The Lost Boys: Inside Muzafer Sherif's Robbers Cave Experiment
by Gina Perry /
2018 / English / EPUB
457.3 KB Download
The fascinating true story of one of the most controversial
psychological experiments of the modern era - a real-life Lord of
the Flies. Competition. Prejudice. Discrimination. Conflict. In
1954, a group of boys attended a remote summer camp where they were
split into two groups, and forced to bully, harass, and demonise
members of the other group. The results would make history as one
of social psychology's classic studies: the Robbers Cave
experiment. Conducted at the height of the Cold War, officially the
experiment had a happy ending: the boys reconciled, and
psychologist Muzafer Sherif demonstrated that while hatred and
violence are powerful forces, so too are cooperation and harmony.
Today it is proffered as proof that under the right conditions
warring groups can make peace. Yet the true story of the
experiments is far more complex, and more chilling. In The Lost
Boys, Gina Perry explores the experiment and its consequences,
tracing the story of Sherif, a troubled outsider who struggled to
craft an experiment that would vanquish his personal demons.
Drawing on archival material and new interviews, Perry pieces
together a story of drama, mutiny, and intrigue that has never been
told before.
The fascinating true story of one of the most controversial
psychological experiments of the modern era - a real-life Lord of
the Flies. Competition. Prejudice. Discrimination. Conflict. In
1954, a group of boys attended a remote summer camp where they were
split into two groups, and forced to bully, harass, and demonise
members of the other group. The results would make history as one
of social psychology's classic studies: the Robbers Cave
experiment. Conducted at the height of the Cold War, officially the
experiment had a happy ending: the boys reconciled, and
psychologist Muzafer Sherif demonstrated that while hatred and
violence are powerful forces, so too are cooperation and harmony.
Today it is proffered as proof that under the right conditions
warring groups can make peace. Yet the true story of the
experiments is far more complex, and more chilling. In The Lost
Boys, Gina Perry explores the experiment and its consequences,
tracing the story of Sherif, a troubled outsider who struggled to
craft an experiment that would vanquish his personal demons.
Drawing on archival material and new interviews, Perry pieces
together a story of drama, mutiny, and intrigue that has never been
told before.