Response to the Post of Student 1: Brandon Beaver - Essay Example

Therefore, little incentive can govern the collective effort other than the attainment of the collective goal. After the experiment, friendships may have been formed, some of which may even be lasting, but the group itself will probably not congregate again as a group. Quite perceptively, the post adheres to the necessity of intergroup conflict, stating that “Conflict is part of human nature”. The reason given for it, however, is ambiguous; it is doubtful how intergroup conflict can aid someone in identifying “the different elements in the workplace.

” The post is probably referring to the variety of learning experiences by which we are enriched – however, conflict is not an indispensable element in that. What conflict does is create an urgency, exert a pressure that expedites growth and adjustment. Kassin, S; Fein, S; & Markus, H R (2011) Social Psychology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Response to the post of Student 2: Leslie Gaines The post stated that the Robbers Cave study sought to determine the effects of prejudice. Actually, when the groups were formed, there was no existing pre-judgment, and the formation of the groups were controlled so that no common attributes existed that would differentiate one group from the other.

It was during the course of the experiment that the in-group and out-group sentiments were developed (Sherif, et al., 1954/1961). The post is right, however, where it says that the experiment placed an overemphasis on competition among peer groups, presumably referring to the second stage. However, the entire exercise is after all an experiment, and therefore because conditions are controlled to test only one or a limited set of variables, there will necessarily be an overemphasis on particular aspects of in-group and intergroup relationships which are not normally encountered in the normal course of events.

The very fact that groups are isolated in an environment away from family and friends already demonstrates an element of devised conditioning that abnormally enhances certain human reactions – much like the popular reality shows where participants are isolated in an island away from the familiar city life. It is enlightening to know, however, that Leslie is able to draw parallels between the reactions of groups under controlled conditions in this experiment, and the real reactions of her co-workers and herself in their organization.

This is proof positive that although artificially planned, the experiment’s findings are relevant to real life situations and may have important implications for application. Sherif, M., Harvey, O. J., White, B. J., Hood, W. R., & Sherif, C. W. (1954/1961). Intergroup conflict and cooperation: The robbers cave experiment. Response to the post of Student 3: Alexandra Banerjea Alexandra finds strong parallels between the events relating to the experiment, and personal childhood experiences and even a reality show on television.

This is testament to the insight and creativity that went into the design of the experiment, to the credit of the original researchers. From the account