Jack White

Muzafer Sherif

O. J. Harvey

Intergroup Conflict and Cooperation. [Orig. Pub. as Intergroup Conflict and Group Relations]

The Robbers Cave Experiment

Psychology of Social Norms

Social Psychology of Intergroup Conflict and Cooperation

In Common Predicament

Carolyn Wood Sherif

Interdisciplinary collaboration in the social sciences is obviously essential to scientifi c progress, but discontent and practical diffi culties hinder collaboration in research and training. Many of the problems arise from the failure in the separate disciplines to understand the basis on which collaboration is necessary and possible. In an eff ort to shed light on the situation, these original essays by eminent scholars-economists, geographers, psychologists, political scientists,sociologists, anthropologists, and others-demonstrate eff ective means of achieving interdisciplinary coordination in studying human behavior and delineating promising areas-for cooperative research. Th e book provides a sophisticated guide to the nature of knowledge in social science as applied to its core disciplines.

Interdisciplinary Relationships in the Social Sciences

Originally published in 1966 the author challenges the accepted theories of group conflict of the time, such as frustration and maladjustment. For him conflict and its accompanying aggressiveness are features of interaction between groups and he supports this theory with a detailed experimental study of controlled groups. At the time of publication, Dr Otto Klineberg, Director of the International Centre for Intergroup Relations at the Sorbonne wrote: ‘Social scientists everywhere owe a great debt of gratitude to Professor Sherif. The distinguished series of publications for which he and his co-workers are responsible have an honoured place in our libraries. In particular, his contributions to the field of intergroup relations are outstanding; his concept of "superordinate goals", based on a combination of theoretical insight and brilliant experimentation, has become a household word for those concerned with this significant problem. In his new volume, Group Conflict and Co-operation, he carries his analysis much further, not only describing the results of several original investigations, but also building a theoretical appraisal of an extensive research literature. The author has made still another significant contribution toward a better understanding of one of the most complex and disturbing phenomena of our time.’

Their Social Psychology

Group Conflict and Co-operation

Originally issued in 1954 and updated in 1961 and 1987, this pioneering study of “small group” conflict and cooperation has long been out-of-print. It is now available, in cloth and paper, with a new introduction by Donald Campbell, and a new postscript by O.J. Harvey. In this famous experiment, one of the earliest in inter-group relationships, two dozen twelve-year-old boys in summer camp were formed into two groups, the Rattlers and the Eagles, and induced first to become militantly ethnocentric, then intensely cooperative. Friction and stereotyping were stimulated by a tug-of-war, by frustrations perceived to be caused by the “out” group, and by separation from the others. Harmony was stimulated by close contact between previously hostile groups and by the introduction of goals that neither group could meet alone. The experiment demonstrated that conflict and enmity between groups can be transformed into cooperation and vice versa and that circumstances, goals, and external manipulation can alter behavior. Some have seen the findings of the experiment as having implications for reduction of hostility among racial and ethnic groups and among nations, while recognizing the difficulty of control of larger groups.

Intergroup Conflict and Cooperation. [Orig. pub. as Intergroup Conflict and Group Relations]

Muzafer Sherif

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