Groupthink History

     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.

Groupthink can be defined as a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in irrational decision-making. In 1971, twenty-four psychologically stable men took part in a trial known as The Stanford Prison Experiment. The purpose of the experiment was to prove that an individual’s perception of their own power is heavily influenced by social context and societal expectations of their role. The men involved in the experiment were assigned either the role of a prisoner or a guard to represent positions in society, both with power and without. More specifically, the conductors of The Stanford Prison Experiment focused on analyzing the different behavioral

Introduction: December 7 1941 marked a significant date, when the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the United States Naval base, Pearl Harbour. The day after the attack, on December 8 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt presented his Infamy Speech to American civilians stating that; “Yesterday, December 7th 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. I asked that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on December 7 1941”. The purpose of this report is to show that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had no prior knowledge about the surprise attack supported by historical evidence in comparison to Robert Stinnett’s thoughts, the American journalist and former sailor that knew about the Japanese planning a attack on Pearl Harbour in advance.

The Major League Umpires Association (MLUA) was the union that represented Major League Umpires from 1970 to 1999. The MLUA ended up being decertified and replaced by the World Umpires Association (WUA) when Richie Phillips, the head of the MLUA since 1978 and known for his combative, antagonistic style, announced in July 1999 that 57 of the league’s 66 MLUA members would submit resignations effective September 2nd. Richie Phillips assumption that the threat of the resignation of the umpires would force the Major League Baseball (MLB) back to the negotiating table to sign a new contract was erroneous and the scheme led to disastrous results for 22 of the umpires who handed in their resignations and had them accepted. In the end 11 umpires never got their jobs back and went on to retirement or other jobs.

Stephen King was quoted as saying, “The scariest moment is always just before you start.” A plane crash is bad enough; throw into the mix that the plane crash landed in a vast desert far away from anyone and anything. The team showed great cohesiveness in its ability to get through the groupthink and group shift behaviors. In this paper, groupthink and group shift behaviors will be discussed. This paper will cover points to show how through both behaviors the group will remain cohesive and put aside any individual needs and focus more on the needs of the group. Even though the situation will be tough, the team will plan, find harmony and put their brains together to find ways to survive.

Introduction – Pearl Harbor was vulnerable to attack because of the obstruction of defense and warning.

More specifically, whenever a group making policy displays most of the symptoms of Groupthink then "we can expect to find that the group also displays symptoms of defective decision-making. Seven such examples are as Janis states:

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?

During one of the most controversial times in the history of diplomatic relations, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 without any formal announcement of war. Although the transmissions from Japan were decoded, the actual declaration of war didn’t reach the United States until the following day. Unknown to many Americans that

From my experience, one situation I can think of where the “groupthink” phenomenon could be applied happened when I used to be a scribe/scribe trainer. Our leads had just hired a new group of scribes and prior to starting on the floor the trainees needed to complete a classroom training course covering medical terminology, understanding of the EMR template and then pass an examination. After that then they were able to start training shifts on the floor with an experienced scribe “shadowing” them. The first time scribing on the floor can be really daunting because some providers work very fast and they can be very particular (quality/length of HPI, what& where to document certain findings) which as a newbie you wouldn’t know unless you worked

In America, the balance between Washington politics and military strategy was poorly managed, many high level officials failed to acknowledge that an attack was likely imminent (Pearl Harbor Review - The Investigations). The Navy fleet, which had previously been stationed in San Diego, had been moved to Pearl Harbor in 1940 in an effort to de-escalate political tension with Japan (Larew). Although American politicians had engineered this move in response to Japan’s activities in China, the hope that it would reduce tension was not realized; it only served to escalate strained political communication (Chen). American politicians were right to be concerned about war with Japan. Kichisaburō Nomura, the Japanese Ambassador in Washington, worked to find peaceful language between the two countries, but it was suspected that he was, in fact, aware that war was imminent (Chen). A dire message from Japan was sent in 14 separate sections to Nomura in the days before the attack. All sections indicated the end of peaceful negotiations and the last message requested that the cipher used to translate the coded message be destroyed;

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

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

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