What are social experiments?
I would simply define this as a psychological research where everyday experiences and situations are recreated in such a way as to study the whys and hows of human psychology, behavior and interaction.

In this post, I will only be expanding on the Robbers Cave Experiment to help us understand why groups and prejudices form so easily. It could be just about any rival groups but for the purpose of this forum and what seems to be an unending battle,let us liken it to the male vs female or the MGTOW vs feminist group rivalry.
The Robbers Cave Experiment was set up to understand why conflicts tend to occur between different groups. The researchers placed 22 boys between the ages of 11 and 12 in two groups at a camp in the Robbers Cave Park in Oklahoma. The boys were separated into two groups and spent the first week of the experiment bonding with their other group members. It wasn't until the second phase of the experiment that the children learned that there was another group, at which point the experimenters placed the two groups in direct competition with each other. This led to considerable discord, as the boys clearly favored their own group members while they disparaged the members of the other group.

The above is not news to us,we probably have seen it happen one too many times but WHY. The explanation for this is what psychologists call the Social Identity Theory.
This classic social psychology experiment shows how little excuse people need to form into groups and start discriminating against others. People’s behaviour in groups is fascinating and frequently disturbing. As soon as humans are bunched together in groups we start to do odd things: copy other members of our group, favour members of own group over others, look for a leader to worship and fight other groups. Some groups can be formed in an instant as long as there is common enemy or shared glory as seen too often on Nairaland. It may not necessarily be a male vs female issue, but just for the observation there is one person we may not like (even if of the same gender with us), our instinct is to support anyone on the opposite side of that person or persons we have a grudge with.

It seems impossible that people who stood together for only 30 seconds to look at a painting can be said to form a group in any measurable way. Surely it’s too fleeting, too ephemeral? This is exactly the type of question social psychologist Henry Tajfel and colleagues set out to answer.
They believed it was possible for a group, along with its attendant prejudices, to form at the drop of a hat. In fact they thought a group could form even when there was no face-to-face contact between members, none of the people knew each other and their ‘group’ behaviour had no practical consequences. In other words they had absolutely nothing to gain (or lose) from this barely existent group.

Social identity theory states that our identities are formed through the groups to which we belong. As a result we are motivated to improve the image and status of our own group in comparison with others. Tajfel and colleagues’ experiment shows that group membership is so important to us that we join the most ephemeral of groups with only the slightest prompting. We will then go out of our way to make our own group look better compared to others.

The simple fact of how important group membership is to us, and how easily we join groups, often without realising it, is both a subtle and profound observation about human nature.

CONCLUSION:
As hard as it may seem, it is important that we as individuals take a critical look at situations with objectivity to avoid going the petty route wherein we color our perspective using gender and personal prejudices. As far as personal experience goes, it is still just that, your personal experience and as far as prejudices go, it is still just that, a prejudice which may just exist solely in our heads.


Plenty thanks to the individual making use of the handle doitforyou/doitforu for giving me the motivation to post this,I truly appreciate it.
I am not your enemy and from the deepest ravines of my heart, i wish you happiness dear

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The reason isn't far-fetched; living life at the periphery of conventionalism - in this regard, placing objectivity over subjectivity and principle over expediency - entails imbibing altruism and conscientiousness. Things people who haven't emancipated morally (failure to self-conquest greed, selfishness and self-centeredness) and psychologically (conceitedness in particular) don't posses.

In summary, fair-mindedness (fairness) is a luxury small-minded people can't afford.

.

LordKO:
The reason isn't far-fetched; living life at the periphery of conventionalism - in this regard, placing objectivity over subjectivity and principle over expediency - entails imbibing altruism and conscientiousness. Things people who haven't emancipated morally (failure to self-conquest greed, selfishness and self-centeredness) and psychologically (conceitedness in particular) don't posses.

In summary, fair-mindedness (fairness) is a luxury small-minded people can't afford.

I knew you would not disappoint,thanks for this.

