The Art of Manliness

By The Art of Manliness

#568: The Untold Story Behind the Famous Robbers Cave Experiment

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Published December 11, 2019 12:47pm

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...

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