Robbers Cave experiment
a field study of the causes and consequences of conflict between groups. In the experiment, two groups of 11-year-old boys from similar backgrounds, none of whom previously knew one another, were sent camping in the same area of wilderness. During the first stage, the two groups were allowed to develop their own rules, structures, and collective identities in complete independence of one another. During the second stage, they were made aware of each other’s presence and encouraged to develop a sense of rivalry through a series of competitive exercises; the result was deepening hostility leading to open violence. In the third stage, staff deliberately created various urgent problems, such as a fault in the water supply, that could be solved only by the two groups working together; the result was a complete reconciliation. See also superordinate goal. [performed in 1954 by Muzafer Sherif and colleagues; the study derives its name from the
state park in Oklahoma that served as the site for the research]