The robbers cave experiment

Outline the procedure

- Field experiment - summer camp - 22 eleven year old boys, allocated into one of two groups - The two groups were called 'the rattlers and the eagles' - The researchers acted as counsellors - They were given a distinct set of rules and ideas of how to behave and chose a group name and flag - The experiment was split into 3 phases; the in group formation, the friction phase and the integration phase - Competition, tournament and prizes were introduced - researchers manipulated the points so they had control over the competition - Prizes were awarded and stolen by the other group - United the two groups by using activities that had a super ordinate goal i.e. fixing the truck to get back to camp

What did they conclude?

Competition between two groups can increase prejudice and discrimination leading to inter group conflict. Without competition, hostility doesn't occur so it shows that prejudice happens when there are signs of interest

Does the study have applications?

It applies to people who create competitions! It suggests an explanation for the origin of prejudice, which can offer ways to reduce it i.e.getting rival groups to work towards a super ordinate goal. *EXAMPLE: Aronson's jigsaw puzzle classroom techniques - if one person doesn't take part, they are targetted for prejudice and discrimination e.g. their ethnicity

Is the study reliable?

It has low reliability because it was conducted as a field experiment so there isn't much control over extraneous variables such as the weather. These variables could affect the results. However it can be replicated as there was some element of standardised procedure - they had control over the activities e.g. the broken down truck. This means it can be replicated to other age groups, ethnicity and genders

Is the study valid?

It high in ecological validity. It has a low task validity because it doesn't represent prejudice in real life as there isn't always competition.

Can the study be generalised?

No, because the sample wasn't large enough (22 boys) - it needs to be at least 30 to generalise to a wider group. Therefore these results may not apply to everyone! Also, the sample was not varied because all of the participants were eleven year old boys from America, therefore it can't be generalised to females or other ages as it's ethnocentric, implying that it may not be applicable to other countries.

What were the results?

There was a strong in group presence: - nicknames were used - there was verbal aggression and physical aggression - stereotypes were formed

Outline the ethical issues

They had no right to withdraw as they were unaware they were taking part although they had their parents consent. They weren't protected from physical or psychological harm as they were called nicknames e.g. sneaks and stinkers and when they stole the trophy from the other group, it could've lead to physical harm. However they were stopped by the use of group activities

Outline the aim

To see whether it is possible to cause prejudice between two very similar groups by putting them in competition with each other