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). I am a member of a group called YPI. This stands for Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Mount Vernon and Knox County. We are a division of the Community Foundation that is run mainly by student representatives from local high schools in the area. Every year we distribute a needs survey through our high schools to see what our peers view as their biggest needs. With this information in mind, we write letters to local donors and ask for donations that. These donations are used to award as grants to projects and programs in our area that will help address the needs of today’s youth that we identify through our needs survey. Some projects that recently have been awarded grants were an after …show more content…
Last year, after we had received all of the grant applications, we began deciding how to divide up the funds we had been given that year.Everybody in the group got along amazing and nobody wanted to hurt anyone’s feelings. When someone brought up an idea about how we should allocate a portion of the funds, everyone else would just kind of nod in agreement. The problem was that I realized that not everyone was agreeing to these ideas. One member suggested that we fully fund a $1,000 project to put on a family movie night in Ariel Foundation Park. A lot of other members truly did agree, but I could see that several others did not and they did not want to speak up. I thought about trying to get them to speak up, but I too had fallen victim to groupthink. Speaking out, I thought, would destroy the supportive atmosphere that had developed in the room. Hurting someone else’s feelings was the last thing I wanted to
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
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
In social psychology, and more importantly sociology, groupthink is a process by which members of a cohesive group arrive at a decision that many individual members privately believe it is unwise. Jonestown is an example of what can be considered dangerous conformity. The members of the Peoples Temple originally thought being in the organization was the right thing to do and they were making the right choices, but that day they followed their leader in drinking the cyanide Kool-Aid, some thought the ideas were unwise. Even though the members of the cult were questioning the idea in their head, they followed along with their leader. They never had a thought that Jones would do anything like what happened 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
Group think is a phenomenon that occurs when group 's need for consensus supersedes the judgment of individual group members. Group think often occurs when there is a time constraint and individuals put aside personal doubts so a project can move forward or when one member of the group dominates the decision-making process.
This type of dysfunctional operation of an organization has many ways and opportunities for failure. The basic fundamentals of this process are the beginnings of failure as groups seek conformity and unity they sacrifice everything in order to maintain peace within the group. Many times this will take the individuals creative thoughts and ability to voice the creative edge thinking away. In many organizations this is a process that is continually used. It is perceived that management wants the organizations operation or process to run without any type of question or waves. Below are listed eight of the main symptoms of group think as detailed by Janis, I. L & Manns book “Decision making”
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.
According to Irving Janes (1972), groupthink occurs when a group makes an irrational decision because of group pressure fostering and the deterioration of ‘mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgement” (Irving, Janis, Victims of groupthink, p.9). Social influence is the effect that people have upon the beliefs or behaviors of others (Aaronson, 2004). Both groupthink and social influence theory have a factor in what
The growing division between our classmates would eventually lead to one of my most regrettable experiences. Groupthink is a group pressure, which allows one to conform to society despite individual misgivings, which causes dysfunctions to rise (Brym and Lie 2018). Groupthink may be displayed as being “a team player”; however, such a conformity causes misgivings, which lead to disasters, which can be caused by bystander apathy (Brym and Lie 2018). My experience of groupthink was an unconscious one, where the boys and girls in our class had been socially separated by gender. My experiences of not standing up for the right cause and blindly following a group that displayed dominance over the girls in my 2nd grade class emphasizes the power of
Groupthink is the principle that people will go along with the others in a group in order to keep harmony (“What is Group Think,” n.d.). They will accept the actions from the others in the group and even go along with ideas they are not comfortable doing as to avoid conflict. Although Groupthink is helpful when trying to avoid unneeded conflicts in a group it can also be very detrimental to yourself worth and self identity. Groupthink can cause you to care less about your own personal values, ideas, and preferences for the good of the
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
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.
With the potential of having many opinions within the group, it can be difficult and time costly to ultimately reach a consensus. As individuals, we are all rhetoricians and have different methods of communication. When it comes to discussing our opinions and persuading group members of our ideas, arguments are sometimes created because of the diversity within the group. What matters is whether the argument is productive or not. “While there are many unproductive arguments, others generate some of the most creative joint thinking we ever achieve together” (Mercer, 74). Unfortunately, in the case of groupthink, arguments tend to be avoided at all costs.
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
This type of group mentality is referred to as “groupthink.” Group think, a concept discovered by Irving Janis, is the thought process that takes place among members of a cohesive group wherein they cease to consider their individual desires and instead respond according to group beliefs. This is done to ensure the solidity of the group. The members value this even more than their own views.