Group Think 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 student work together as a group, they learn the skill of time management as they juggle school, the project, and all other activities in their schedule. Also, having students work in groups for projects will help this skill thrive because it will also encourage them to work on it periodically so they won’t be overwhelmed a couple days before it is due. Moreover, working in groups help students take leadership and manage the group. In almost every school group project, there is always that one person that takes charge and becomes the “Group Leader”. This will also teach students how to manage a group and how to divide work evenly among

This case, as well as the previous two, are prime examples of how detrimental groupthink can have on the effect of your career or the lives of several others. It may not always be easy to recognize the dangers or altercations groupthink may have, which is why you should always appoint ‘mind guards’ to contradict the decisions made within a group setting. It is always beneficial to seek an outside source for their opinion, as it may be just the idea that the group has

15. As the decision to launch a new product to prevent tooth decay was being debated, one of the product development specialists commented, “What a great product! We have created something that will help Americans maintain the enamel on their teeth. I don't know why those health critics are accusing us of putting a potentially harmful product out on the market. After all, our goal is to help people, not to hurt them. We're interested in doing what is in the best interest of the public.” She has demonstrated which of the following symptoms of groupthink?

An example of groupthink can be the terrorist attack of 911. Although it was a very tragic situation, Obama Bin Laden and his group planned it out. They came together and made a decision on something that they wanted to do. Osama Bin Laden was looked at as a idol by his people and he had several people that was high ranking in his culture to help him out. Their acts were evil and cowardly, but the power of groupthink was able to persuade people to carry out the attack. Groupthink exist in society everyday, the power of group thin is very strong. The more people that are contributing to a cause usually mean the better chance the goal will be completed. Groupthink is when people think and act alike in a particular group (Baumeister & Bushman, 2013, p. 524-525). Another example

Social loafing – someone decides to take a free ride and let the group do the work

Groupthink: Groupthink is a way that groups may try to keep levels of conflict low. The problem is that all members pretend that they agree with a decision, which discourages creativity. Without counter arguments being presented, the group is susceptible to bad or even irrational decisions (Beebe p. 191).

Groupthink is a phenomenon throughout history that has led to disastrous results. The Oxford Dictionary defines groupthink as “The practice of thinking or making decisions as a group in a way that discourages creativity or individual responsibility:” In this paper, I will illustrate three examples in history that highlight the negative effects of groupthink. William H. Whyte originally came up with groupthink terminology and then in the 1970’s Irving Janis followed up with more research on the subject. Janis identified three groupthink warnings. They are directive leadership, group homogeneity, and group isolation.

There are several factors that can increase social loafing which includes: lack of identifiability, no individual evaluation, no individual or group standards of evaluation, task is easy, boring or same as others, individual contributions not necessary, no individual or group incentives, large group and unfamiliar group. On the other hand, there are also factors that can reduce social loafing such as: individual identifiability, individual or group evaluation, individual or group standards of evaluation, task is difficult, interesting or different from others, individual contributions essential, individual or group incentives, small group and familiar group (Kendra Cherry,

Assigning group projects can cause many disagreements among participants in a group or groups. Most everyone has different views, therefore arguments can break out between students about ideas or who is right and who is wrong. Many students do not get along either so they could end up jeopardizing the project bickering back and forth or not talking with each other, ruining the grade of the whole project. While some students do

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

The effectiveness of our group collaboration was mixed regarding this particular project. While two of us in the group have vast experience in group projects in addition to course work in general, this was the first course for one of the participants. This created slight tension

Groupthink plays a huge role throughout his presidency because he was challenged to make critical, constructive decisions for his foreign policy. Before he made the decision to invade Cuba it created a conflict of interest, he was not alone in the decision, there were other groups of men who also have the same similarities of both backgrounds and personality. People are afraid to express their views on reality and how one person can dominate the discussion and impose their point of view that an individual can feel powerful and be effective on their own decision making processes. Janis describes what happens when a group of bad decisions come into play they feel too over confident that they lose contact with reality and have others feel excluded.

Having tasks that are too difficult or are unfamiliar are likely to incite social loafing because they group member lacks the ability or courage to provide input. Robbins and Judge (2011) theorize that another cause of social loafing is an uneven equity. When two people are putting in different levels of input and receiving the same level of output the larger contributor will adjust their input to reduce cognitive dissonance. Another reason they believe is “dispersion of responsibility” group members cannot be held responsible because tasks and roles are not clearly assigned. (Robbins & Judge, 2011). In research by Worchel and others (1998) it was found that groups with friends or familiar members are far less likely to loaf when compared with groups made up of strangers (Worchel, Rothgerber, Day, Hart, & Butemeyer, 1998) Most people have been in a group made up of friends and colleges they are familiar with and seen that in these types of groups social loafing is drastically reduced.

Social loafing is defined as “the tendency of individuals to put forth less effort when they are part of a group.” Since all of the members in the group are contributing to reach the same goal, each member will contribute less than if they were working individually. This concept is a huge issue when people work in groups. Almost everyone has experienced social loafing at some point in their life, although they may not realize it. There are several hypothesizes causes for social loafing, as well as several ways to reduce it.