Definition
- Conflict: A disagreement or incompatibility between individuals or groups, ranging from prejudice to overt discriminatory behavior and bias.
- Conflict Resolution: Strategies aimed at reducing or eliminating intergroup conflict.
Origins of Conflict
Sociocultural Explanations
- Social identity theory (SIT): conflict originates from social categorization (in-group vs. out-group distinctions).
- Realistic group conflict theory (RGCT): conflict arises from incompatible goals and negative interdependence (one group’s success means another’s failure).
Biological Explanations
- Biological Correlations of Prejudice: certain brain structures and processes have been linked to prejudicial attitudes, which contribute to discrimination (a key aspect of conflict).
- Medial Prefrontal Cortex (mPFC): processes social information about others.
- Insula: linked to feelings of disgust in social judgments.
- Amygdala: plays a key role in fear-based emotional reactions
Conflict Resolution
Contact Theory
Allport’s Contact Hypothesis (1954) asserts that intergroup contact under specific conditions can reduce conflict and prejudice. Conflict can be reduced by:
- Increased contact.
- Equal Status.
- Possess shared goals
- Societal groups must endorse and support the interaction.
- Groups must work together rather than compete (cooperation).
- Individuals must have meaningful interpersonal interactions/friendships and see out-group members as individuals rather than stereotypes (avoiding social categorization).
Supporting Research:
- Sherif et al. demonstrated that conflict arises from competition (RGCT) but can be reduced through shared superordinate goals.
- Park & Rothbart demonstrated in-group bias leads to discrimination, supporting SIT.
Case study
Sherif et al. (1954):
Aim: To investigate the formation and resolution of intergroup conflict as well how competition for resources leads to hostility and whether working towards a shared goal reduces conflict.
Method:
- A field experiment conducted at Robbers Cave State Park, Oklahoma, where 22 boys (aged 11-12) from similar socio-economic backgrounds were randomly assigned to two groups: The Eagles and The Rattlers.
- The study had three phases:
- Group Formation – Boys participated in bonding activities within their own groups.
- Intergroup Conflict – Competitive games were introduced.
- Conflict Resolution – Superordinate goals (e.g., fixing a broken-down truck together) were introduced to encourage cooperation.
Results:
- Competition led to increased hostility, name-calling, and physical aggression.
- The boys favored their in-group and held negative stereotypes about the out-group.
- When superordinate goals were introduced, hostility decreased, and intergroup cooperation improved.
Conclusion: Conflict arises naturally when groups compete for resources and cooperation towards a shared goal can improve relations.
Evaluation:
- The study's findings support the Realistic Conflict Theory.
- The natural setting increases ecological validity, but results in a lack of control over extraneous variables.
- There are ethical concerns with participants experiencing psychological distress and deception.
- Participants cannot be generalized to other populations which results in a sampling bias.
Case study
Park & Rothbart (1982):
Aim: To investigate whether members of social groups perceive their own in-group as more diverse while perceiving out-groups as more similar (out-group homogeneity effect).
Method:
- 90 female college students (30 from each of three sororities) at the University of Oregon.
- Participants were given a questionnaire to rate their own sorority and two out-groups on 10 characteristics, including:
- Positive Traits: Studiousness, physical attractiveness, philanthropy, economic status, etc.
- Negative Traits: Partying, sexual activity.
- Ratings were given on a 7-point scale (0 = not at all characteristic, 7 = extremely characteristic).
- Participants also rated how similar members of each sorority were to one another (on a 9-point scale).
Results:
- Participants perceived their own sorority members as more diverse but viewed out-group members as more similar to one another.
- Participants rated positive characteristics as more common in their own sorority than in others.
- Two of the three sororities rated negative characteristics as more common in other sororities than in their own.
Conclusion: People favor their own group whilst negative traits are projected onto out-groups to maintain a positive in-group image.
Evaluation:
- Demonstrates in-group favoritism and discrimination against out-groups.
- Real-life social groups (sororities) were studied, making findings applicable to everyday social interactions.
- Only female college students were studied, limiting generalizability to men or other social groups.
- Participants may have responded in socially desirable ways rather than truthfully.
- The study only measured perception, not actual behaviors.
- Can’t establish causality.
Critical Thinking
- Strengths:
- Combines sociocultural and biological explanations, providing a better understanding of conflict and resolution.
- Insights from conflict resolution research are used in other applications.
- Limitations:
- Perspective-taking may not work in entrenched conflicts
- Resource scarcity is not always the primary driver as conflicts can also stem from ideological, historical, or systemic factors that are not strictly resource-based.
- Applications:
- Schools implement cooperative learning models to promote social integration
- Research influences diversity training, anti-discrimination policies, and workplace inclusion programs designed to reduce conflict and foster cooperation.
