Robbers Cave Experiment: A Critical Review
Ho Xin Jie Stella
Robbers Cave Experiment: A Critical Review
Ngee Ann Polytechnic
Introduction The Robbers Cave experiment (RCE) in 1954 is perhaps one of the lesser known psychology experiments of the 20th century. Led by social psychologist Muzafer Sherif, the study of social behaviour in its proper contexts (viz., group cooperation and conflict) stemmed out of growing practical concerns from business and military agencies in the 1930s (Sherif, Harvey, White, Hood, & Sherif, 1954a), such as in selecting effective leaders. The RCE, which laid the groundwork for the subsequent study and understanding of Group Relations (social psychology), gave rise to the Realistic Conflict Theory (RCT). In this paper, the RCE will be explored in two parts: a) An overview of the study would be presented along with a critique of its findings and b) its generalizability and application to real-world and Asian contexts will be formally discussed.
Overview of study
Purpose and design The study’s focus was on intergroup relations (Sherif, 1954a)—specifically cooperation and conflict, where the intricate processes involved in members’ attitudes in two or more groups over a period of time were investigated. Sherif had intended for the experiment to progress as natural as possible, so as to trace the formation, functioning, attitude shifts and resulting consequences towards one’s own group (in-group), out-group and their members accurately from scratch. A large-scale experiment, the RCE took place in a sufficiently-isolated (i.e., without interference or interaction with the outside world) field setting in the Robbers Cave State Park, Oklahoma, over a span of more than two weeks. Sherif employed a rigorous procedure in the selection of 24 participants, all of whom were 12-year-old males from middle-class background, Protestant, with similar educational and socio-cultural background and no prior relationships with one another (Sherif et al., 1954c). In order for greater
Robbers Cave Experiment: A Critical Review
Ngee Ann Polytechnic
Introduction The Robbers Cave experiment (RCE) in 1954 is perhaps one of the lesser known psychology experiments of the 20th century. Led by social psychologist Muzafer Sherif, the study of social behaviour in its proper contexts (viz., group cooperation and conflict) stemmed out of growing practical concerns from business and military agencies in the 1930s (Sherif, Harvey, White, Hood, & Sherif, 1954a), such as in selecting effective leaders. The RCE, which laid the groundwork for the subsequent study and understanding of Group Relations (social psychology), gave rise to the Realistic Conflict Theory (RCT). In this paper, the RCE will be explored in two parts: a) An overview of the study would be presented along with a critique of its findings and b) its generalizability and application to real-world and Asian contexts will be formally discussed.
Overview of study
Purpose and design The study’s focus was on intergroup relations (Sherif, 1954a)—specifically cooperation and conflict, where the intricate processes involved in members’ attitudes in two or more groups over a period of time were investigated. Sherif had intended for the experiment to progress as natural as possible, so as to trace the formation, functioning, attitude shifts and resulting consequences towards one’s own group (in-group), out-group and their members accurately from scratch. A large-scale experiment, the RCE took place in a sufficiently-isolated (i.e., without interference or interaction with the outside world) field setting in the Robbers Cave State Park, Oklahoma, over a span of more than two weeks. Sherif employed a rigorous procedure in the selection of 24 participants, all of whom were 12-year-old males from middle-class background, Protestant, with similar educational and socio-cultural background and no prior relationships with one another (Sherif et al., 1954c). In order for greater
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