CLASS: Groupthink

talk

#1 thing to promote cohesion - allow people to _______ (have personal exchange)

oversight; control whistleblowers individual majority

-Groups should establish standards for _______________ and __________ (the devil's advocate of the group) -Encourage members to voice concerns and act as ________________ when the need arises (whistle blower laws in state of Florida - subordinate employee can say something about people higher up, and there are laws to not have them fire you) -Allow and encourage _________________ objections (conscientious objectors) -Work to balance consensus and ____________ so everyone has a voice in the decision-making process

small group decision; information; role; education; socializing problem-solving; task-oriented Harmony government Pearl Harbor; North Korean; Bay of Pigs; Vietnam War; Watergate

-Groupthink is associated with _____________ communication -groupthink affects ______________ making, _________________ sharing, _______ definition, __________________, ______________ and relating to systems outside the group unit -__________________________ groups and __________________ groups are most susceptible His notes: (Janis proposes that groups often fall prey to the goal of seeking consensus over the goal of using good judgment in making decisions. ____________ in the group is the primary goal. a. Janis cites examples of _____________________ policy to explain the theory of groupthink. b. Historical examples include U.S. Navy preparedness at ________________, the decision to pursue the ___________________ Army on its own territory by President Eisenhower, the _________________ invasion, the decision to escalate U.S. involvement in the _________________, and the __________________ cover-up.)

unified affiliative restraints fewer; anonymity goal affiliative restraints

2. Group problem solving is primarily a ____________ process -people don't like to disrupt the decision-making process -group members "want" to get along -__________________ (members holding back their input rather than facing possible rejection) threaten the problem-solving process -because group members fear rejection, they will attach greater importance to preserving the group than to the issue at hand His notes: (a. It's hard to disagree when there are _______ people-there is no ________________ b. Members strive to get along so they can accomplish their shared ____. c. Groups are susceptible to ______________________; group members withhold their input rather than risk rejection. d. When group members do participate, fearing rejection, they are likely "to attach greater importance to preservation of the group than to the issues under consideration.")

structural insulation; impartial; clear causes; severity homogeneity

2. Specific ________________ characteristics of the environment surrounding the group affect the decision-making process -______________/isolation -lack of ___________ leadership -failure to establish ________ decision-making procedures can lead to faulty decision making His notes: (Group insulation implies that a group is immune from the external forces that impact the decision being made. Group members meet so frequently with one another that they fail to interact with and closely investigate what is taking place outside the group Lack of impartial leadership implies that the person guiding the group has a personal stake in the decision to be made. Failure to establish clear decision-making procedures may lead to faulty decision making. a. Groups must not only identify the problem but also evaluate its __________ and _____________. b. Groups must have clear procedures for making decisions. c. Groups often fall into the pitfall of following the decision-making procedures used in other groups without considering the differences in the goals of various groups. d. Groups with ____________________ of membership may make poor decisions because all members are of similar backgrounds, and thus are inclined to have similar opinions and worldviews.)

complex homogeneity

3. Groups and group decision making are __________ -small groups need to understand the available options and be able to distinguish among these available options -understanding the task at hand and the people involved is important -the presence of other people affects us and knowing that these other people may be judging our contributions promotes task accomplishment -group demographics play an important role in the dynamics of the group (hierarchy) His notes: (3. Groups and group decision making are frequently complex. a. Small groups must understand the many alternatives available to them and be able to distinguish among these alternatives. b. Members must understand the task at hand, and the people who provide input into the task. c. groups with high levels of _________________ are more inclined to fall victim to groupthink.)

Stressful

3. _____________ internal and external characteristics placed on certain group members may increase the potential for groupthink to occur -issues and events inside and outside the group can cause people to break down -the pressure to find a solution also causes group members to seek moral support from other members His notes: (Stressful internal and external characteristics placed on individual group members may increase the potential for groupthink to occur. 1. Internal and external stresses are the pressures exerted on the group by issues and events both inside and outside of the group. 2. When decision makers are under great stress, they tend to break down. 3. Pressures to reach a solution or complete a task may cause members to look to one another for moral support. 4. This support may come in the form of an agreement among members to meet deadlines and complete the task.)

