Groupthink Essay Examples

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

3. Group think is a concept that involves individuals abandoning their critical senses and agreeing to group process even when they know it will have disastrous consequences. (Challenger disaster, Enron, Iraq war, etc.). Your will encounter these pressures in your work life and need to be prepared. Have you ever done something in a group that you would not have done if you were alone? What happened? How did you feel? What have you learned from this chapter that might help you avoid this behavior in the future, and avoid group think?

Groupthink is more likely to occur in a provocative situation with high amounts of external stress. In these situations, groupthink is especially likely when the members of the group have little hope for better solutions than those proposed by the leader. The attractiveness of the Branch Davidians' alternative to Koresh--surrendering to the FBI--was greatly undermined by the government's treatment of the adults and children who did surrender.[124]

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

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

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.

Groupthink is a phenomenon that was first brought to the attention of the psychological community by a social psychologist named Irving Janis. According to Janis (1972), Groupthink happens when a group of people makes flawed decisions because group pressures lead to a breakdown of "mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment" (p. 9). Some

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

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

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.

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 term ‘groupthink’ was coined in 1952 by William Whyte a business author and editor in Fortune magazine (West & Turner, 2014). However, it was not until 1972 that Irving Janis combined the concept with foreign policy decision making and a communication context (Janis, 1972; in West & Turner, 2014). The main tenet of groupthink is that the need for everyone to agree causes the group to suppress conflicting opinions by means to get along and make decisions. It is “a way of deliberation that minimizes conflict and emphasizes the need for unanimity” (West & Turner, 2014, p. 252). However, this may result in neglecting better and more effective decisions that deviate from the conformity. My experience since transferring to The College of

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.