Intergroup Conflict Summary

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The following is a summary of two studies on intergroup conflict performed nearly 60 years apart. This summary will highlight the similarities, differences, and options for reducing intergroup conflict then and now. 1958 Sherif (1958) was frustrated with the lack of a generalized approach to reducing intergroup conflict. Many approaches to reducing intergroup conflict have been studied, but there has been no consistent correlation of what worked, when, and how. To get a better understanding of the different types of conflict, Sherif explored group conflict during wars, between religious groups, opposing street gangs, and during strikes. Understanding the dynamics of ingroup and outgroup behavior, Sherif hypothesized that he could create …show more content…

Sherif did this by creating competitive opportunities where one group had to win over the other to get the desired prize. The results of this experiment were that the groups displayed the same behaviors identified in the intergroup conflicts explored in the paper; derogatory statements about and harassment towards the other group, negative stereotyping, physical aggression, and the eventual distancing of themselves from one another. The ingroup cohesion grew stronger as the outgroup hostility grew. The next phase was to reduce the intergroup conflict. Sherif explored six activities and tested two in this phase of the study; social contact and introduction of superordinate goals. The social contact, eating together, watching a movie, or other entertainment engagement, had the opposite effect. These interactions resulted in more name calling and physical hostility. The superordinate goals, such as; obtaining either food or water when needed or procuring a desired movie, did work. The intergroup conflict diminished and, with the introduction of each new superordinate goal, the intergroup dynamics became more favorable. Sherif’s findings were new to the research and should have led future researchers to replicate his results. However, research took a detour as identified by Wright, Mazziotta, and Tropp (2017). …show more content…

323) as being successful at changing all three levels of social interaction, referencing Sherif (1958) as the start of the idea of superordinate goals being the key to reducing hostility and violence between two groups. The authors use world peace negotiations as an example of how a higher-level goal for both groups, resulted in more amicable relationships between the negotiating groups. With real world examples of the positive results from successful negotiations, the authors recommend using a negotiation model in future research and studies to test the hypothesis - negotiations that leave the parties equally content lead to stronger more amicable relationships between the two

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