Gina Perry, author of "The Lost Boys: Inside Muzafer Sherif's Robbers Cave Experiment," dives into the infamous 1954 study that examined group dynamics among boys at summer camp. She reveals how innocent competitions escalated into conflict, mirroring themes akin to William Golding's "Lord of the Flies." The discussion also uncovers the researchers' hidden agendas and ethical concerns, along with surprising outcomes where the boys united against manipulation rather than competing. Perry's insights challenge long-held perceptions of tribalism in human nature.
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insights INSIGHT
Children as a Mirror to Humanity
Golding and Sherif believed children, being less socialized, represent raw human nature.
Both were influenced by their war experiences, Golding as a soldier and Sherif through lifelong exposure to conflict.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Golding's Real-Life Lord of the Flies
William Golding, author of Lord of the Flies, divided his students into two groups and instructed one to attack and the other to defend.
The resulting violence shocked Golding, reinforcing his pessimistic view of human nature.
insights INSIGHT
Summer Camps: A Living Laboratory
Summer camps became a natural laboratory for psychologists studying child development.
Post-WWII, the focus shifted to using summer camps to instill democratic values like teamwork and leadership.
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In 'Lord of the Flies', William Golding tells the story of a group of British schoolboys who are stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes. The novel follows their attempts to govern themselves and the gradual descent into chaos and savagery. The story is an allegory that explores themes of human nature, morality, leadership, and the fragility of civilization. Key characters include Ralph, who represents order and democracy; Jack, who symbolizes power and violence; and Piggy, the voice of reason. The novel highlights the tension between the desire for civilization and the primal savagery that lies beneath the surface of human society.
The Lost Boys
Gina Perry
Gina Perry's book, 'The Lost Boys: Inside Muzafer Sherif's Robbers Cave Experiment', delves into the history and implications of Sherif's study. It critiques the experiment's methodology and ethics, highlighting how Sherif's personal biases influenced the results. The book also explores the long-term effects on the boys who participated, many of whom were unaware they were part of a psychological study until decades later.
In the summer of 1954, two groups of 8- to 11-year-old boys were taken to a summer camp in Oklahoma and pitted against each other in competitions for prizes. What started out as typical games of baseball and tug-of-war turned into violent night raids and fistfights, proving that humans in groups form tribal identities that create conflict.
This is the basic outline of a research study many are still familiar with today: the Robbers Cave experiment. But it's only one part of the story.
My guest dug into the archival notes of this famous and controversial social experiment to find unknown and unreported details behind what really happened and why. Her name is Gina Perry and her book is The Lost Boys: Inside Muzafer Sherif's Robbers Cave Experiment. We begin our conversation by discussing what the Robbers Cave experiment purported to show and the influence the experiment has had on social psychology since. We then discuss the similarities between head researcher Muzafer Sherif's ideas about the behavior of boys in groups with those of William Golding, author of Lord of the Flies, and how both men's ideas were influenced by their personal experiences in war. We also dig into the general connection between children's summer camps and psychological studies in the 19th century. Then turning to the Robbers Cave experiment itself, Gina shares how that experiment wasn't Sherif's first attempt at this kind of field study, and how it had been preceded by another experiment in which the boys turned on the researchers. She describes how Sherif and his assistants attempted to get different results at Robbers Cave by goading the boys into greater conflict and how they got the boys to reconcile after whipping them up into a competitive frenzy. At the end of our conversation, Gina talks about finding the boys who were in the experiment and what these now grown men thought of the experience, and we discuss whether or not there's anything to be learned from Robbers Cave on the nature of group conflict.
The Art of Manliness 
