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Irving Janis, a psychologist, coined the word groupthink in 1972. It is a kind of thought process which is done by a group. Minimization of conflict and attaining consensus are the two objectives of the members of the group.It occurs because group sometimes makes some decisions which are faulty because pressure created by the group deteriorates the moral judgment and mental efficiency Irrigational actions are taken by the group which are affected by groupthink as alternatives are ignored by them and due to this other groups are dehumanized. When the members of the group have same background, when opinions from outside are insulated and when some clear rules are not defined for decision making then that group is most vulnerable to groupthink.

Eight symptoms of group think that are documented by Janis are:

• Invulnerability illusion: excessive optimism is created which encourages extreme risk taking.
• Combined rationalization: assumptions are not reconsidered by the members and warnings are discounted by them.
• Inherent morality belief: moral or the ethical consequences are ignored by the members while making decisions
• Stereotyped notions: enemy’s negative views create responses which are effective enough to cause conflicts.
• Direct pressure on dissenters: members of the group do not express arguments against any of the view made by group because of the pressure.
• Self censorship: doubts and deviations are also not expressed.
• Unanimity illusion: views and judgments made by the majority of the people are assumed to be unanimous.
• Mind guards which are self appointed: problematic information or the information which is contradictory from the views or the decisions of the group are protected by the members from the leader of the group.

If these symptoms exist in a group than the group is very much vulnerable to groupthink. If a group is highly cohesive or is under pressure to make a quality decision than group think occurs.

Some of the remedies for groupthink are:

• Role of critical evaluator should be assigned by the leader to each member.
• Expectations at the outset should be avoided by the leader.
• Group deliberations should be discussed daily by every member of the group.

Written by: Matt

We also suggest this relevant article if you have time: Expectancy Theory by Victor Vroom

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