Social Psychology
Obedience- Compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another’s authority.
Dissent- It is the sentiment of non-agreement with the majority or the leader of a group to which the
‘dissenter’ is meant to obey.
Prejudice- Preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.
Classic Study- Robbers Cave Experiment
A01:
Aim: If prejudice could be caused by the formation of social groups and completion over resources
and if prejudice could be reduced.
Sample: 22 young males aged 11 from Oklahoma, who didn’t know each other prior. Supersets into
two groups and matched on: IQ, teachers rating of behaviour and sporting ability.
Procedure: Stage 1 in-group formation- two groups separated for a week to form relationships and
work together to achieve common goals. Stage 2 inter-group relations(friction)- made aware of the
other group and a tournament was set up were points and rewards were given. Tasks include tug of
war, baseball and swimming. Stage 3 inter-group relations(integration)- superordinate goals
introduced including fixing the water tank, broken truck and to pool resources together to watch a
film.
Results: Out-group friendship at the end of stage 2, Rattlers-6.4% and Eagles- 7.5%, at the end of
stage 3, Rattlers-36.4% and Eagles-23.2%
Conclusion-competition between the boy's lead to in group solidarity in intergroup hostility.They
had to share responsibility and agree how to solve a common problem to reduce friction.
A03:
One strength of the study on prejudice based on group formation and competition over resources is
that it was high in controls as the sample of two groups of 11 boys were matched to each other on
factors such as IQ. This means that the results on prejudice based on group formation and
competition over resources are more accurate as it minimises the effect of extraneous variables such
as one group being less intelligent than the other, so the experiment will test for prejudice and not
difference in intelligence.
One weakness of the study on prejudice based on group formation and competition over resources
is that the sample used was androcentric as they were all boys. This means that the results on
prejudice based on the formation of social groups and competition over resources is not
representative of females and therefore cannot be generalised to female prejudice which makes
them less accurate.
Another strength of the study on prejudice based on group formation and competition over
resources is that it is high in ecological validity as the setting was a real camp at Robbers cave. This
increases the accuracy of results on prejudice based on group formation and competition over
resources as the boys believed the camp was a real summer camp and therefore their actions were
to be more realistic, so the results portray the true nature of prejudice.
Another weakness of the study on prejudice based on group formation and competition over
resources is that it collected qualitative date such as ‘ladies first’ which is exposed to subjective
interpretation. This means the results on prejudice based on group formation and competition over
resources is low in reliability as the results may not be consistently interpreted as prejudice
throughout future studies.
Conclusion
The study on whether prejudice is caused by social group formation and competition over resources
is useful as it can be practically applied to real life communities where there is gang rivalry. This is
because gangs can be given superordinate goals to reduce prejudice and discrimination against one
another.
, The study on if prejudice is caused by social group formation and competition of resources is less
useful as the boys were not protected from psychological and physiological harm so the results
gained were unethical which reduces the scientific credibility.
Realistic Conflict Theory
A01:
People are likely to be prejudice against other groups when resources are scarce so there are higher
levels of competition, which then results in prejudice, discrimination and sometimes conflict
Groups may compete for money, political power, military, protection or social status
Prejudice can be reduced by superordinate goals which are mutually desirable goals that cannot be
obtained without the participation of two or more groups
A03:
Sherif found that in stage two, creating competition between the Rattlers and Eagles such as tug of
war, was enough to cause conflict and prejudice. This supports RCT as it shows that prejudice does in
fact occur when there are high levels of competition between groups which makes realistic conflict
theory more accurate in explaining prejudice.
Tajfel found that just merely placing boys into groups created prejudice as they would allocate more
money to their own group than the opposing group. This is a weakness of RCT as it shows that
competition is not always necessary to create prejudice and just belonging to a group is enough
making realistic conflict theory less accurate in explaining accurate.
Realistic conflict theory gives a simplistic explanation of prejudice behaviour being caused by the
mere presence of competition of scarce resources like land between two opposing countries. This
means it can be tested to establish the true cause of prejudice behaviour and predictions can be
made about future prejudice behaviour if competition is present in the environment.
Realistic conflict theory as an explanation of prejudice ignores individual differences that affect
prejudice behaviour such as personality as the theory assumes all members of a group are motivated
by the presence of competition which may not be true. This means that prejudice being down to
competition is too simplistic as other factors are being ignored lowering the validity as it may not be
an accurate explanation of everyone’s prejudice behaviour.
Conclusion
RCT is useful as it can lead to practical applications to reduce prejudice in schools by giving
conflicting groups of children superordinate goals such as creating artwork together.
RCT is less useful as it can be used as a form of social control by the government and media to create
discrimination between two groups of society by creating competition over valuable resources.
Social Identity Theory
A01:
In-Group- A group that you belong to and identify with
Out-Group- A group that you do not belong to or identify with
Categorisation- We divide the world into us and them in order to understand the social environment
Identification- We adopt the identity of the group we have categorised ourselves as belonging to and
conform to the norms of that group. Our self-esteem also becomes tied to that group
Comparison- Once we belong to a group, we will ensure our group compares favourably to maintain
our self-esteem. We over-exaggerate the positive qualities of our group whilst underestimating the
qualities of another
In-group favouritism- The tendency for people to believe that their own group is better than others
to seek higher self-esteem.