cohesiveness conformity

Antecedent conditions of Groupthink: 1. High ________________ of the decision-making group -cohesiveness is desirable but dangerous -cohesion may lead to intense pressure to conform to group standards and often "does" lead to group members conforming with one another (think of a clone) -___________________ is the primary route that leads to groupthink -cohesion does not automatically lead to groupthink, "BUT" it makes a group more vulnerable to groupthink when it is at the forefront of group decision-making

cohesiveness attitudes; values; behavior define

Assumptions of Groupthink: 1. Conditions in groups promote high ___________________ -cohesiveness is the extent to which group members are willing to work together -cohesion comes from a group's ___________, ________, and patterns of ______________ -cohesion is easy to recognize but hard to _________

Dan Ackroid Nixon

Classic examples of Groupthink: -The U.S. Navy's lack of preparation at Pearl Harbor (______________ character in movie "Pearl Harbor" questioning if all troops should go out front...and the captain was like yes just go with it) -The Bay of Pigs invasion (cuban/communist issue/Arthur Miller wrote a book and was though to be a communist/Castro administration - people fled Castro/Cuban-Americans were sent to Cuba to reestablish democracy instead of Communist in the Castro regime; Castro knew about the invasion and the Americans were slaughtered/there is evidence (CIA) the Kennedy administration knew Castro knew, and they went through with it anyways/16 year old daughter of Irving Janice wrote a paper of Bay of Pigs invasion and basically came up with the idea for Groupthink -The Vietnam War (_________ increased bombing in Vietnam even though CIA said no) -Watergate -Space Shuttle Challenger (teacher in rocket and it exploded; CIA report said they knew it would explode (NASA didn't read the report) His notes: (Pearl Harbor- Dec. 7, 1941 U.S. is attacked by Japan. Overall, 9 ships of the U.S. fleet were sunk and 21 ships were severely damaged. 3 of the 21 would be irreparable. The overall death toll reached 2,350, including 68 civilians, and 1,178 injured. Of the military personnel lost at Pearl Harbor, 1,177 were from the Arizona. The Military was confident that an attack would not occur, thus preparation for potential attacks was not considered. -Wikipedia Bay of Pigs Invasion- April, 1961 United States CIA-backed invasion by 1,200 Cuban exiles and a number of American citizens formed into a Brigade 2506 — whom many people believe was directed by President John F. Kennedy — in an attempt to overthrow the government of President Fidel Castro.The attacks first began with bombings of air-fields on Saturday April 15, 1961[2] and by April 19th at 2:30pm the brigade radioed they had nothing left to fight with. The following day, April 20, 1961, Castro declared that the revolution had been victorious. -Wikipedia Vietnam- also known as the Second Indochina War, the Vietnam Conflict, and, in Vietnam, the American War, occurred from 1956 to April 30, 1975. The war was fought between the communist Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) and its communist allies and the US-supported Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). It concluded with the defeat of the United States, the dissolution of South Vietnam, and the failure of United States foreign policy in Vietnam. Over 1.4 million military personnel were killed in the war (of which 6 percent were members of the United States armed forces), while estimates of civilian fatalities range up to 2 million. On April 30, 1975, the capital of South Vietnam, Saigon, fell to the communist forces of North Vietnam, effectively ending the Vietnam War. -Wikipedia In fact, After the Bay of Pigs invasion fiasco, John F. Kennedy sought to avoid groupthink during the Cuban Missile Crisis.[3] During meetings, he invited outside experts to share their viewpoints, and allowed group members to question them carefully. He also encouraged group members to discuss possible solutions with trusted members within their separate departments, and he even divided the group up into various sub-groups, in order to partially break the group cohesion. JFK was deliberately absent from the meetings, so as to avoid pressing his own opinion. Ultimately, the Cuban missile crisis was resolved peacefully, thanks in part to these measures.)

