Realistic conflict theory

Last updated

Realistic conflict theory (RCT), also known as realistic group conflict theory (RGCT), [1] [2] is a social psychological model of intergroup conflict. [3] The theory explains how intergroup hostility can arise as a result of conflicting goals and competition over limited resources, and it also offers an explanation for the feelings of prejudice and discrimination toward the outgroup that accompany the intergroup hostility. [1] [3] [4] Groups may be in competition for a real or perceived scarcity of resources such as money, political power, military protection, or social status. [1]

Contents

Feelings of resentment can arise in the situation that the groups see the competition over resources as having a zero-sums fate, in which only one group is the winner (obtained the needed or wanted resources) and the other loses (unable to obtain the limited resource due to the "winning" group achieving the limited resource first). [1] [2] The length and severity of the conflict is based upon the perceived value and shortage of the given resource. [1] [3] According to RCT, positive relations can only be restored if superordinate goals are in place. [1]

Concept

History

The theory was officially named by Donald Campbell, but has been articulated by others since the middle of the 20th century. [5] [6] In the 1960s, this theory developed from Campbell's recognition of social psychologists' tendency to reduce all human behavior to hedonistic goals. He criticized psychologists like John Thibaut, Harold Kelley, and George Homans, who emphasized theories that place food, sex, and pain avoidance as central to all human processes. According to Campbell, hedonistic assumptions do not adequately explain intergroup relations. [5] [7] [8] Campbell believed that these social exchange theorists oversimplified human behavior by likening interpersonal interaction to animal behavior. [5] Similar to the ideas of Campbell, other researchers also began recognizing a problem in the psychological understanding of intergroup behavior. [7] [8] These researchers noted that prior to Campbell, social exchange theorists ignored the essence of social psychology and the importance of interchanges between groups. [7] To the contrary of prior theories, RCT takes into account the sources of conflict between groups, which include, incompatible goals and competition over limited resources. [1] [5]

Robbers Cave study

The 1954 Robbers Cave experiment (or Robbers Cave study) by Muzafer Sherif and Carolyn Wood Sherif represents one of the most widely known demonstrations of RCT. [4] The Sherifs' study was conducted over three weeks in a 200-acre summer camp in Robbers Cave State Park, Oklahoma, focusing on intergroup behavior. [3] In this study, researchers posed as camp personnel, observing 22 eleven- and twelve-year-old boys who had never previously met and had comparable backgrounds (each subject was a white eleven to twelve-year-old boy of average to slightly above average intelligence from a Protestant, middle-class, two-parent home). [3] [8]

The experiments were conducted within the framework of regular camp activities and games. The experiment was divided into three stages. The first stage being "in-group formation", in which upon arrival the boys were housed together in one large bunkhouse. The boys quickly formed particular friendships. After a few days the boys were split randomly into two approximately equal groups. Each group was unaware of the other group's presence. The second stage was the "friction phase", wherein the groups were entered into competition with one another in various camp games. Valued prizes were awarded to the winners. This caused both groups to develop negative attitudes and behaviors towards the outgroup. At this stage 93% of the boys' friendship was within their in-group. The third and final stage was the "integration stage". During this stage, tensions between the groups were reduced through teamwork-driven tasks that required intergroup cooperation. [8]

The Sherifs made several conclusions based on the three-stage Robbers Cave experiment. [3] [8] From the study, they determined that because the groups were created to be approximately equal, individual differences are not necessary or responsible for intergroup conflict to occur. [8] As seen in the study when the boys were competing in camp games for valued prizes, the Sherifs noted that hostile and aggressive attitudes toward an outgroup arise when groups compete for resources that only one group can attain. [7] [8] The Sherifs also established that contact with an outgroup is insufficient, by itself, to reduce negative attitudes. [8] Finally, they concluded that friction between groups can be reduced and positive intergroup relations can be maintained, only in the presence of superordinate goals that promote united, cooperative action. [3] [8]

