Sherif and Sherif's (1969)’s seminal work illustrated the realistic intergroup conflict theory which interprets prejudice as arising from competition for highly valued scarce resources. Thus a win or lose situation is created in which the boundaries surrounding the group are rigid. The experiment was conducted on two groups of 11-year-old boys in a camp setting. Initially, a strong bond and cohesiveness were seen within the groups due to their ignorance towards the other group's existence. Subsequently, competitive games were introduced whose rewards constituted scarce resources like pocket knives. This resulted in the uproar of intense negative feelings and physical aggression. In an attempt to eliminate the prejudice, it was discovered that mere contact did no good and instead ameliorated the hostility. Only when the groups were forced to cooperate to fulfill a common goal like restoring water supply, did the boundaries disappear. Now let us look at the correlation between m...
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