Differences Between Groupthink And Communication Accommodation Theory

Which is “ defined as a kind of thinking in which maintaining group cohesiveness and solidarity is more important than considering the facts in a realistic manner”. This theory first came about from Ivering Janis. He belived there had to be certain criteria met for group think to be likely to occur. Some criteria are things such as group cohesion or having a distinct leader. Recen re-evaluate of janis’s has shown that group think occurs more often then original thought and all criteria does not have to be apperent for it to occur.

     What is groupthink? There is a simple definition for it, but is it truly that simple? The term groupthink refers to the inclination of group members to have the same opinions and beliefs; it frequently leads to mistakes. It often occurs without an individual being aware of it. Conflict is considered to be a harmful element when related to groups, but conflict is good when considering groupthink because it helps to eliminate the existence of a groupthink. The explanation sounds simple enough, but it is more complex than the description given.

As stated by Janice, groupthink refers to when group members, as a group, make a bad decision even though as individuals they know that it is a poor decision (as cited by Spector, 2012, p. 315). Factors that can cause groupthink include group cohesiveness, isolation of the group, pressure for conformity, and strong leadership (Spector, 2012, p. 315). Inside Out represented groupthink when Anger took control while Sadness and Joy were away from headquarters. Anger wanted to give Riley the idea of running away to Minnesota because that is where she collected all of her happy memories. Disgust and Fear were against the idea at first, but due to time pressure, the pressure of conformity, and Angers’ strong leadership, Disgust and Fear gave in to Angers’ plan to get Riley to Minnesota. When the decision was made and Riley ran away, it became obvious how terrible of a decision Disgust, Fear, and Anger made as Riley became

Explain how people from different backgrounds may use and/or interpret communication methods in different ways

Ketrow, S.M. (1999) Nonverbal aspects of Group Communication. The Handbook of Group Communication Theory and Research, 255.

The term groupthink in this report is defined as, the social psychological phenomenon that results in groups during pressure situations. This social psychology theory is broken down into eight signs. Illusion of invulnerability, Collective rationalization, Belief in inherent morality, Stereotyped views of out-groups, Direct pressure on dissenters, Self-censorship, Illusion of unanimity, Self-appointed “mindguards”. According to research conducted by Irving Janis, there are three conditions to groupthink. The first, "high group cohesiveness" which is the direction for a group to be in unity while working towards a goal, or to satisfy the emotional needs of its members. Secondly, the structural faults such as insulation of the group, lack

Groupthink theory often occurs without the group’s realization. Irving Janis formed 8 different symptoms that indicate groupthink. The first of these symptoms is illusions of vulnerability. This occurs when members of the group are overly optimistic and believe that nothing negative will arise from their decision. Janis describes it as taking great risks and acquiring the attitude of “everything is going to be OK, because we are a special group”. Secondly we have belief in inherent morality. This symptom is characterized as the groups thought that they could do no wrong. They believe that they have high morality, that they are right in all situations and they ignore the ethical consequences that could arise because of their decisions. As the third

While reading this week’s material, I was familiar with a lot of the concepts due to experience, not academia. It was interesting to read about these topics in an educational manner. One thing I learned about was groupthink. Groupthink is a phenomenon that can occur when groups make decisions that individual members know are poor ones. Groupthink is more likely to occur when there is high group cohesiveness, a strong leader, pressure for conformity, and isolation of the group from outside influences. There is good news though: groupthink can be avoided when group leaders are conscious of it. By group leaders encouraging critical evaluation of all alternatives by every group member and serving as impartial moderators instead of attempting to