However a further review of the Robbers Cave experiments, which were in fact a series of three separate experiments carried out by the Sherifs and colleagues, reveals additional deliberations. In two earlier studies the boys ganged up on a common enemy, and in fact on occasion ganged up on the experimenters themselves showing an awareness of being manipulated. [9] In addition, Michael Billig argues that the experimenters themselves constitute a third group, and one that is arguably the most powerful of the three, and that they in fact become the outgroup in the aforementioned experiment. [10]

Lutfy Diab repeated the experiment with 18 boys from Beirut. The 'Blue Ghost' and 'Red Genies' groups each contained 5 Christians and 4 Muslims. Fighting soon broke out, not between the Christians and Muslims but between the Red and Blue groups. [11]

Extensions and applications

Implications for diversity and integration

RCT offers an explanation for negative attitudes toward racial integration and efforts to promote diversity. [2] [12] This is illustrated in the data collected from the Michigan National Election Studies survey. According to the survey, most whites held negative attitudes toward school districts' attempts to integrate schools via school busing in the 1970s. In these surveys, there was a general perceived threat that whites had of African Americans. [12] It can be concluded that, contempt towards racial integration was due to a perception of blacks as a danger to valued lifestyles, goals, and resources, rather than symbolic racism or prejudice attitudes formulated during childhood. [1] [12]

RCT can also provide an explanation for why competition over limited resources in communities can present potentially harmful consequences in establishing successful organizational diversity. [6] In the workplace, this is depicted by the concept that increased racial heterogeneity among employees is associated with job dissatisfaction among majority members. [6] [13] Since organizations are affixed in the communities to which their employees belong, the racial makeup of employees' communities affect attitudes toward diversity in the workplace. [6] [14] As racial heterogeneity increases in a white community, white employees are less accepting of workplace diversity. [6] RCT provides an explanation of this pattern because in communities of mixed races, members of minority groups are seen as competing for economic security, power, and prestige with the majority group.

RCT can help explain discrimination against different ethnic and racial groups. [15] An example of this is shown in cross-cultural studies that determined that violence between different groups escalates in relationship to shortages in resources. [2] [15] When a group has a notion that resources are limited and only available for possession by one group, this leads to attempts to remove the source of competition. [15] Groups can attempt to remove their competition by increasing their group's capabilities (e.g., skill training), decreasing the abilities of the outgroup's competition (e.g., expressing negative attitudes or applying punitive tariffs), or by decreasing proximity to the outgroup (e.g., denying immigrant access). [1] [15]

An extension to unequal groups

Realistic conflict theory originally only described the results of competition between two groups of equal status. [2] [16] John Duckitt suggests that the theory be expanded to include competition between groups of unequal status. To demonstrate this, Duckitt created a scheme of types of realistic conflict with groups of unequal status and their resulting correlation with prejudice. [16]

Duckitt concluded that there are at least two types of conflict based on ingroups competition with an outgroup. [16] The first is 'competition with an equal group' and is explained by realistic conflict theory. [3] [16] Thus being, group-based threat that leads ingroup members to feel hostile towards the outgroup which can lead to conflict as the ingroup focuses on acquiring the threatened resource. [1] [3] [16] The second type of conflict is 'domination of the outgroup by the ingroup'. This occurs when the ingroup and outgroup do not have equal status. If domination occurs, there are two responses the subordinate group may have. One is stable oppression, in which the subordinate group accepts the dominating group's attitudes on some focal issue and sometimes, the dominant group's deeper values to avoid further conflict. The second response that may occur is unstable oppression. This occurs when the subordinate group rejects the lower status forced upon them, and sees the dominating group as oppressive. The dominant group then may view the subordinates' challenge as either justified or unjustified. If it is seen as unjustified, the dominant group will likely respond to the subordinates' rebellion with hostility. If the subordinates' rebellion is viewed as justified, the subordinates are given the power to demand change. [16] An example of this would be the eventual recognition of the civil rights movement in the 1960s in the United States. [7] [17]

An extension to nations

When group conflict extends to nations or tribes, Regality Theory argues that the collective danger leads citizens to start having strong feelings of national or tribal identity, preferring strong, hierarchical political system, adopting strict discipline and punishment of deviants, and expressing xenophobia and strict religious and sexual morality. [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prejudice</span> Attitudes based on preconceived categories

Prejudice can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived evaluation or classification of another person based on that person's perceived personal characteristics, such as political affiliation, sex, gender, gender identity, beliefs, values, social class, age, disability, religion, sexuality, race, ethnicity, language, nationality, culture, complexion, beauty, height, body weight, occupation, wealth, education, criminality, sport-team affiliation, music tastes or other perceived characteristics.

