Camps, conflict and collectivism

摘要

Sixty years ago, Muzafer Sherif conducted his Robbers Cave Boys' Camp study - one of the most significant psychological experiments ever conducted. The collection of articles in this special feature examine why those studies - and Sherif's larger body of work - remain of enduring significance. To begin, we provide an overview of the conceptual, methodological and societal implications of Sherif's work. Three further articles then address his life and how it affected his ideas; the experience of the boys in the camps; and the importance of the studies in understanding the collective dimension of behaviour.