Evaluation of Robbers Cave

Generalisability is limited as only boys were used in the study therefore the sample may be gender biased, meaning the results may not be representative of how females would react in a similar group situation. This may also be supported by the fact that Sherif selected boys who were believed to have good athletic ability and were keen on sport. This could explain the degree of conflict between the boys, as they may have been naturally competitive. Therefore, the behaviour from the sample may not be representative of those who do not have a similar sporting drive.

There were controls, such as the careful sampling of the boys and the briefing of observers so they all followed the same procedures. This meant that cause-and-effect conclusions could be drawn more justifiably than when observing naturally-occurring groups. This is because we can be more certain that it is the activities that the researchers introduced and the way that they manipulated the groups that caused the behaviour of the boys, as other extraneous variables were reasonably controlled.

Interviews with some of the boys after the experiment suggest that they were aware of…