Activity: Tribalism and the Dangers of Us vs Them

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Subjects: Science, Language Arts, Digital Media Literacy, Social Studies, Critical Thinking, Logic

Grade Levels: Middle school, High school, College

Lesson Length: 60 minutes

Overview: This lesson raises awareness about tribalism, the human tendency to form groups and favor our in-groups over out-groups. In this engaging activity, students are divided into groups and asked to allocate rewards to their in-group and out-group members. By experiencing and acting on their social identities, students learn to recognize the negative impacts of tribalism.

Learning Objectives:

• Students will recognize the human tendency towards tribalism and its potential dangers.
• Students will understand how social identities can lead to in-group favoritism and out-group hostility.

Materials:

• Instructional Video: Tribalism and the Dangers of Us vs Them
• Handouts: Reward Allocation and Tribalism Video
• Image of “The Dress”
• Useful Resources:
  • Experiments in Inter-Group Discrimination, Henri Tajfel (1970) (Slideplayer)
  • What Colour Is This Dress? (ASAP Science) 
  • Ingroup-Outgroup Bias (Thinking Is Power)
  • What’s the Real Lesson of “The Dress”? (Thinking Is Power)

Notes for Educators: This activity is based on Henri Tajfel’s Minimal Group Paradigm study (1970). In particular, the Reward Allocation matrix is a simplified version of the one from the study. It asks students to either maximize joint profit, provide the largest reward to in-group members, or maximize the difference between groups.

• In one of the experiments, participants were shown slides of paintings and asked to express their preferences.
• While subjects thought their groups were based on their preferences, Tajfel randomly assigned them to two groups.
• Participants were asked to allocate resources to random and unknown members of both groups. 
• Experimenters were investigating three variables:
  • Maximum joint profit: Participants could give the largest reward to members of both groups.
  • Largest possible reward to in-group: Participants could choose the largest reward for the member of their in-group, regardless of the reward to the out-group member.
  • Maximum difference: Participants could choose the largest possible difference in reward between members of the different groups. 
• Tajfel found that participants not only awarded more money to individuals in their group but also took less money if it meant maximizing the difference between their group and the other group! 

Procedure:

• Introduction: “The Dress” (10 minutes)
  • Show the class “The Dress”.
  • Ask students to raise their hands if they see the dress as blue and black or white and gold.
  • Divide students into groups based on their perception of the dress’s color.
  • Notes:
    • Students may start to argue with their classmates over the dress’s color. It’s not only okay, it’s to be encouraged!
    • Some students may see something else. Use your discretion as to where to put these students.
• Group Identity Formation (10 minutes)
  • Have each group create a group identity by choosing a group name, mascot, colors, cheer or slogan, etc.
  • Encourage students to fully immerse themselves into their group identities.
• Reward Allocation (10 minutes)
  • Pass out the handout to each student and explain that everyone will have the opportunity to reward members of both groups.
  • Instruct students to allocate rewards to a random and unknown member of their group and the other group using the table provided on the Reward Allocation Handout.
  • Tell students you will take the Handouts from each group, shuffle them, and randomly give them to in-group members for points. Then you will do the same for the out-group. (You won’t be doing this, though, as the real goal is to determine how many students chose each option.)
  • Note: The goal is for students to choose Option 1, which favors their in-group members and discriminates against out-group members
• Results (10-15 minutes)
  • Tally the reward allocations for each group and display the results on the board or overhead.
  • Ask students why they chose to allocate rewards the way they did.
  • Reminder:
    • Option 1: Maximum difference in favor of in-group
    • Option 2: Maximum difference in favor of out-group (least likely to be chosen)
    • Option 3: Maximum joint profit and largest reward to in-group

• Video, Discussion, and Debrief (15 minutes)
  • Have students watch the video “Tribalism and the Dangers of Us vs Them” and complete the video handout.
  • Ask students for real-world examples of tribes; what “tribes” do they belong to?  
  • How do these group identities impact how members perceive and treat each other? 
• Optional Extension: Reducing the Impact of Tribalism
  • Background:
    • The Intergroup Contact Hypothesis suggests that positive interactions between members of different groups can reduce tribalism and the effects of in-group/out-group bias. 
    • To be effective, individuals should have equal status, common goals, and intergroup cooperation in a non-competitive environment.
  • Procedure:
    • Put students into new groups with members of both original groups.
    • Their goals are to work together to figure out what the color of the dress is and why people perceive it differently. 

Assessment/Evaluation: 

• Teacher discretion can be used to assess student work. 
• Options:
  • Participation points for the activity and discussion.
  • Written reflection on the experience.

Special Thanks: This lesson was produced in collaboration with the Mental Immunity Project. Thanks to Timothy Redmond and Bertha Vazquez for their assistance .