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Sherif et al (1954/61) AO1 - Coggle Diagram
Sherif et al (1954/61) AO1
Ethics
Parents asked to not visit or contact boys- unethical
Not clear that informed consent was obtained, this would be a requirement now
2 boys were homesick and left, there was a right to withdraw
Identities of the boys were kept secret, confidentiality was ensured
Practical Issues
Carefully matched sample and allocation into two groups
But still hard to ensure all variables are considered
Boys made decisions when directing tasks that might not be the same if replicated
Reductionism
Prejudice is reduced to competition over resources and then to lower it working together in co-operation
Less reductionist than a lab setting however may bot be a true social setting so some interactions may have been missed
Psychology as a Science
Field experiment takes a scientific approach to gathering data
Careful controls such as matching the groups
Some elements of the study were not experimental such as observations
Culture and Gender Issues
Findings only apply to the USA where summer camps are frequent. The same setting wouldn't be appropriate in other cultures
The participants were all boys so the findings cannot be generalised to girls, they mat form and reduce prejudice in different ways
Nature/ Nurture Debate
Focus on nurture- forming groups over competition and resources i.e. group interaction
Tendency to favour in-group and fight over scarce resources is innate (nature), Sherif ignores this factor
Psychology Knowledge Over Time
Key research in 1960s when social psychology was starting out. It focuses on how personality and situation are linked
Tajfel worked at the same time and put forward the idea of social identity theory
Social Control
Controlling prejudice helps society because it can avoid violence i.e. hooliganism and rioting
Hostility can e caused by conflict over resources
Solution is that the use of superordinate goals this can be used to control people in society
Application to Society
Controlling prejudice helps society because it can avoid violence i.e. hooliganism and rioting
In-group favouritism leads to violence, cost to society i.e. policing
Conflict over resources can be costly to society
Solution is that the use of superordinate goals these can be used to control people in society
Socially Sensitive Research
Prejudice studies can be socially sensitive- if a particular personality type is more likely to be a prejudice then that can pose a threat to those individuals
Sherif shows prejudice comes from the situation, this is less threatening to the individual
Comparing Explanations
Can use realistic conflict theory to explain or social identity theory