Groupthink!
What is it?
Why should we care about it?
What can we do about it?
Prepare for your exams
Study with the several resources on Docsity
Earn points to download
Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan
Guidelines and tips
Prepare for your exams
Study with the several resources on Docsity
Earn points to download
Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan
Community
Ask the community
Ask the community for help and clear up your study doubts
University Rankings
Discover the best universities in your country according to Docsity users
Free resources
Our save-the-student-ebooks!
Download our free guides on studying techniques, anxiety management strategies, and thesis advice from Docsity tutors
Understanding Groupthink: Symptoms, Remedies, and Consequences, Lecture notes of Remedies
The concept of groupthink, a phenomenon that leads groups to make faulty decisions due to group pressures. It outlines the symptoms of groupthink, including illusion of invulnerability, collective rationalization, and stereotyped views of out-groups, among others. The document also provides remedies for groupthink, such as assigning the role of critical evaluator to each member and inviting experts to challenge views. The consequences of groupthink are illustrated through historical examples, such as the failure to protect forces at Pearl Harbor and the US invasion of Iraq.
Typology: Lecture notes
2021/2022
1 / 30
This page cannot be seen from the preview
Don't miss anything!
Related documents
Partial preview of the text
Download Understanding Groupthink: Symptoms, Remedies, and Consequences and more Lecture notes Remedies in PDF only on Docsity!
Groupthink
What is it?
Why should we care about it?
What can we do about it?
What is groupthink?
- groupthink occurs when a group makes faulty decisions because group pressures lead to a deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment (Irving Janis, 1972, p. 9).
Illusion of Invulnerability
- Creates excessive optimism that encourages taking extreme risks.
Collective Rationalization
- Members discount warnings and do not reconsider their assumptions.
Stereotyped Views of
Out-groups
- Negative views of enemy make effective responses to conflict seem unnecessary
Direct Pressure on Dissenters
- Members are under pressure not to express arguments against any of the groups views.
Illusion of Unanimity
The majority view
and judgments
are assumed to
be unanimous.
Self-appointed mindguards
- Members protect the group and the leader from information that is problematic or contradictory to the groups cohesiveness, view, and/or decisions
More Remedies for Groupthink
- One or more experts should be invited to each meeting on a staggered basis and encouraged to challenge views of the members.
- At least one member should be given the role of devil's advocate (to question assumptions and plans)
- The leader should make sure that a sizeable block of time is set aside to survey warning signals.
Why should we care about
groupthink?
- Bay of Pigs Fiasco in
US Escalation of the
Vietnam War
US Invasion of Iraq: Groupthink?
Predetermined Policy
Decision about Iraq and
Saddam Hussein
- Discount warnings and do not reconsider their assumptions even as other countries challenge them