SPC3210 Groupthink Chapter 14

Overestimation of the Group

"the erroneous belief that the group is more than it actually is" (more powerful, more effective, etc)

Closed-mindedness of the Group

"the willingness of the group to ignore differences in people and (outside) warnings about poor group decisions"

High cohesiveness 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)

Critique of Groupthink

-Heurism: Applicable to many contexts and contributes to the understanding of group behavior -Scope: aimed solely at groups, so some may consider it narrowly focused -Testability: issues with validity; doesn't directly address self-esteem in the theory -Test of Time: it's still used today

Two symptoms associated with overestimation of the group are:

-Illusion of invulnerability- the group believes it can overcome "any obstacle" -Inherent morality- the group members are thoughtful, "good" people, so their decisions will be good as well

Two symptoms associated with the closed mindedness of the group are:

-Out-group Stereotypes- groups hold adversarial stereotypes about non- members and think that group decisions cannot be overruled or sabotaged -Collective Rationalization- the group ignores warnings that would cause others to reconsider decisions made

Janis identifies three categories of systems of groupthink

-Overestimation of the group - Closed-mindedness of the group - Pressures towards uniformity in the group

Pressures towards Uniformity have four symptoms:

-Self-censorship- minimizing personal doubts or counterarguments -Illusion of unanimity- all members are in complete agreement -Self-appointed mindguards- those who protect the group from adverse (outside) info -Pressures on dissenters- individuals who express contrary views are "encouraged" to comply with the group

3 major assumptions of groupthink

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.

T/F Groupthink is associated with small group communication

TRUE

T/F Internal and external stresses are the pressures exerted on the group by issues and events both inside and outside of the group.

TRUE

T/F cohesion is easy to recognize but hard to define

TRUE

cohesion comes from

a group's attitudes, values, and patterns of behavior

Groupthink:

a way of deliberating that group members use when their desire for unanimity overrides their motivation to assess all plans of action without critically testing, analyzing, and evaluating ideas.

Failure to establish clear decision-making procedures may lead to faulty decision making. To avoid that..

a. Groups must not only identify the problem but also evaluate its causes and severity. 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 homogeneity of membership may make poor decisions because all members are of similar backgrounds, and thus are inclined to have similar opinions and worldviews.

Group problem solving is primarily a unified process:

a. It's hard to disagree when there are fewer people-there is no anonymity b. Members strive to get along so they can accomplish their shared goal. c. Groups are susceptible to affiliative restraints; 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."

Groups and group decision making are 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 homogeneity are more inclined to fall victim to groupthink.

Groups should establish standards for oversight and control also called the...

devil's advocate of the group

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

Group members meet so frequently with one another...

that they fail to interact with and closely investigate what is taking place outside the group

Conformity

the primary route that leads to groupthink

- 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

T/F

Group insulation implies that a group is immune from the external forces that impact the decision being made.

Classic example of not Groupthink

John F. Kennedy sought to avoid groupthink during the Cuban Missile Crisis. 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.

Classic example of Groupthink

Pearl Harbor (The Military was confident that an attack would not occur, thus preparation for potential attacks was not considered.)

Ways to prevent Groupthink:

1. Leaders should assign each member the role of "critical evaluator". This allows each member to freely air objections and doubts. 2. Higher-ups should not express an opinion when assigning a task to a group. 3.The organization should set up several independent groups, working on the same problem. 4. All effective alternatives should be examined. 5. Each member should discuss the group's ideas with trusted people outside of the group. 6.The group should invite outside experts 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 Devil's advocate. This should be a different person for each meeting.

Assumptions of Groupthink

Conditions in groups promote high cohesiveness

Groups should...work to balance consensus and majority so...

everyone has a voice in the decision-making process

Stressful internal and external characteristics placed on individual group members may ...

increase the potential for groupthink to occur.

Pressures to reach a solution or complete a task may cause

members to look to one another for moral support through deadlines.