Group polarization is defined as a phenomenon when "members of a deliberating group move toward a more extreme point in whatever direction is indicted by the members' predeliberation tendency.". Keith Carlson, RN, BSN, NC-BC, has been a nurse since 1996. Who will lead the charge, dear Reader? This can have disastrous consequences for the group. Beyond the black stump: rapid reviews of health research issues affecting regional, rural and remote Australia. When Ken uttered the word onerous it changed the direction of the conversation, because it attacked the usefulness of the status quo. Groupthink can cause people to ignore important information and can ultimately lead to poor decisions. The term groupthink has been in popular usage since the 1970s, and its applicability to the multibillion-dollar 21st-century healthcare industry could not be more salient than it is today when we need more creative solutions to vexing problems than ever before. Treating new ideas as liminal (rather than literal) allowed members to relieve some of this pressure and enter into a transitional space where play and experimentation were encouraged. Causes of Groupthink It should be clear from the above that the main causes of groupthink are: Highly cohesive and/or non-diverse groups This was mostly because they wanted to launch the shuttle on schedule. Unfortunately, it also leads to a situation where team members end up making poor decisions. Janis, I. When there is a high degree of cohesiveness. Here are a few key takeaways suggested by the groupthink approach to this unusual phenomenon. Med Teach. The phenomenon can have high costs. Home Business 25 Most Famous Groupthink Examples in History and Pop Culture. Year: 2011. However, their view could save the company/organization from making a mistake. Takes longer. See this image and copyright information in PMC. This shows an incredible failure of critical thinking and decision-making. Establish group norms to encourage and promote divergent thinking. Innovative thinking is the natural enemy of groupthink. This group soon turned toxic and was no longer qualified to make good decisions. Unsurprisingly, this quickly happens, and the boys soon descend into anarchy and chaos. Thus, they failed to prepare for the bombing of Pearl Harbour, which claimed many lives. 2018 Jul 19;7(1):101. doi: 10.1186/s13643-018-0762-1. Assign at least one individual to take the role of the "devil's advocate.". An unquestioned belief in the groups integrity. Daniel: It sounds like we have broad agreement about some of these elements. Public service announcements designed to create a sense of shared identity, such as Were all in this together and Alone together campaigns, will be more effective if viewers can identify with the individuals who serve as spokespersons in these messages. There are steps that groups can take to minimize this problem. When Groupthink Rears Its (Misguided) Head, In the healthcare milieu, problem-solving frequently occurs from the top down, often without the valuable input of those with boots on the ground. Your body is trying to tell you something. Resisting health mandates: A case of groupthink? has been shown to help teams build morale and forward momentum. : Houghton Mifflin. Boston: Houghton Mifflin; 1972. Based on an in-class social experiment by the American teacher and author Ron Jones, this exercise helped to show students why Germans accepted the Nazi Party and fell beneath Hitlers spell. Stereotyped beliefs about other groups can contribute to this biased sense of rightness. According to experts, this happened because intelligence agents needed to please their superiors. This video then explained that they were part of a social experiment. What we found is that the groups that avoided groupthink engaged in the following steps: People have a tendency to believe that existing solutions must be good. What is groupthink? Prof. Douglas Guilbeault shows that large groups of people all tend to think alike, and also illustrates how . 1 camera company now trails behind competitors like Canon, Sony, Nikon, and Samsung. Foremost of these was the ill-advised hunter strategy in which the airline attempted to expand by buying up smaller airlines. Often times, the pressure to make a correct evaluation especially for experts can feel paralyzing when errors are costly. Match terms a-e with the numbered example. Rather than assume that individuals who resist health initiatives misunderstand the health threat or are too stupid to understand it, a groupthink analysis tracks their noncompliance to group-level processes rather than individual-level ones. Other team members appear excited about and pleased with the campaign, but you have some concerns. And yes, there are people who genuinely deserve cancellation, but many people are innocent victims. However, American psychologist Irving Janis introduced the comprehensive theory of groupthink in 1972. Groupthink occurs when individuals in cohesive groups fail to consider alternative perspectives because they are motivated to reach a consensus which typically results in making less than desirable decisions. Best Known Examples of Groupthink 1. Research into the phenomenon of groupthink is a pertinent area of study that involves understanding how group processes influence the making of . Outright rejection of single-payer and related solutions also stymies creative approaches to our current situation, not to mention the denial of climate change, a true public health crisis of unprecedented proportions. Groupthink: An Impediment to Success, by Clifton Wilcox Victims of groupthink; A psychological study of foreign-policy decisions and fiascoes, by Irving Janis. This tendency to seek consensus above all else also means that group members may not adequately assess the potential risks and benefits