Groupthink

Groupthink

History of Groupthink
Groupthink is a concept that was identified by Irving Janis (In the 1972, book Victims of Groupthink)that refers to faulty decisionmaking in a group Groupthink has been used over the years to help understand group dynamics and why certain groups are successful and others lead to disaster

Groupthink

 Groupthink is the name given to a theory that was developed by Irving Janis (1972) to describe faulty decision making that can occur in groups as a result of forces that bring a group together (group cohesion)

Groupthink

Symptoms of Groupthink

Overestimation of the Group

Closed-Mindedness

Pressures Toward Uniformity

Illusion of Invulnerability

Collective Rationalization

Self-Censorship

Belief in inherent morality of the group

Stereotypes of OutGroups

Illusion of Unanimity

Loyalty Pressure

Self-appointed mind guards

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Illusion of Invulnerability
Creates excessive optimism that encourages taking extreme risks The group starts to think it always makes the right decisions they can do no wrong.

Groupthink

Belief in Inherent Morality

after making many correct decisions the group begins to overlook the negatives Members believe in the rightness of their cause and therefore ignore the ethical or moral consequences of their decisions

Groupthink

Collective Rationalization
Group discount warnings and do not reconsider their assumptions The group creates rationalizations such as, We know there is contrary opinion to this decision but weve been right before in the face of negativity and well we right this time too
Groupthink

Pre Sep/11 warnings

Self-censorship
Individuals fear /question if they might look like a fool for raising their concerns. Fear of been laughed at by the group

Groupthink

Illusion of Unanimity
Does everyone agree with this decision? Everyone might disagree but everyone thinks that everyone else agrees The majority of team members view and judgments assumed to be unanimous

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Loyalty Pressure
Team members under pressure not to raise any contrary opinion against the groups view. Matt always said here is MR. it wont work

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Self-appointed mindguards
People who protect the leader or group from hearing disagreeable facts from inside or outside the group to protect the group cohesiveness
(787-747 leaders)

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How to deal with Groupthink?

Encourage the team members to speak their mind. Each team member should have a critical evaluation role. Higher-ups shouldnt express and opinion when assigning a task to a group Team members should ask for feed back from trusted members from other groups Invite experts to the group meeting to challenge the group view and ideas. Second chance meetings where experts get the opportunity to review and challenge decisions
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Questions?
Please dont ask!!! Lets move on

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Back up
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 1.Self-censorship where people are frightened of raising any doubts or asking questions. 2.Illusion of unanimity where the deafening silence is taken as a sign that everyone agrees. 3.Self appointed gatekeepers who make sure that any information contrary to the prevailing point of view does not get through. 4.Illusion of invulnerability where people are too optimistic and upbeat and ignore the problem signs, leading to poor risk management and a failure to plan for contingencies. 5.Rationalization where the group explains away information or opinions that are contrary to the prevailing point of view. 6.Collective conformity where members of the group pressure anyone dissenting to get into line. 7.Illusion of morality where everyone in the group believes their decisions are morally correct.

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References
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Managing_Groups_and_Teams/Groupthink http://rebarcamp.com/charlotte/?p=367 http://ariane-arianeatu.blogspot.com/ http://www.google.com/imgres?q=groupthink&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbm=isch&tbnid=wrtKWGROgF0UM:&imgrefurl=http://www.decision-making-solutions.com/Connected_Decisions-group-decision-makinggroupthink.html&docid=_eRu2XSZlQRuM&w=200&h=200&ei=sY0vTv2wB8ffiALqgsQr&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=200&vpy=239&dur=40&hovh=160&hovw=1 60&tx=86&ty=76&page=6&tbnh=136&tbnw=137&start=91&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:91&biw=1311&bih=625 http://www.superheronation.com/2011/04/ http://spokanepoliceabuses.wordpress.com/2007/11/21/we-will-not-be-silent/we-will-not-be-silent/ http://www.google.com/imgres?q=selfcensorship&um=1&hl=en&sa=G&tbm=isch&tbnid=wBl8FFXr8vIaFM:&imgrefurl=http://www.motifake.com/self-censorshipcensorship-challenge-demotivational-posters104092.html&docid=EpkK95kB9hp2dM&w=640&h=512&ei=ykYyTtG0I6PViAKrurnDCA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1014&vpy=2 75&dur=4028&hovh=201&hovw=251&tx=137&ty=98&page=1&tbnh=137&tbnw=176&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:0&bi w=1311&bih=625 http://inventorspot.com/articles/does_social_media_produce_groupthink_30660

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