Small-mindedness is indeed the overall cause as you can see from the experiment being conducted using children. My guess is if adults were used, the results would have been quite distorted because knowing they were being studied, they would want to act contrary to what they would normally do. Altruism is truly a virtue

Breaststroke:
Missjo, lol why did you tag me?

Personally I don't like the group think, gender wars and debates, all over nairaland.

They quickly degenerate into vile, demeaning, bullying and toxic situations I'll rather avoid.

In my head, I'm like can't we just disagree and share opposing views without the insults, bashing and toxicity?

The South Africans treat us like shit, we come here and treat each other like shit as well. What are we doing to ourselves?

I have read some comments directed at other people, that made me feel bad, as if I was the one being insulted.

I come here for the comic relief, destressor and anonymous social interaction benefits. Anything more than that, I won't participate or engage.

Yet you restrained yourself from responding in such an antagonizing way that would have made your hurt visible in your response.
And that is essentially why i tagged you here, I saw your comment on the mgtow thread and it stood out (i loved it) amidst the emotionally charged posts coming from both sides.

.

@missjo,

Thanks for the mention.

That MGTOW thread is birthing another thread in my mind inspired by some of your posts.

@OP
I believe that prejudice and biases are natural and one of the major tools used to preserve cultures and civilizations in time past. Even today where the world is a global village, we still watch our kids' friends, pick friends that reflect our own values, join groups and communities that resonate with our values, pick the practical part of our religion best suited to us.

Also, most people are not taught to respect differences and see their own group as the 'best' or 'right one.' Hello religion!

As you rightly noted, we need to learn to respect the differences of others. We will still be biased however relate with others respectably.

Breaststroke:


Sweetheart, if I don't restrain myself I will get sucked into the very mess I don't like or want in the first place.

The MGTOW thread wasn't even the thread, where some vile comments touched me it was another one. Believe me I wanted to intervene for the person being attacked, but at the time I didn't have a registered account.

And when you go to bat for someone else, the bullies/abusers gang up against you, making you the new target. Unfortunately my vocabulary is limited when it comes to insults & vileness, the time and energy it also takes to engage on that level - I just don't have it.

Bullying is often a sign of low self-esteem.

So many people need to re-validate their choices to others so are either timid or bully in face of opposition.

.

bukatyne:
@missjo,

Thanks for the mention.

That MGTOW thread is birthing another thread in my mind inspired by some of your posts.

@OP
I believe that prejudice and biases are natural and one of the major tools used to preserve cultures and civilizations in time past. Even today where the world is a global village, we still watch our kids' friends, pick friends that reflect our own values, join groups and communities that resonate with our values, pick the practical part of our religion best suited to us.

Also, most people are not taught to respect differences and see their own group as the 'best' or 'right one.' Hello religion!

As you rightly noted, we need to learn to respect the differences of others. We will still be biased however relate with others respectably.

I agree, although in addition (my opinion), i believe we can consciously investigate our own biases and prejudices to better understand other groups instead of just sticking to what we think we know so unwaveringly.

Breaststroke:


Sweetheart, if I don't restrain myself I will get sucked into the very mess I don't like or want in the first place.

The MGTOW thread wasn't even the thread, where some vile comments touched me it was another one. Believe me I wanted to intervene for the person being attacked, but at the time I didn't have a registered account.

And when you go to bat for someone else, the bullies/abusers gang up against you, making you the new target. Unfortunately my vocabulary is limited when it comes to insults & vileness, the time and energy it also takes to engage on that level - I just don't have it.

Lol, your last paragraph is all too common here. I myself am a target it now seems.
Thanks for your input my dear

Magnoliaa:
Okay. Learnt something here.

I just want to add - you concluded in the last sentence that personal experiences and prejudices are just that, nothing more - that doesn't invalidate or make them less true or real (in the world).

Lol,sorry this came late.

Yes personal experiences and prejudices are real, but they are subjectively real ONLY to the person holding them. This is what i meant by 'just that'.

Hmmmmn. MizzJo.