Conforming to social norms and following hierarchy plays an important role in the everyday group dynamics in which people participate. The Robbers Cave study demonstrated that along with the formation of these groups, the ingroup hierarchical structures were formed. When some members of this hierarchy fell short of what was expected of them, they were replaced. This parallels Jack's overthrow of Ralph in Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies. After Jack's group stabilized, it formed a set of norms. This correlates closely with the findings of Sherif's study, where groups developed norms and specific places and objects became associated as “ours.” Just as in Jack's group, behavior was subject to these rules and the offender was subjected to “punishments” ranging from ridicule to physical abuse. Golding's emphasis on a group's influence on the individual to conform to the group's standards and norms is supported by Sherif's ideas on social hierarchy, where as individuals interact toward commonly attractive goals, hierarchies of status and norms form of groups that regulate the behavior of individual members. Muzafer Sherif is best known for the Robbers Cave studio. His study took place over a three-week period at a summer camp in Robbers Cave State Park and focused on intergroup behavior. For the study, 22 eleven and twelve year old boys who had never met and who came from similar social and economic backgrounds were selected. The first phase of the study was “ingroup training” in which the children were divided into two groups. The groups were unaware of the other group's presence on the site. The next phase was the “attrition phase” where groups engaged in competitive situations in different games, and prizes were given to the winner… in the middle of the paper… the group would never be able to come together below a superordinate goal. Throughout Lord of the Flies, Golding emphasizes the ability of a group to unconsciously make an individual conform to the group's standards and norms. An important factor in this process is social hierarchy. Once this hierarchy is formed, the individual is more likely to be susceptible to behavioral norms and constraints. This is best demonstrated through the character of Jack, who began as an innocent head boy, eventually becoming the leader of a savage clan that sought to destroy the rest of the outgroup. Sherif's ideas about superordinate goals, hierarchical ingroup structure, and group dynamics clearly support Golding's plot, where at first two groups worked together, then the ingroup dynamics split, leading to the complete destruction of a group. Works Cited http://psychclassics.yorku .ca/Sherif/chap8.htm