Robbers Cave Campground Summary
The experiment at the Robbers Cave Campground was formulated by Muzafer
Sherif to demonstrate his Realistic Conflict Theory. Sherif’s two-part hypothesis stated:
1. Hierarchical statuses and roles will materialize when strangers are brought together to perform as a unit with common goals.
2. When two in-groups structured with these hierarchical statuses and roles are brought together in the name of competition, the result will be group frustration, attitudes, and appropriate hostile actions (Sherif, 2010).
To support his hypothesis, the experiment consisted of three distinct phases. The in-group formation, the friction phase, and the integration phase. Seeking to present evidence supporting his hypothesis Sherif enlisted the services of adolescent boys with similar socio-economic backgrounds and the same ethnicity and religious affiliation. Their shared participation in Sherif’s experiment was the first time the boys had ever met each other. The boys were assigned to a group …show more content…
Staff observed the establishment of a hierarchical unit and leadership roles. As the end of Phase I, the in-group formation phase, approached, the groups got a brief glimpse of their competition. As expected, animosity began, along with demands among group members to prove their superiority. With the transition to Phase II, the friction phase, came heightened conflict. Instances of prejudice, name calling, and stereotyping, escalated into stealing, raiding the competitions cabin, and ultimately, if not for the intervention of staff, the competitors stood ready to participate in a planned fight. Staff observed that as the propensity towards animosity for the other group increased, in-group cohesion and solidarity also increased. A group bonding activity in Phase I was to make a team flag, in a symbolic representation of superiority, the participants burned their competitor’s
Sherif to demonstrate his Realistic Conflict Theory. Sherif’s two-part hypothesis stated:
1. Hierarchical statuses and roles will materialize when strangers are brought together to perform as a unit with common goals.
2. When two in-groups structured with these hierarchical statuses and roles are brought together in the name of competition, the result will be group frustration, attitudes, and appropriate hostile actions (Sherif, 2010).
To support his hypothesis, the experiment consisted of three distinct phases. The in-group formation, the friction phase, and the integration phase. Seeking to present evidence supporting his hypothesis Sherif enlisted the services of adolescent boys with similar socio-economic backgrounds and the same ethnicity and religious affiliation. Their shared participation in Sherif’s experiment was the first time the boys had ever met each other. The boys were assigned to a group …show more content…
Staff observed the establishment of a hierarchical unit and leadership roles. As the end of Phase I, the in-group formation phase, approached, the groups got a brief glimpse of their competition. As expected, animosity began, along with demands among group members to prove their superiority. With the transition to Phase II, the friction phase, came heightened conflict. Instances of prejudice, name calling, and stereotyping, escalated into stealing, raiding the competitions cabin, and ultimately, if not for the intervention of staff, the competitors stood ready to participate in a planned fight. Staff observed that as the propensity towards animosity for the other group increased, in-group cohesion and solidarity also increased. A group bonding activity in Phase I was to make a team flag, in a symbolic representation of superiority, the participants burned their competitor’s