What is realistic conflict theory in simple terms?

It holds that when groups compete for limited resources such as jobs or money, they come to dislike and be prejudiced against each other. Conversely, when they share a goal that can only be reached together, conflict declines.

What was the Robbers Cave experiment?

At a 1954 boys' camp, two groups became hostile when made to compete, and their conflict declined when they were given tasks that could only be solved by cooperating. It is a leading piece of evidence for realistic conflict theory.

Realistic Conflict Theory

🧠 Psychology By CampusDown Wiki Editorial Team Last updated October 27, 2026

Realistic conflict theory is a social psychological theory holding that prejudice and hostility arise when groups compete for scarce resources such as land, jobs, money or power. It became widely known through Muzafer Sherif's Robbers Cave experiment in the 1950s and was named and systematized by Donald Campbell in 1965. It locates the causes of intergroup conflict in real conflicts of interest between groups rather than in individual personality, and holds that shared goals can reduce conflict.

Contents

1. Core of the theory
2. Robbers Cave and superordinate goals
3. Extensions and critiques
4. FAQ
5. References

Core of the theory

According to realistic conflict theory, when group goals conflict so that one group's gain is another's loss, hostility and prejudice develop. When goals are interdependent and can be achieved only through cooperation, friendly relations develop. Campbell (1965) called this realistic group conflict theory and organized it into hypotheses: real conflicts of interest produce perceived threat, and perceived threat strengthens ingroup solidarity and outgroup hostility. Unlike explanations of the time that treated prejudice as a matter of personality or displaced frustration, the theory emphasized objective relations between groups.

Robbers Cave and superordinate goals

In 1954, at a summer camp in Robbers Cave State Park, Oklahoma, Sherif and colleagues (1961) divided 22 boys aged 11 and 12 into two groups. Each group first lived separately and developed its own name and norms. When competitive activities such as tug-of-war and baseball, with prizes only for winners, were introduced, hostility escalated into name-calling, flag burning and cabin raids. Mere contact, such as eating meals or watching films together, did not reduce the conflict. But when the groups were given superordinate goals that could be achieved only together, such as repairing a broken water supply or pulling a stuck truck, hostility fell sharply (Sherif, 1958). These results also influenced later research on the contact hypothesis.

Extensions and critiques

Bobo (1983) argued that white Americans' opposition to busing for school desegregation was related more to realistic group interests than to symbolic racism, and Esses, Jackson and Armstrong (1998) reported that perceived competition for resources increases negative attitudes toward immigrants. Riek, Mania and Gaertner (2006) published a meta-analysis showing that perceived intergroup threats, including realistic and symbolic threats, are related to outgroup attitudes. However, social identity theory showed that ingroup favoritism can arise merely from being divided into groups, without competition for resources, indicating that realistic conflict alone cannot explain all prejudice. Brewer (1999) argued that ingroup love and outgroup hate are distinct, and that favoritism can turn into hostility under competition and threat.

FAQ

What is realistic conflict theory in simple terms?: It holds that when groups compete for limited resources such as jobs or money, they come to dislike and be prejudiced against each other. Conversely, when they share a goal that can only be reached together, conflict declines.
What was the Robbers Cave experiment?: At a 1954 boys' camp, two groups became hostile when made to compete, and their conflict declined when they were given tasks that could only be solved by cooperating. It is a leading piece of evidence for realistic conflict theory.

Sources reviewed: 2026-10-26

References

Sherif, M. (1958). Superordinate goals in the reduction of intergroup conflict. American Journal of Sociology, 63(4), 349–356. Superordinate goals reduce intergroup conflict — the theory's key remedy.
Sherif, M., Harvey, O. J., White, B. J., Hood, W. R., & Sherif, C. W. (1961). Intergroup Conflict and Cooperation: The Robbers Cave Experiment. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Book Exchange. The full report of the Robbers Cave experiment.
Campbell, D. T. (1965). Ethnocentric and other altruistic motives. In D. Levine (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation (Vol. 13, pp. 283–311). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. Named and systematized realistic group conflict theory.
Bobo, L. (1983). Whites' opposition to busing: Symbolic racism or realistic group conflict? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45(6), 1196–1210. Busing opposition as group interest rather than symbolic racism.
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. Perceived competition shapes attitudes toward immigrants.
Brewer, M. B. (1999). The psychology of prejudice: Ingroup love and outgroup hate? Journal of Social Issues, 55(3), 429–444. Ingroup love is not the same as outgroup hate.
Riek, B. M., Mania, E. W., & Gaertner, S. L. (2006). Intergroup threat and outgroup attitudes: A meta-analytic review. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10(4), 336–353. A meta-analysis of realistic and symbolic threat effects.

Reports and materials that use this theory (Korean)

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This article was last updated on October 27, 2026. It is based on widely recognized original works and textbooks; when citing it in a paper, please check the original sources listed in the references.