Updated by Lic. Cristina Araujo
Groupthink is a process through which the desire for consensus in groups can lead to poor decisions. Rather than object to them and risk losing a sense of group solidarity, members may remain silent and lend their support.
Groupthink occurs when a group values cohesiveness and unanimity more than making the right decision.
In situations characterized by groupthink, individuals may self-censor criticism of the group decision, or group leaders may suppress dissenting information.
Although groupthink leads to making suboptimal decisions, group leaders can take steps to avoid groupthink and improve decision-making processes.
Groupthink was first studied by Irving Janis, who was interested in understanding why groups with intelligent, knowledgeable group members sometimes made poorly-considered decisions. We’ve all seen examples of poor decisions made by groups: think, for example, of mistakes made by political candidates, inadvertently offensive advertising campaigns, or an ineffective strategic decision by the managers of a sports team. When you see an especially bad public decision, you may even wonder, “How did so many people not realize this was a bad idea?” Groupthink, essentially, explains how this happens.
On the other hand, in a well-functioning group, members can pool their knowledge and engage in constructive debate to make a better decision than individuals would on their own.
Groups may be more likely to experience groupthink when particular conditions are met. In particular, highly cohesive groups may be at higher risk.
For example, if the group members are close to each other (if they’re friends in addition to having a working relationship, for instance) they may be hesitant to speak up and question their fellow group members’ ideas.
The leader of a group can also create groupthink situations. For example, if a leader makes his or her preferences and opinions known, group members may be hesitant to publicly question the leader’s opinion. Another risk factor for groupthink occurs when groups are making stressful or high-stakes decisions; in these situations, going with the group may be a safer choice than voicing a potentially controversial opinion.
Characteristics of Groupthink
Seeing the group as infallible. People may think that the group is better at making decisions than it actually is.
Not being open-minded. Groups may make efforts to justify and rationalize their initial decision, rather than considering potential pitfalls of their plan or other alternatives.
Valuing conformity over free discussion. In groupthink situations, there’s little room for people to voice dissenting opinions. Individual members may self-censor and avoid questioning the group’s actions. This can lead to what Janis called the illusion of unanimity: many people doubt the group’s decision, but it appears the group is unanimous because no one is willing to voice their dissent publicly.
Example
To get an idea of how groupthink might work in practice, imagine you’re part of a company that is trying to develop a new advertising campaign for a consumer product. The rest of your team seems excited about the campaign but you have some concerns. However, you’re reluctant to speak up because you like your coworkers and don’t want to publicly embarrass them by questioning their idea. You also don’t know what to suggest that your team do instead, because most of the meetings have involved talking about why this campaign is good, instead of considering other possible advertising campaigns. Briefly, you talk to your immediate supervisor and mention to her your concerns about the campaign. However, she tells you not to derail a project that everyone is so excited about and fails to relay your concerns to the team leader. At that point, you may decide that going along with the group is the strategy that makes the most sense—you don’t want to stand out for going against a popular strategy.
After all, you tell yourself, if it’s such a popular idea among your coworkers—whom you like and respect—can it really be such a bad idea?
Situations such as this one show that groupthink can happen relatively easily. When there are strong pressures to conform to the group, we may not voice our true thoughts. In cases like this, we can even experience the illusion of unanimity: while many people may privately disagree, we go along with the group’s decision—which can lead the group to make a bad decision.
Sources
Forsyth, Donelson R. Group Dynamics. 4th ed., Thomson/Wadsworth, 2006. https://books.google.com/books?id=jXTa7Tbkpf4C
Janis, Irving L. “Groupthink.” Leadership: Understanding the Dynamics of Power and Influence in Organizations, edited by Robert P. Vecchio. 2nd ed., University of Notre Dame Press, 2007, pp. 157-169. https://muse.jhu.edu/book/47900
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