Stereotypes Rationalization

Closed-mindedness of the Group: -"the willingness of the group to ignore differences in people and (outside) warnings about poor group decisions" -2 symptoms associated with this are: -Out-group ____________________- groups hold adversarial stereotypes about non-members and think that group decisions cannot be overruled or sabotaged (ex: FSU students think less of UCF football because they are nothing compared to us historically) -Collective _____________________- the group ignores warnings that would cause others to reconsider decisions made

Heurism Scope; narrowly Testability; validity Test of Time

Critique of Groupthink: -_______________: Applicable to many contexts and contributes to the understanding of group behavior -_________: aimed solely at groups, so some may consider it ______________ focused -_____________: issues with ___________; doesn't directly address self-esteem in the theory -__________________: it's still used today

thought pejorative

Groupthink: a way of deliberating that group members use when their desire for unanimity "overrides" their motivation to assess all plans of action -Sometimes groups "fall into" the trap of groupthink because they want all members of the group to agree more than they want to find the best solution or make the best decision His notes: (Groupthink is a type of ________ exhibited by group members who try to minimize conflict and reach consensus without critically testing, analyzing, and evaluating ideas. During groupthink, members of the group avoid promoting viewpoints outside the comfort zone of consensus thinking. A variety of motives for this may exist such as a desire to avoid being seen as foolish, or a desire to avoid embarrassing or angering other members of the group. Groupthink may cause groups to make hasty, irrational decisions, where individual doubts are set aside, for fear of upsetting the group's balance. The term is frequently used as a _______________ (a negative statement) -Wikipedia)

cohesive necessary; sufficient

His notes: (Assumptions: 3 major assumptions: 1. Conditions in groups promote high cohesiveness. 2. Group problem solving is primarily a unified process. 3. Groups and group decision making are frequently complex. Highly ______________ groups are much more likely to engage in groupthink. The closer they are, the less likely they are to raise questions to break the cohesion. Although Janis sees group cohesion as the most important antecedent to groupthink, he states that it will not invariably lead to groupthink: 'It is a _____________ condition, but not a _____________ condition' (Janis, Victims of Groupthink, 1972).)

invulnerability Inherent morality

Overestimation of the Group: -"the erroneous belief that the group is more than it actually is" (more powerful, more effective, etc) -2 symptoms associated with this are: -Illusion of ______________________- the group believes it can overcome "any obstacle" (ex: this doesn't;t happen with Nick Saban's football team - he keeps them grounded) -_______________________- the group members are thoughtful, "good" people, so their decisions will be good as well

Self-censorship unanimity Self-appointed mindguards dissenters

Pressures towards Uniformity: -"Going along to get along" -4 symptoms associated with this are: -_______________________- minimizing personal doubts or counterarguments -Illusion of ________________- all members are in complete agreement -___________________________- those who protect the group from adverse (outside) info (Robert F. Kennedy to John F. Kennedy; mind guards think it gives them power and the other person should give them credit for making other people agree with him) -Pressures on _____________________- individuals who express contrary views are "encouraged" to comply with the group

Overestimation Closed-mindedness uniformity

Symptoms of Groupthink: Janis identifies 3 categories of systems of groupthink that can be present before groups make final decisions or come to a consensus about an issue. -_________________________ of the group -__________________________ of the group -Pressures towards _____________ in the group

objectives Developing range own contingency critical evaluator; opinion; independent; same; examined; outside; experts; Devil's advocate; different

Ways to prevent Groupthink: -Looking at the different _______________ group members want to achieve -________________ those objectives -Exploring the entire _________ of objectives -Analyzing each objective on its _______ -Having a _____________________ plan 't Hart also offers 4 general recommendations for groups .... His notes: (According to Irving Janis, decision making groups are not necessarily destined to groupthink. He devised seven ways of preventing groupthink (209-15): 1. Leaders should assign each member the role of "____________________". This allows each member to freely air objections and doubts. 2. Higher-ups should not express an ___________ when assigning a task to a group. 3.The organization should set up several _________________ groups, working on the _______ problem. 4. All effective alternatives should be _______________. 5. Each member should discuss the group's ideas with trusted people ____________ of the group. 6.The group should invite outside ____________ into meetings. Group members should be allowed to discuss with and question the outside experts. 7. At least one group member should be assigned the role of ___________________. This should be a ______________ person for each meeting.)

Groupthink

___________ - our desire for group cohesiveness overrides the desire for a good product/decision

system theory

group cohesiveness is based on _________________

cohesiveness

his biggest problem with groupthink is people think its is a positive thing - it is not to be used interchangeably with ______________________

critical

if we ostracize someone who speaks up, we curb __________ thinking

afford; $

stressful internal characteristic - you can't _________ to/don't have the __

instincts

these are the kind of theories that fine-tune your _________

predictability

this theory doesn't give ___________________, it lets you ward off bad outcomes potentially

historical

we use this theory to explain ____________ things