[1] The idea was proposed by social psychologist Muzafer Sherif in his experiments on intergroup relations, run in the 1940s and 1950s, as a way of reducing conflict between competing groups.
This approach has been applied in many contexts to reduce intergroup conflict, including in classrooms[3] and business organizations.
[5] Superordinate goals were first described and proposed as a solution to intergroup conflict by social psychologist Muzafer Sherif.
He studied conflict by creating a boys' summer camp for his Robbers Cave experiments.
[1] He had also tried to unite both groups against a common enemy, an outside summer camp, in an early version of the experiment.
However, this was deemed an inadequate solution as this simply created a new conflict between the new group and the common enemy.
[2] Under realistic conflict theory, prejudice and discrimination are functional, because groups are tools used to achieve goals, including obtaining scarce resources that would be difficult to get as an individual.
[8] Superordinate goals can create positive interdependence if they are seen as desirable by both groups but are not achievable by each faction independently.
[13] In fact, superordinate goals work best to reduce intergroup conflict when both groups consider themselves subgroups that have a shared identity and a common fate.
It is considered to be more effective to have members of each group playing complementary roles in the achievement of the goal,[11] although the evidence to support this idea is mixed.
[16][12] Some also argue that with an absence of trust, the prospect of working together to achieve a mutual goal may not serve to bring groups to a superordinate identity.
[14] Superordinate goals have been applied to multiple types of situations in order to reduce conflict between groups.
[19] Aronson used group projects in elementary school classrooms as a way to get white and black children to work together and reduce discrimination.
[1] They specify that in a business context, the superordinate goals must be attractive to both parties in the organization or negotiation setting.
Blake and Mouton also suggest that superordinate goals will often be a consequence of their intergroup problem-solving model.
[15] Herbert Kelman applied superordinate goals to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to improve relations between members of the two groups.
[21] He created problem-solving workshops where Israelis and Palestinians were encouraged to solve together the problems given to them as well as to interact in a positive atmosphere.