Groupthink: Do Groups Hinder or Groupthink: Do Groups Hinder or Assist Good Decisions?Assist Good Decisions?

What is GroupthinkGroupthink?

It is when a group makes faulty decisions because group pressures lead to a deterioration of “mental efficiency,

reality testing, and moral judgment”. Groups affected by groupthink ignore alternatives and tend to take irrational actions that dehumanize other groups.

Symptoms of GroupthinkSymptoms of Groupthink

The first two symptoms led members to overestimate their group's might and right.

An illusion of invulnerabilityillusion of invulnerability- the members developed an excess optimism that blinded

them to warnings of danger.

Unquestioned belief in the group's moralityUnquestioned belief in the group's morality- - group members assume the inherent morality

of their group and ignore ethical and moral issues.

Symptoms of GroupthinkSymptoms of Groupthink

Group members also become close-minded.

RationalizationRationalization- group members discount warnings and do not reconsider their

assumptions.

Stereotyped view of opponent-Stereotyped view of opponent- members consider their enemies too evil to negotiate or too weak to defend themselves against

the plan initiative.

Symptoms of GroupthinkSymptoms of Groupthink

Group suffers from pressures toward uniformity.

Conformity pressureConformity pressure- members rebuffed those who raised doubts about the group's

assumptions and plans, at times not by argument but by personal sarcasm.

Self-censorship-Self-censorship- doubts and deviations from the perceived group consensus are

not expressed.

Symptoms of GroupthinkSymptoms of Groupthink

Illusion of unanimity-Illusion of unanimity- the majority view and judgments are assumed to be unanimous.

Mindguards-Mindguards- members protect the group and the leader from information that is

problematic or contradictory to the group's cohesiveness, view, and/or decisions.

Critiquing GroupthinkCritiquing Groupthink

Directive leadership is indeed associated with poorer decisions, because subordinates sometimes feel too weak or insecure to speak up (Granstrom & Stiwne, 1998)Groups do prefer supporting over challenging information (Schulz-Hardt et.al., 2000)When members look to a group for acceptance, approval, and identity, they may supress disagreeable thoughts (Hogg & Hains, 1998)Groups with diverse perspective outperform groups of like-minded experts (Nemeth & Ormiston, 2007)

Preventing GroupthinkPreventing GroupthinkBe impartial – do not endorse any position.Encourage critical evaluation; assign a “devil advocate”.Occasionally subdivide the group, then reunite the air differences.Welcome critics from outside experts and associates. Before implementing, call a “second chance” meeting to air any lingering doubts.

Group Problem SolvingGroup Problem Solving

A large amount of problem solving takes place in group settings. Meetings and informal discussions are often used to air different ideas and points of view to help solve problems for which the participants have either shared responsibility or a contribution to make.

However, most of the time we do not take full advantage of these situations.

Used at the right time and in the right way, group problem solving can be the most effective way of solving some problems.

““If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” -African Proverbfar, go together.” -African Proverb