of a decision. Healthcare costs are out of control, Americans continue to get sicker, and we spend more for less with each passing year. In many cases, people will set aside their own personal beliefs or adopt the opinion of the rest of the group. She claims that a small group of individuals controlled Enron and had complete control over the companies decision-making processes. Janis defined groupthink as: the mode of thinking that persons engage in when concurrence seeking becomes so dominant in a cohesive ingroup that it tends to override realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action. (1972, p. 9). Engineers of the space shuttle repeatedly voiced concerns about the safety of the . Victims of cancel culture are convicted without trial and may have their careers, lives, and families destroyed. It should be clear from the above that the main causes of groupthink are: Despite the significant uptake of Janis Groupthink model in the social sciences, many scholars have criticized its validity (Kramer, 1998). House prices would continue to rise no matter what. On Dec. 4, 2016, Edgar Maddison Welch of Salisbury, N.C . PMC Groupthink is a process in which the motivation for consensus in a group causes poor decisionsmade by knowledgeable people. A great example of this is the movie 12 Angry Men. According to them, its a phenomenon where members of a group begin to think erroneously. Cognitive biases are worrisome for physicians because they can affect one's ability to gather evidence, interpret evidence, take action and evaluate their decisions, the authors noted. The purpose of this film was supposedly to start an international movement that would bring him to justice. Bethesda, MD 20894, Web Policies Also, individual members, like Secretary of State Dean Rusk, did not voice their contrary opinion in group discussions. First, U.S. government officials during the war considered themselves untouchable despite having suffered multiple failures and financial/human losses. Janis IL.Victims of Groupthink: A Psychological Study of Foreign-Policy Decisions and Fiascoes. sharing sensitive information, make sure youre on a federal Whats funny about this ad is that it seems like no one involved really thought it through. The symptoms of groupthink are: (i) stereotyping the adversarys ineptitude, (ii) illusions of invincibility leading to excessive risk taking (Janis, 1972),. Not only was Kony 2012 a stunning example of the theory of groupthink in action, but it also shows how easily social networks can manipulate the public. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan. Anyway no one seems to consider other possible marketing plans, while the dynamic team leader firmly pushes for this campaign. Breaking up members into smaller independent teams can also be helpful. https://helpfulprofessor.com/groupthink-examples/, The illusion that a group is invulnerable, fully competent, and coherent. A total of 22 articles were included-most were commentaries or narrative reviews with only four empirical research studies. All Rights Reserved. Within nursing, when a staff nurse questions a particular accepted practice, the most dangerous words to be spoken in response are, Well, thats the way weve always done it. In nursing, groupthink can keep nurses utilizing practices that are not evidence-based simply because change is too bothersome. Indeed, previous research has challenged Janis model. In this form of groupthink, a more seasoned nurse might say, Well, I was hazed, bullied, and sabotaged as a new nurse and now its my turn to get some payback; why should these new nurses get off easy? This spurious practice is a significant driver of nurse attrition from the profession within the first few years following graduation and licensure; in terms of nursing shortages, this is a very unfortunate calculus indeed. This fictional example illustrates key symptoms of groupthink: (i) group cohesion, (ii) selfcensorship, (ii) the mindguard (team leader) banning alternative opinions. Groupthink defined Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon in which people make largely unanimous and unquestioning decisions for a variety of reasons: Avoidance of disagreement and conflict The desire to maintain the status quo The pull to conform with others The fear of looking ignorant or wrong Some causes: Janis suggested that groupthink tends to be the most prevalent in conditions: Groupthink has been attributed to many real-world political decisions that have had consequential effects. He has received a number of career awards recognizing his contributions from national and international associations. This historical event provides an excellent groupthink definition and explanation. 236-271. 2023 Dotdash Media, Inc. All rights reserved. You are free to use this image on your . Groupthink: A Study in Self Delusion, by Mr Christopher Booker. Believe it or not, there was actually a time when smoking was seen as good for you or even healthy. In situations characterized by groupthink, individuals may self-censor criticism of the group decision, or group leaders may suppress dissenting information. Gatekeeping is the process of filtering messages. Research has shown that consensus-based problem-solving groups are often where innovative ideasgo to die. The term was first used in 1972 by social psychologist Irving L. Janis. This phenomenon embodies the worst aspects of this concept, including the total belief that the group is in the right. This group of girls (known as The Plastics) routinely engage in groupthink. In January 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts aboard. The Effects of Rudeness on NICU Medical Teams Studied by a New Tool for the Assessment of Decision-Making Group Dynamics. Groupthink. 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