The hostilities between two racial subgroups of a riverfront community were dramatically reduced when the threat of the river flooding its banks required that they work together to save their town. This best illustrates the impact of______________.

The scenario described, where the hostilities between two racial subgroups are dramatically reduced when they are required to work together to save their town from a flooding river, best illustrates the impact of superordinate goals.

Superordinate goals refer to shared objectives that can only be achieved through cooperation between different groups. In this case, the common threat posed by the flooding river serves as a superordinate goal that transcends the differences between the racial subgroups. The necessity of working together to address the immediate and significant challenge fosters cooperation and reduces intergroup hostilities. This concept is often associated with the contact hypothesis, which suggests that bringing individuals from different groups together to work toward a common goal can reduce prejudice and improve intergroup relations.