Group dynamics is a system of behaviors and psychological processes occurring within a social group, or between social groups. The study of group dynamics can be useful in understanding decision-making behaviour, tracking the spread of diseases in society, creating effective therapy techniques, and following the emergence and popularity of new ideas and technologies. These applications of the field are studied in psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science, epidemiology, education, social work, leadership studies, business and managerial studies, as well as communication studies.

In-group favoritism, sometimes known as in-group–out-group bias, in-group bias, intergroup bias, or in-group preference, is a pattern of favoring members of one's in-group over out-group members. This can be expressed in evaluation of others, in allocation of resources, and in many other ways.

Social dominance orientation (SDO) is a personality trait measuring an individual's support for social hierarchy and the extent to which they desire their in-group be superior to out-groups. SDO is conceptualized under social dominance theory as a measure of individual differences in levels of group-based discrimination; that is, it is a measure of an individual's preference for hierarchy within any social system and the domination over lower-status groups. It is a predisposition toward anti-egalitarianism within and between groups.

Carolyn Wood Sherif (1922–1982) was an American social psychologist who helped to develop social judgment theory and contributed pioneering research in the areas of the self-system, group conflict, cooperation, and gender identity. She also assumed a leading role in psychology both nationally as well as internationally. In addition to performing seminal social psychology research, Wood Sherif devoted herself to teaching her students and was recognized for her efforts with an American Psychological Association award named in her honor that is presented annually.

In psychology and other social sciences, the contact hypothesis suggests that intergroup contact under appropriate conditions can effectively reduce prejudice between majority and minority group members. Following WWII and the desegregation of the military and other public institutions, policymakers and social scientists had turned an eye towards the policy implications of interracial contact. Of them, social psychologist Gordon Allport united early research in this vein under intergroup contact theory.

In social psychology, superordinate goals are goals that are worth completing but require two or more social groups to cooperatively achieve. The idea was proposed by social psychologist Muzafer Sherif in his experiments on intergroup relations, run in the 1940s and 1950s, as a way of reducing conflict between competing groups. Sherif's idea was to downplay the two separate group identities and encourage the two groups to think of themselves as one larger, superordinate group. This approach has been applied in many contexts to reduce intergroup conflict, including in classrooms and business organizations. However, it has also been critiqued by other social psychologists who have proposed competing theories of intergroup conflict, such as contact theory and social categorization theory.

Social dominance theory (SDT) is a social psychological theory of intergroup relations that examines the caste-like features of group-based social hierarchies, and how these hierarchies remain stable and perpetuate themselves. According to the theory, group-based inequalities are maintained through three primary mechanisms: institutional discrimination, aggregated individual discrimination, and behavioral asymmetry. The theory proposes that widely shared cultural ideologies provide the moral and intellectual justification for these intergroup behaviors by serving to make privilege normal. For data collection and validation of predictions, the social dominance orientation (SDO) scale was composed to measure acceptance of and desire for group-based social hierarchy, which was assessed through two factors: support for group-based dominance and generalized opposition to equality, regardless of the ingroup's position in the power structure.

Social identity is the portion of an individual's self-concept derived from perceived membership in a relevant social group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stereotype</span> Generalized but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing

In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example, an expectation about the group's personality, preferences, appearance or ability. Stereotypes are often overgeneralized, inaccurate, and resistant to new information. A stereotype does not necessarily need to be a negative assumption. They may be positive, neutral, or negative.

In social psychology, collective narcissism is the tendency to exaggerate the positive image and importance of a group to which one belongs. The group may be defined by ideology, race, political beliefs/stance, religion, sexual orientation, social class, language, nationality, employment status, education level, cultural values, or any other ingroup. While the classic definition of narcissism focuses on the individual, collective narcissism extends this concept to similar excessively high opinions of a person's social group, and suggests that a group can function as a narcissistic entity.

