Groupthink Theory Essay Example For Students

Groupthink Theory Essay GROUPTHINK THEORY COMM410 As people, when confronted with a problem where a solution must be found, our ideal situation is to come up with the best possible one. To do this, we ideally gather the most knowledgeable, intelligent individuals into a group and attempt to derive the best solution to the problem. With the collection of these people, one would think that finding the best possible answer to the problem would be a rather simple task. However, what has happened in many situations is the complete opposite. Rather than finding the best possible solutions, many ideal, cohesive groups arrive at the worst possible answer largely due to problems in communication within the group. This is what we call the radical theory of ‘groupthink’. When groupthink occurs, it can lead to poor decision-making and lack of creativity and as a result, lead to severe consequences. It is important that groups be aware of the symptoms of groupthink in order reduce the chances of negative outcomes. Groupthink is defined as â€Å"the mode of thinking that persons engage in when concurrence-seeking becomes so dominant in a cohesive in-group that it tends to override realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action† (Irving Janis, 1972). More simply put, groups who are affected by groupthink ignore other alternatives. Together, the members try and minimize conflict, thereby reaching consensus, without truly analyzing, studying and evaluating different ideas. In search of group cohesiveness, things such as individuality and creativity tend to disappear into the crowd. Rather than bringing new and different ideas to the table, group members avoid giving an opinion that would be considered to rest outside of the group’s comfort zone. Whats really angering about instructions of this sort is that they imply theres only one way to put this rotisserie together their way. And that presumption wipes out all the creativity. Actually there are hundreds of ways to put the rotisserie together and when they make you follow just one way without showing you the overall problem, the instructions become hard to follow in such a way as not to make mistakes. You lose the feeling for the work† (Pirsig, 166). When seeking solutions to a problem, there can be hundreds of possible ways to solve it. However, because of the lack of creativity, individuality and conflict that arises due to groupthink, only one of those solutions is seriously taken into consideration. Unfortunately, the final solution is not always the best one. In 1972, Yale psychologist Irving Janis attended a seminar on small groups at Yale University. After reading about the Bay of Pigs fiasco, Janis was troubled at the idea that a group of intelligent, well-educated individuals, who included John F. Kennedy and his advisors, allowed themselves to create such a plan. Later on, Irving Janis studied significant events; such as the failure to protect Pearl Harbor, in order to further investigate the topic of groupthink. Decision-making can be seen all around us. Whether it is in the business world or deciding what to make for dinner, we are forced to make choices. Typically, making decisions follows a 6-step process. The steps involved in making a decision are as follows: †¢ Identify the problem or opportunity †¢ Gather relevant information †¢ Develop as many alternatives as possible Evaluate alternatives to decide which is best †¢ Decide on and implement the best alternative †¢ Follow-up on the decision We must keep in mind, however, that making an individual decision is much different than making one in groups. With group decision-making comes social interaction and social, psychological and contextual influences. These things alone call for many advantage s and disadvantages, one advantage being that there are more opinions and more input because of the number of people. Therefore, more solutions to the initial problem(s) can be generated. With this, however, comes a major disadvantage. When making a group decision, majority of groups must agree with the final solution. 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. 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. Th is 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 â€Å"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 symptom we have collective rationalization. This occurs when the group is convinced that nothing can go wrong with the plan with which they have decided to go even if there is sufficient evidence that proposes the complete opposite. The fourth symptom is stereotyped views of out-groups. Members within the group tend to have negative stereotypes of people and groups that are not part of their assembly. This causes the in-group members to disregard what the out-groups have to say which usually causes a lack of creativity. Next we have direct pressure on dissenters, or, direct pressure for conformity. With this symptom, members are discouraged to express any argument about the group’s stereotype and/or commitments, or else this is seen as disloyalty on the part of that particular member’s. The sixth symptom is known as self-censorship. Because groups who experience groupthink are very judgmental and discourage any argument about what the group does, group members will not share their ideas because of the fear of being rejected. These members censor themselves and withhold any criticism or opinion that they may have. Following self-censorship comes illusion of unanimity. In groups, members look to each other to confirm their ideas. This symptom occurs when a member falsely believes that silence in a meeting means that everyone agrees with the decision. Lastly we have self-appointed ‘mind guards’. Sometimes, certain members will appoint themselves as protectors of the group and even the leader from the outside that could potentially ruin the group’s cohesiveness. Ultimately, groups want to