AP Psychology 3.4 Social Psychology
AP Psychology 3.4 Social Psychology. Which statement best describes what Sherif learned through the Robbers Cave experiment?
| AP Psychology | Social Psychology |
| Language | English Language |
| Social Psychology | Attitudes and Attitude Change Group Behavior |
Transcript
experiment social psychologist Muzaffer Sherif took two groups of 11 [Young boys in the wilderness]
and 12 year old boys out into the wilderness and pitted them against each
other in a series of conflict inducing scenarios and yeah it's amazing what you [Sherif watches kids fighting inside a box]
can get away with under the guise of science the robbers cave experiment was
divided into three stages the first involved the two groups being entirely
separated and unaware of one another this was the bonding phase sunshine and [Boys bonding in sunshine]
daisies think of it like the calm before the storm the pleasant part of the
camping trip before the crazed serial killer arrives in a hockey mask to ruin [Boys by campfire and man in hockey mask appears]
the fun but instead of a serial killer it was another group of 12 year old boys
who arrived which depending on who you ask my sound even scarier than a serial [A second group of boys appear behind the trees[
killer in a hockey mask... The second stage was the friction stage this is when the
two groups of boys were entered into various competitive events with one
another with the researchers offering prizes to the winner this stage was key [Boy holding trophy and other boy on the floor]
to the research in that it showed the way in which the two groups developed
negative attitudes towards each other when asked to describe themselves the
boys tended to describe their in-group in favourable ways and the out group in
unfavorable ways...What our question is concerned with however is the third
stage this was the integration stage where Sherif wanted to see what it took [Boy attempting to fight and Sherif holding him back]
to eliminate the friction he and his fellow researchers had intentionally created
well at first they tried mirror exposure therapy that is they wondered if simply
having the two groups spend time together would eliminate the tension [Boys sat at the table with Sherif]
This didn't work and it wasn't until the two groups were tasked with working
together towards shared common goals the tension dissipated so answer C is the
correct one here tune in next time to hear about supervillain Sherif's next
social experiment in which he brings the two groups of twelve-year-old boys back
to the wilderness this time in an all-out fight to the death [Boys playing video game]