Interdependent cooperation toward common goals reduces intergroup prejudice

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. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 1671

Categorization

• XREF: Robbers’ Cave connects to the broader experimental literature on group conflict and superordinate goals, and to realistic group conflict theory. — connects to: Mingling across classes in shared pursuits dissolves prejudice between groups — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 51; Cross-racial cooperation can succeed despite divergent motives and interests — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent: The Women’s…, 425