PSY 210 Chapter Notes - Chapter 13: Muzafer Sherif, Water Caltrop, Equity Theory
Document Summary
What creates conflict: social trap-a situation in which the conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing its self-interest, become caught in mutually destructive behavior. Prisoner"s dilemma and the tragedy of the commons: tragedy of the commons- the commons is any shared resource, including air, water, energy, and food supplies. In his famous experiments, muzafer sherif found that win-lose competition quickly made strangers into enemies, triggering outright warfare even among normally upstanding boys. When both sides believe we are peaceful they are hostile each may treat the other in ways that provoke confirmation of its expectations: conflicts also arise when people feel unjustly treated. According to equity theory, people define justice as the distribution of rewards in proportion to one"s contributions. Conflicts occur when people disagree on the extent of their contributions and thus on the equity of their outcomes. International conflicts are sometimes also fed by an evil leader-good people illusion.