Out-group denigration- Making the out group look bad
A03:
Obedience- Compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another’s authority.
Dissent- It is the sentiment of non-agreement with the majority or the leader of a group to which the
‘dissenter’ is meant to obey.
Prejudice- Preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.
Classic Study- Robbers Cave Experiment
A01:
Aim: If prejudice could be caused by the formation of social groups and completion over resources
and if prejudice could be reduced.
Sample: 22 young males aged 11 from Oklahoma, who didn’t know each other prior. Supersets into
two groups and matched on: IQ, teachers rating of behaviour and sporting ability.
Procedure: Stage 1 in-group formation- two groups separated for a week to form relationships and
work together to achieve common goals. Stage 2 inter-group relations(friction)- made aware of the
other group and a tournament was set up were points and rewards were given. Tasks include tug of
war, baseball and swimming. Stage 3 inter-group relations(integration)- superordinate goals
introduced including fixing the water tank, broken truck and to pool resources together to watch a
film.
Results: Out-group friendship at the end of stage 2, Rattlers-6.4% and Eagles- 7.5%, at the end of
stage 3, Rattlers-36.4% and Eagles-23.2%
Conclusion-competition between the boy's lead to in group solidarity in intergroup hostility.They
had to share responsibility and agree how to solve a common problem to reduce friction.
A03:
One strength of the study on prejudice based on group formation and competition over resources is
that it was high in controls as the sample of two groups of 11 boys were matched to each other on
factors such as IQ. This means that the results on prejudice based on group formation and
competition over resources are more accurate as it minimises the effect of extraneous variables such
as one group being less intelligent than the other, so the experiment will test for prejudice and not
difference in intelligence.
One weakness of the study on prejudice based on group formation and competition over resources
is that the sample used was androcentric as they were all boys. This means that the results on
prejudice based on the formation of social groups and competition over resources is not
representative of females and therefore cannot be generalised to female prejudice which makes
them less accurate.
Another strength of the study on prejudice based on group formation and competition over
resources is that it is high in ecological validity as the setting was a real camp at Robbers cave. This
increases the accuracy of results on prejudice based on group formation and competition over
resources as the boys believed the camp was a real summer camp and therefore their actions were
to be more realistic, so the results portray the true nature of prejudice.
Another weakness of the study on prejudice based on group formation and competition over
resources is that it collected qualitative date such as ‘ladies first’ which is exposed to subjective
interpretation. This means the results on prejudice based on group formation and competition over
resources is low in reliability as the results may not be consistently interpreted as prejudice
throughout future studies.
Conclusion
The study on whether prejudice is caused by social group formation and competition over resources
is useful as it can be practically applied to real life communities where there is gang rivalry. This is
because gangs can be given superordinate goals to reduce prejudice and discrimination against one
another.
, The study on if prejudice is caused by social group formation and competition of resources is less
useful as the boys were not protected from psychological and physiological harm so the results
gained were unethical which reduces the scientific credibility.
Realistic Conflict Theory
A01:
People are likely to be prejudice against other groups when resources are scarce so there are higher
levels of competition, which then results in prejudice, discrimination and sometimes conflict
Groups may compete for money, political power, military, protection or social status
Prejudice can be reduced by superordinate goals which are mutually desirable goals that cannot be
obtained without the participation of two or more groups
A03:
Sherif found that in stage two, creating competition between the Rattlers and Eagles such as tug of
war, was enough to cause conflict and prejudice. This supports RCT as it shows that prejudice does in
fact occur when there are high levels of competition between groups which makes realistic conflict
theory more accurate in explaining prejudice.
Tajfel found that just merely placing boys into groups created prejudice as they would allocate more
money to their own group than the opposing group. This is a weakness of RCT as it shows that
competition is not always necessary to create prejudice and just belonging to a group is enough
making realistic conflict theory less accurate in explaining accurate.
Realistic conflict theory gives a simplistic explanation of prejudice behaviour being caused by the
mere presence of competition of scarce resources like land between two opposing countries. This
means it can be tested to establish the true cause of prejudice behaviour and predictions can be
made about future prejudice behaviour if competition is present in the environment.
Realistic conflict theory as an explanation of prejudice ignores individual differences that affect
prejudice behaviour such as personality as the theory assumes all members of a group are motivated
by the presence of competition which may not be true. This means that prejudice being down to
competition is too simplistic as other factors are being ignored lowering the validity as it may not be
an accurate explanation of everyone’s prejudice behaviour.
Conclusion
RCT is useful as it can lead to practical applications to reduce prejudice in schools by giving
conflicting groups of children superordinate goals such as creating artwork together.
RCT is less useful as it can be used as a form of social control by the government and media to create
discrimination between two groups of society by creating competition over valuable resources.
Social Identity Theory
A01:
In-Group- A group that you belong to and identify with
Out-Group- A group that you do not belong to or identify with
Categorisation- We divide the world into us and them in order to understand the social environment
Identification- We adopt the identity of the group we have categorised ourselves as belonging to and
conform to the norms of that group. Our self-esteem also becomes tied to that group
Comparison- Once we belong to a group, we will ensure our group compares favourably to maintain
our self-esteem. We over-exaggerate the positive qualities of our group whilst underestimating the
qualities of another
In-group favouritism- The tendency for people to believe that their own group is better than others
to seek higher self-esteem.
Out-group denigration- Making the out group look bad
A03:
