The steps of Tajfel's minimal group experiment are given below in their order, but one step has been left out:
Step 1: British schoolboys expressed their preference for paintings by Kandinsky and Klee.
Step 2: The children were told that it was an experiment on decision-making.
Step 3: The identity of other group members was hidden using code numbers.
Step 5: Results showed that the children favoured their own group.
Which of the following is the missing Step 4?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → The children distributed money between recipients only by code number and group membership
Option (1) The children distributed money between recipients only by code number and group membership — Correct. After identities were hidden, the children shared money knowing only a code number and the group of each person. This is the step that let Tajfel see favour for one's own group in Step 5.
Option (2) The children were regrouped on the basis of a long past history of rivalry between schools — Incorrect. The groups were made on a flimsy criterion, a liking for paintings, with no past history or future. A history of rivalry was kept out on purpose, so the minimal conditions could be tested.
Option (3) The children discussed their choices together and took one group decision — Incorrect. A joint decision after discussion belongs to group polarisation, where talk makes the group's first position stronger. In this experiment each child shared money on his own.
Option (4) The children were given definite roles in their group by explicit rules — Incorrect. Definite roles fixed by rules are a feature of a formal group, such as an office. The minimal groups had no rules, roles or structure of this kind.
NCERT (2026-27): “Ingroup and Outgroup … “groups in which they were grouped ( group members was hidden using code numbers. The children then distributed money between recipients only by code number and group membership.” |