The imagined contact hypothesis is an extension of the contact hypothesis, a theoretical proposition centred on the psychology of prejudice and prejudice reduction. It was originally developed by Richard J. Crisp and Rhiannon N. Turner and proposes that the mental simulation, or imagining, of a positive social interaction with an outgroup member can lead to increased positive attitudes, greater desire for social contact, and improved group dynamics. Empirical evidence supporting the imagined contact hypothesis demonstrates its effectiveness at improving explicit and implicit attitudes towards and intergroup relations with a wide variety of stigmatized groups including religious minorities, the mentally ill, ethnic minorities, sexual minorities, and obese individuals. Researchers have identified a number of factors that influence the effectiveness of the imagined contact hypothesis including vividness of the imagery and how typical the imagined outgroup individual is. While some researchers question the effectiveness of the imagined contact hypothesis, empirical evidence does suggest it is effective at improving attitudes towards outgroups.

Intergroup anxiety is the social phenomenon identified by Walter and Cookie Stephan in 1985 that describes the ambiguous feelings of discomfort or anxiety when interacting with members of other groups. Such emotions also constitute intergroup anxiety when one is merely anticipating interaction with members of an outgroup. Expectations that interactions with foreign members of outgroups will result in an aversive experience is believed to be the cause of intergroup anxiety, with an affected individual being anxious or unsure about a number of issues. Methods of reducing intergroup anxiety and stress including facilitating positive intergroup contact.

The common ingroup identity model is a theoretical model proposed by Samuel L. Gaertner and John F. Dovidio that outlines the processes through which intergroup bias may be reduced. Intergroup bias is a preference for one's in-group over the out-group. Derived from the social identity approach to intergroup behaviour, the common ingroup identity model is rooted in the process of social categorization, or how people conceive of group boundaries. The model describes how intergroup bias can be reduced if members of different groups can be induced to conceive of themselves to be part of the same group, then they would develop more positive attitudes of the former outgroup members. An individual will change the way they view the out-group through a social categorization process called recategorization where former out-group members become incorporated into individual's representations of the in-group.

There is a great deal of research on the factors that lead to the formation of prejudiced attitudes and beliefs. There is also a lot of research on the consequences of holding prejudiced beliefs and being the target of such beliefs. It is true that advances have been made in understanding the nature of prejudice. A consensus on how to end prejudice has yet to be established, but there are a number of scientifically examined strategies that have been developed in attempt to solve this social issue.

Integrated threat theory (ITT), also known as intergroup threat theory, is a theory in psychology and sociology which attempts to describe the components of perceived threat that lead to prejudice between social groups. The theory applies to any social group that may feel threatened in some way, whether or not that social group is a majority or minority group in their society. This theory deals with perceived threat rather than actual threat. Perceived threat includes all of the threats that members of group believe they are experiencing, regardless of whether those threats actually exist. For example, people may feel their economic well-being is threatened by an outgroup stealing their jobs even if, in reality, the outgroup has no effect on their job opportunities. Still, their perception that their job security is under threat can increase their levels of prejudice against the outgroup. Thus, even false alarms about threat still have "real consequence" for prejudice between groups.

Intergroup relations refers to interactions between individuals in different social groups, and to interactions taking place between the groups themselves collectively. It has long been a subject of research in social psychology, political psychology, and organizational behavior.

In social psychology, a metastereotype is a stereotype that members of one group have about the way in which they are stereotypically viewed by members of another group. In other words, it is a stereotype about a stereotype. They have been shown to have adverse effects on individuals that hold them, including on their levels of anxiety in interracial conversations. Meta-stereotypes held by African Americans regarding the stereotypes White Americans have about them have been found to be largely both negative and accurate. People portray meta-stereotypes of their ingroup more positively when talking to a member of an outgroup than to a fellow member of their ingroup.

Muzafer Sherif was a Turkish-American social psychologist. He helped develop social judgment theory and realistic conflict theory.

