Groupthink Research Paper

In this assignment I will be defining the key elements of the "groupthink" phenomenon. This will be accomplished by using examples in order to discuss and evaluate the way in which these negative influences might be combatted.

First and foremost, groupthink is a psychological term that was first used in 1972 by a social psychologist named Irvin L Janis. It refers to the practice of making group decisions, which typically results in irrational decision making which affects the final outcome.

Illusion of invulnerability
According to Janis, there are eight known symptoms of groupthink. He believed that one of the symptoms of groupthink is “illusion of invulnerability”, which involves the ignorance of potential danger and taking unnecessary

However, the team members tend to only use information which are in favour of their actions, therefore creating the false sense of judgement and affecting the group by singling out other views.This strategy makes the group fail to reach its initial objective, as they overlook the relevant information.

In conclusion, there are numerous main causes of groupthink. These include overestimations of the team, closed-mindedness and pressures toward uniformity. Several factors contribute towards these symptoms, one of which is the isolation from criticism that leads to illusions of group invulnerability and morality. It is therefore important for opinions from the outside to be included into the decision making process of the group in order to prevent this from occurring.

Moreover, closed-mindedness causes the group decision-making to lack creativeness and innovation as the team members have a restricted thought process. In addition, the pressures toward uniformity involve the group members not wanting to digress from the consensus of the group by preserving any criticism or opposing arguments. Any individuals in the group expressing doubt is exposed to pressure to conform to the shared values of the