Psychology of Human Relations Flashcards
(7 cards)
Cooperation and competiton
Sherif et al (1954)
Aim: To investigate the formation and resolution of intergroup conflict, as well as how competition for resources leads to hostility and whether working towards a mutual goal reduces conflict.
Procedure: A field experiment with preteen boys from similar socio-economic backgrounds, divided randomly into two groups. The experiment had three phases:
1. Group formation - groups participated in bonding activities within their groups to establish group identity
2. Friction phase - introduction of competitive games
3. Integration phase - introduction of common goals requiring cooperation
Results: During the friction phase, hostility arose between groups. In group solidarity increased and negative stereotypes of the outgroup developed. In the integration phase, hostility decreased and intergroup cooperation improved.
Conclusion: Conflict arises naturally when groups compete for resources and cooperation towards a common goal can improve relations.
Prejudice and discrimination
Levinson (2007)
Aim: To investigate the influence of racial implicit bias on memory recall.
Procedure: Participants heard two stories. The race of the protagonist was manipulated (African-American, Caucasian, Hawaiian) but otherwise the stories were identical for all participants. After a brief distractor task they were asked to recall details of the story. Participants also completed a separate test measuring explicit racial preferences.
Results: Participants were more likely to falsely remember positive details for Caucasian characters. Participants were also more likely to remember aggressive details for African-American characters compared to Caucasian characters. No correlation was found between memory biases and explicit racial preferences.
Conclusion: Implicit biases can influence cognitive processes and operate separately from explicit racial preferences. Individuals may unconsciously hold biases even if they do not openly express racial prejudice.
Prejudice
Fein and Spencer (1997)
Aim: To see if stereotyping and prejudice would increase when a group of men had their self-image challenged by scores on an intelligence test.
Procedure: Male university students were asked to take a fake intelligence test, consisting of questions with no possible answers. Participants in the control group were told that the test was fake and the test condition was led to believe that it was real. When participants received their low scores that were disappointed as they obtained high SAT scores in high school. Participants were then given one of two scenarios. Both scenarios were about a male struggling artist. One version stated that Greg was straight and the other implied he might be gay, followed by a questionnaire assessing their perceptions of Greg.
Results: Participants who received negative feedback rated the “gay implied” man more stereotypically and expressed less liking for him compared to those who received no feedback, with the dislike being strongest in the “gay implied” condition.
Conclusion: When their self-image was threatened, the men showed increased prejudice and stereotyping towards the “gay implied” individual, supporting the theory of threatened egotism.
The theory of threatended egotism
Evaluation of Tajfel et al. for origins of conflict
The fact that participants didn’t know the other in-group and out-group members adds validity to the study as it eliminated possible sources of bias. It further shows that the feeling of belonging to a group even if based on trivial differences was enough to discriminate against the out group even at the expense of less profit for the ingroup.
The task of assigning virtual money is artificial and does not reflect real life situations, ecological validity is low.
Link to SIT for origins of conflict:
* The idea of being put into groups based on meaningless criteria was enough for the boys to favour their ingroup and discriminate against the out group, even at the expense of less overall profit.
* This supports the idea that prejudice can arise from social categorisation - if it is self-esteem based then some people need to put others down to feel better about themselves.
Evaluation of Sherif et al. for origins of conflict and cooperation and competition.
Natural setting increases ecological validity, but results lack the control over confounding variables.
Findings are difficult to generalize as the sample was not representative.
Findings support the RCT: conflict between groups arose during the friction phase (during competition when only one group cound win) and decreased during the integration phase when the groups had to cooperate.
Link to Allports contact theory:
* initial contact between groups (during competition) led to increased hostility, not decreased prejudice → so mere contact is not enough
* sharing of superordinate goals - goals requiring cooperation reduced intergroup hostility
This study could also be used for ethical considerations as the boys were unaware they were part of an experiment and the instigation of conflict between the groups potentially caused psychological distress and bullying.
Evaluation of Fein and Spencer for prejudice.
The researchers used a pilot group where they labeled Greg as either a “gay male” or a “straight male.” The participants became suspicious that the study was investigating stereotypes about gay men. As a result, the researchers adopted the procedure outlined above. This was a strong control for demand characteristics.
It is an assumption in this study that the men had a strong self-image because they are students at a competitive university. This may be a false assumption. Although the study has good internal validity, there could be previous experience with gay men that has not been accounted for in the study.
Link to the theory of threatend egotism:
* When participants sense of ‘self’ was threatened by their low scores they showed increased prejudice agains the out-group (gay men).
* By acting out against an out-group, a person is able to feel better about themselves, boosting or restoring self-esteem.
* This can be a form of scapegoating or a displacement of aggression.
Evaluation for Levinson (2007) for prejudice and discrimination.
The controlled design of the stories where only race was manipulated, strengthens internal validity.
Study assumes that pre-existing racial schemas influenced recall but didn’t measure the schema activation directly.
Link to implicit bias:
* Implicit racial bias can distort memory recall of legal case details, with participants more likely to falsely remember incriminating information about a Black suspect.
* This supports the cognitive explanation of prejudice, suggesting that automatic stereotype activation can unconsciously shape perception and decision-making.