Diversity ideology refers to individual beliefs regarding the nature of intergroup relations and how to improve them in culturally diverse societies. A large amount of scientific literature in social psychology studies diversity ideologies as prejudice reduction strategies, most commonly in the context of racial groups and interracial interactions. In research studies on the effects of diversity ideology, social psychologists have either examined endorsement of a diversity ideology as individual difference or used situational priming designs to activate the mindset of a particular diversity ideology. It is consistently shown that diversity ideologies influence how individuals perceive, judge and treat cultural outgroup members. Different diversity ideologies are associated with distinct effects on intergroup relations, such as stereotyping and prejudice, intergroup equality, and intergroup interactions from the perspectives of both majority and minority group members. Beyond intergroup consequences, diversity ideology also has implications on individual outcomes, such as whether people are open to cultural fusion and foreign ideas, which in turn predict creativity.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Jackson, Jay W (1993). "Realistic Group Conflict Theory: A Review and Evaluation of the Theoretical and Empirical Literature". Psychological Record. 43 (3): 395–415.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Baumeister, R.F. & Vohs, K.D. (2007). "Realistic Group Conflict Theory". Encyclopedia of Social Psychology. 2: 725–726.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Sidanius, J. & Pratto, F. (1999). Social Dominance: An Intergroup Theory of Social Hierarchy and Oppression. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 17–18.
  4. 1 2 Whitley, B.E. & Kite, M.E. (2010). The Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. pp. 325–330.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Campbell, D.T. (1965). Ethnocentric and Other Altruistic Motives. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. pp. 283–311.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Brief, Arthur P.; Umphress, E.E.; Dietz, J.; Butz, R.; Burrows, J.; Schoelten, L. (2005). "Community Matters: Realistic Group Conflict Theory and the Impact of Diversity". Academy of Management Journal. 48 (5): 830–844. doi:10.5465/amj.2005.18803925.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Sherif, Muzafer (1966). In Common Predicament: Social Psychology of Intergroup Conflict and Cooperation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. pp. 24–61.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Sherif, M.; Harvey, O.J.; White, B.J.; Hood, W. & Sherif, C.W. (1961). Intergroup Conflict and Cooperation: The Robbers Cave Experiment . Norman, OK: The University Book Exchange. pp.  155–184.
  9. ↑ Cherry, F. (1995). The 'stubborn particulars' of social psychology: Essays on the research process. Florence, KY.: Taylor & Francis/Routledge. p. 132.
  10. ↑ Billig, M. (1976). Social psychology and intergroup relations. Cambridge, MA.: Academic Press. p. 428.
  11. ↑ Berreby, David (2006). Us and Them. Hutchinson. p. 178.
  12. 1 2 3 Bobo, Lawrence (1983). "Whites' Opposition to Busing: Symbolic Racism or Realistic Group Conflict?". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 45 (6): 1196–1210. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.45.6.1196.
  13. ↑ Tsui, A.S.; Egan. T.D. & O'Reilly, C.A. (1992). "Being Different: Relational Demography and Organizational Attachment". Administrative Science Quarterly. 37 (4): 549–579. doi:10.2307/2393472. JSTOR   2393472.
  14. ↑ Scott, W.R. (1992). Organizations: Rational, Natural, and Open Systems. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. pp. 194–216.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Esses, V.M.; Jackson, L.M. & Armstrong, T.L. (1998). "Intergroup Competition and Attitudes Toward Immigrants and Immigration: An Instrumental Model of Group Conflict". Journal of Social Issues. 54 (4): 699–724. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1998.tb01244.x.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Duckitt, J. (1994). The Social Psychology of Prejudice. Westport, CT.: Prager. pp. 157–179.
  17. ↑ Allport, G.W. (1954). The Nature of Prejudice . Cambridge, MA: Addison-Wesley. pp.  17–28. ISBN   9780201001754.
  18. ↑ Fog, Agner (2017). Warlike and Peaceful Societies: The Interaction of Genes and Culture. Open Book Publishers. doi: 10.11647/OBP.0128 . ISBN   978-1-78374-403-9.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.