avoid all of these symptoms in order to avoid a potentially disastrous result. One may ask, however, how is this possible? Lebanon: A Globe-trotters Guide EssayIn this case, the NASA employee’s inability to think laterally and realize that things change with time, truly affected the result of this mission. Their decision to launch this ship the 19 previous times was right at the time. However, conditions are not always constant. The decision to make the 20th and final launch may have seemed right hours before, however, the NASA’s employees inability to think laterally and outside the box was only one of the contributing factors to this disaster. Some things you miss because theyre so tiny you overlook them. But some things you dont see because theyre so huge. We were both looking at the same thing, seeing the same thing, talking about the same thing, thinking about the same thing, except he was looking, seeing, talking, and thinking from a completely different dimension (Pirsig, 55). All NASA employees and Morton Thiokol employees were talking, thinking, looking, and seeing the same thing. However, all of these things were done in a different context. The engineers were concerned about the lives at hand while the NASA employees’ concerns were more directed to continuing the launching successes of the ship. It is important that we always encourage viewing things from other’s perspectives. We must keep in mind that groupthink is not only seen in an organizational or business context, it is also seen in everyday life. The majority of individuals have found themselves in a position, at one time or another, where the group silences them because of fear of rejection or intimidation. Very recently, on October 24th, 2009, a 15 year-old female was raped in a back alley outside of a school dance at Richmond High in Richmond California. At first glance, one might see this as a regular rape case. However, it is the complete opposite. This young woman was raped by not only 1, but 6 male teenagers while approximately 10 others watched. Although this case may not be identified precisely as groupthink, there are many characteristics and symptoms that are easily identifiable. Firstly, this case was characterized as a ‘gang-rape’. If one were to define â€Å"gang†, the several definitions that could involve one key word. This word is ‘group’. This group of young gentlemen joined together and performed very disturbing acts towards this young woman. This group experienced five out of the eight symptoms that were identified at the beginning of this paper. The young gentlemen who were involved in this act clearly ignored the obvious dangers and risks going into this situation (illusions of vulnerability), they believed they were doing no wrong and ignored the possible ethical consequences of their decisions (inherent morality) and they believed that nothing would come of their decisions to rape this girl even though there is sufficient evidence in the news and elsewhere that rape is a very serious offense (collective rationalization). Members who were involved also may have felt pressured to take part in or continue the acts once they started because of the possible mockery and disrespect on the part of the other members or the 10 other individuals watching (direct pressure for conformity). Finally, those members who thought what they were doing was wrong did not speak up and withheld their views because of the possibility of being rejected by the group (self-censorship). Even though the members were not looking for a solution to a specific problem, the decisions that they made as a group and the choices they made were definitely ones with a disastrous result. Rather than staying and doing what they did to this young woman, they could have evaluated other alternatives and preserved no only the girls well being, but also their own. As disturbing as this may sound, concurrence was searched for by the group. The group agreed on how and where they performed this act. Without concurrence and cohesion, this group of people would not have done this to this poor young lady. When confronted with a problem, we ideally want to find the best possible solution. Even if the group includes members who are intelligent and knowledgeable, the decisions made are not always the best ones. The issue of the Challenger Space Shuttle and the rape case are only two of many situations that can be characterized as groupthink. Unfortunately, in many cases, the result of the final decision can be disastrous. It is important that groups be aware of the symptoms mentioned in this paper and takes the necessary precautions to avoid decisions that can create negative results. Sources Avoiding groupthink. (2009). Retrieved September 6th, 2009, from Mind Tools Web Site: http://www. mindtools. com/pages/article/newLDR_82. htm Borchers, Tim. (1999). Decision making. 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Retrieved from: http://www. sciencedirect. com/science? ob=ArticleURL_udi=B6WP2-45FCPR6G_user=607434_rdoc=1_fmt=_orig=search_sort=d_docanchor=view=c_searchStrId=1002502910_rerunOrigin=google_acct=C000031539_version=1_urlVersion=0_userid=607434md5=8d19dd6821ed02fd2a77f178a6f30eff Hirokawa, R. , Pool, M. S. (1996). Communication and group decision making. Retireved on September 6th, 2009. Web Site: http://books. google. com/books? id=lAEA68lX5XsCpg=PA3lpg=PA3dq=group+decision+making+theorysource=blots=ms_FmZg-QGsig=lt2Xc-sKpbRBpl1Dm6Nvi5m9wyshl=enei=mU2kSs_gAceK8QbbvOjwDwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=9#v=onepageq=group%20decision%20making%20theoryf=false Janis, I. (1982). Groupthink. Retrieved October 4th, from: http://apps. olin. wustl. edu/faculty/macdonald/GroupThink. pdf Lobe, Jim. (2004). Chikenhawk groupthink. Retrieved September 6th, 2009, from CommonDreams. org Web Site:http://www. commondreams. org/headlines04/0512-02. htm What is Groupthink. 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