Muzafer Sherif (Turkish-American social psychologist) took two groups of 11 boys (all age 11) to Robbers Cave State Park in Oklahoma for "summer camp." The groups (named the "Eagles" and the "Rattles") spent a week apart, having fun together and bonding, with no knowledge of the existence of the other group. When the two groups finally got together, the boys started calling each other names, and when they started competing in various games, more conflicts began and eventually the groups refused to eat together. In the next phase of the research, Sherif designed experiments to try to balance the boys by having them enjoy leisure activities together (which was not successful) and then having them solve a problem together, which finally eased the conflict.
This explains many social behaviors we see today, mainly in school. Children come from all sorts of different backgrounds, which illustrates why they have a difficult time adjusting at a younger age because they don't try to relate to those who don't have the same similarities / interests. Thinking back to my elementary and middle school days, I can remember witnessing this a few times. Experiences? Thoughts?
http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/psychology/social/sherif_robbers_cave_experiment.html
This is very interesting. This can also sometimes happen with kids from our school and kids from another school, especially on sports teams.
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