People accommodated their communication while interacting with a person who has higher standards and other characteristics which they believe is better than them. And the divergent exhibits an opposite characteristic as it emphasizes the difference among the close relations with each other. Communication accommodation theory is influenced by social psychology and is guided by four major assumptions. While communicating there will be similarity and difference in the speech and behavior. The characteristics that people exhibit is based on our experiences and the cultural backgrounds that we grew up in. A conversation is evaluated by understanding the perception of the speech and behavior of the other. Through evaluation, people decides to accommodate and fit in. The social status and belonging are determined by language and behaviors. While people communicate, they tend to accommodate the behaviors of those who are in the higher social status than them. This theory guides and defines the behaviors of people the accommodation process which varies in the degree of appropriateness. Norms and they are expected to act

Communication is essential in our society today. There are many different types and methods of communication that people use. Throughout life, people learn to use communication in order to interact in the everyday world. People form groups to place themselves where they think they belong in society. Whether people know they are doing it or not, they consciously or subconsciously place themselves into certain groups. There are many different reasons for people to join different groups, these being for learning, activity, personal growth, and problem solving. Members of groups must all contribute in order to complete a task. People can have both positive and negative effects on groups. There are many concepts that

Furthermore, groupthink and group polarization also occurred in the movie. Groupthink is the tendency for members to reach solidarity, and the group often avoids questions that could lead to disputes (Iurchevici, 2016). In order for groupthink to occur, the group must be highly cohesive, in a group structure, and in a stressful situation (Kassin et al., 2013). All three of these were present in the movie, as the members of the group

Experiment designer Solomon Asch conducted a line study in 1951 to show the social pressures of large group on how individuals think, feel, act and respond in social situations . The test had been given to a group of subjects who were asked to pick out and match line lengths. Asch’s experiment showed how easy it is to just assimilate with the majority rather than fight the current of the group and inspired many other studies that kept adding on support to his claim. Thus, the analysis of the groupthink culture started.

The Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) was developed in the early 1970s by socio-psychologists Howard Giles, Donald Taylor, and Richard Bouhris. Originally labeled the Speech Accommodation Theory, it focused merely on adjustments of socio-linguistic behavior and how it was used to develop, maintain, or reduce social distance between people in interpersonal interactions (Giles & Ogay, 2007). With additional research, refinements have been made to include both verbal and nonverbal (speech rate & tone, accent, body language, personal appearance) communication, although it remains to be largely focused on verbal language. The theory later expanded to become multi-contextual. Meaning the theoretical concepts can be applied in virtually any context: interpersonal, intergroup/intercultural, organization, and media. I will further elaborate on examples of the intergroup context later on.

Communication Accommodation theory is an interpersonal communication theory created by Dr. Howard Giles at the University of California, Santa Barbra. It essentially argues that when individuals interact with each other, they change the ways in which they communicate based on the person they are interacting with (Turner & West, 2010). Individuals will change things like their speech, vocabulary, cadence, and gestures in order to adapt or accommodate others (Turner & West, 2010). Dr. Giles theory operates under four primary assumptions; 1.) There are speech and behavioral similarities and dissimilarities in all conversations. 2.) The way we perceive the speech and behaviors of another determines our evaluation of the conversation. 3.) Language and behaviors have the ability to communicate social status and group belonging

The muted group theory was originally developed to help scholars understand the co-cultural hypothetical framework of communications between genders. The muted group theory was initially established by British anthropologists Edwin and Shirley Ardener in the late 1960’s to discuss the difference in communications styles of the subordinate groups, which were mainly women when compared to the dominate groups, which were mainly men. (Orbe, M.P., 1997). In time a dominate group would be formed from a social hierarchy system that would eventually exert subconscious privileges from their groups over to others through communication. Furthermore, these groups would determine the applications communications would play between each subordinate and dominate groups. Scientifically, overtime the structure of the communication system would reflect the world view of the dominate group members and this world view would be reinforced as the appropriate communicative system for both dominate and the subordinate communication groups. (Orbe, M.P., 1997). Subsequently, when the dominate group establishes a pattern and style of communication, and then reflects their world views onto this communication style, the subordinate groups are viewed as unintelligible, furthermore, muting the subordinate’s communication systems. This in return develops the muted group theory.