changes observed are causal or just correlational
• One weakness of sheriffs study is that the boys didn’t know they were taking part in the experiment. This is a weakness as it is unethical as they are being deceived.
• One strength of Sheriffs study is that the findings can be used to explain violence in society as it shows conflict is caused by competition. This is a strength as we can use superordinate goals to reduce conflict in society.