Cooperative pursuit of shared goals builds positive intergroup relations

Evidence

Attainment of common goals should be an interdependent effort based on cooperation rather than competition. Sherif et al. (1961) demonstrated this principle in their famous Robbers’ Cave field study. These researchers cleverly devised barriers to such common goals as a planned picnic that could only be surmounted with the cooperation of both groups. The intergroup cooperation that then took place encouraged the development of positive relations between the groups. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1671

Categorization

• XREF: Robbers’ Cave is the classic empirical anchor for the ‘intergroup cooperation’ contact condition. — connects to: Status hierarchies form naturally whenever groups pursue shared goals — W. David Marx, Status and Culture: How Our Desire for…, 57; Cross-racial cooperation can succeed despite divergent motives and interests — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent: The Women’s…, 425