Groupthink Theory

Running Head : Groupthink Theory

Groupthink Theory

Authors Name

Institution Name

Introduction

Groupthink is a progression of rationalization that sets in when members of a team begin to think alike . It can be promoted by an organization 's culture or managers who do not endure dissent or it can develop under leaders who offer their employees so much support and praise that pretty soon everyone begins to underestimate the significance of potential problems . Most of the time , groupthink pops up rapidly and wreaks havoc before anyone recognizes what 's going

on

In this , we have discussed Groupthink that is a direct consequence of cohesiveness in groups . Our concern is that "group decision making (communication " and "group communication " are all too often used interchangeably , while , in fact , the former should be understood as just one (albeit important ) form of communication present in natural decision-making groups . The whole presented the studies and review carried forward by researchers . Though , researchers have led to an inevitable and unarguable conclusion : Decision-making groups sometimes engage in decision making , but they engage in many other forms of communication as well

Literature review

In 1972 , Janis unveiled groupthink theory to explicate disastrous policy decisions in modern U .S . history . He defined groupthink as "a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are extremely involved in a cohesive in-group , when the members ' strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action (p . 9 . Janis identified high group cohesiveness as the chief culprit , postulating that "the more amiability and esprit de corps among the members of a policy-making in-group , the greater is the danger that independent critical thinking will be replaced by groupthink (p . 13

Janis (1982 ) and Janis and Mann (1977 ) later refined Janis ' theory and developed a more unified five-stage model to elucidate groupthink as a decision-making process . In the revision , Janis continued to conjecture high group cohesiveness as the primary condition precursor to groupthink , but also integrated certain organizational and situational conditions that increase the prospect that a group will engage in excessive concurrence seeking . In turn , concurrence seeking gives rise to symptoms of groupthink , which result in defective decision making and , ultimately in a low probability for a successful group outcome

Logically , the existence of groupthink is indicated by evidence of eight symptoms (a ) the illusion of unanimity (b ) the illusion of imperviousness (c ) collective rationalizations (d ) direct pressure on dissenters (e ) self-appointed mudguards (f ) self-censorship (g belief in the intrinsic morality of the group , and (h ) stereotyping of outgroups

Janis (1972 ) argued explicitly that the frequency and decree of these symptoms predict the quality of a group 's decision "The more often a group displays the symptoms the worse will be the quality of its decisions . Even while some symptoms are absent , the others can be so pronounced that we can predict all the inopportune consequences of groupthink (p . 198

Longley and Pruitt (1980 ) criticized Janis ' decision to associate groupthink with concurrence seeking , and thereby judge consensus seeking...