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Disadvantages of group decision making
Myers ap psychology 2014 groupthink definition
Disadvantages of group decision making
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Group think affects how a person thinks and makes decision independently for themselves. There are symptoms of group think, effects of this concept, and remedies that will help fix it. Symptoms of group think occurs in a group that is trying to make a decision. An example of a symptom is when members in a group take extreme risks and do not consider the the consequences of the results that may occur afterwards (“What is Group think” 1). That leads to self-censorship where individuals cannot voice out their misgivings and doubts about the decision made. When a group makes a decision based in group think, the results of that are the products of poor decision making. Members will ignore facts and opinions that does not support their decisions,
From the Velasquez excerpt he explains Janis definition of Group think which refers to the susceptibility of groups of people to get increasingly out of touch with reality (Janis 84). Velasquez believes the main cause of groupthink is socials pressures within the group due to the group wanting to get along and keep harmony (Janis 84). When a group really wants to have a good standing relationship with each other they could possibly just agree on something to not upset the others, or to make them not like them for their beliefs and not agreeing resulting in them not evaluating the situation. This negatively affects ones decision making outcome. Groupthink as any other problem has symptoms and we will go over each of these.
Groupthink. Defined as "reasoning or decision-making by a group, often characterized by uncritical acceptance or conformity to prevailing points of view," groupthink was the predominant characteristic of Pentagon Middle East policy development. The result of groupthink is the elevation of opinion into a kind of accepted "fact," and uncritical acceptance of extremely narrow and isolated points of view.
Everyday a war is being waged, not in foreign countries- but in small neighborhoods and capital cities all over the world. A timeless battle to retain individual thought and action in an increasingly conformist society. The concept of a unanimous group-thinking society can be witnessed throughout history in the form of political controversies to pop culture and trends, to subtle influences in everyday life. The short narrative “Shooting an Elephant” written by George Orwell is a perfect example of group-thinking that implicates that to be accepted into these societal groups, one must do what is right by them, and not by the individual. Throughout the narrative, the author is influenced by increasing pressures from the crowd to shoot the elephant although it goes against his own personal convictions. The author desires to be accepted into the native's lives; no longer a social outcast. However, with this desire comes the knowledge that the group may or may not be correct in their brutal quest for blood.
The term groupthink in this report is defined as, the social psychological phenomenon that results in groups during pressure situations. This social psychology theory is broken down into eight signs. Illusion of invulnerability, Collective rationalization, Belief in inherent morality, Stereotyped views of out-groups, Direct pressure on dissenters, Self-censorship, Illusion of unanimity, Self-appointed “mindguards”. According to research conducted by Irving Janis, there are three conditions to groupthink. The first, "high group cohesiveness" which is the direction for a group to be in unity while working towards a goal, or to satisfy the emotional needs of its members. Secondly, the structural faults such as insulation of the group, lack of norms and central leadership, in addition social background of group members. The third, situational context includes the circumstances of the groups meeting, social roles and expected behavior. This notion is exemplified during the movie, "12 Angry Men". The purpose of this essay is to examine the movie content to display the groupthink symptoms in place. Groupthink consists of eight major factors that occur during the film's scenes, as the twelve men debate a premeditated murder court case. All of the factors continue to rise as the jury discusses the young man's fate. During the film, a unanimous vote must be reached, despite this one man refuses to vote guilty. In 1957 the Orson Welles directed film opens as the judge explains the case and its severity. Soon after the group forms as the 12 men enter the jury discussion room. During these scene frames, the case evidence is explained. As the men talk they give details of an old man living beneath the boy testified, that he heard a fight, stat...
In 1972, Irving Janis presented a set of hypothesis that he extracted from observing small groups performing problem solving tasks; he collectively referred to these hypotheses as groupthink¹. He defined groupthink as “a quick and easy way to refer to a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the members’ striving for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action²” A successful group brings varied ideas, collective knowledge, and focus on the task at hand. The importance of groups is to accomplish tasks that individuals can not do on their own. The Bay of Pigs, Watergate, and the Challenger disaster are all forms of failure within a group. Specifically, you can see the effect of groupthink of Americans before September 11, 2001. The thought of harm to the United States was unfathomable, but only after the attacks did they realize they were not invincible. When a solid, highly cohesive group is only concerned with maintaining agreement, they fail to see their alternatives and any other available options. When a group experiences groupthink, they may feel uninterested about a task, don't feel like they will be successful, and the group members do not challenge ideas. Stress is also a factor in the failure of groupthink. An effective group needs to have clear goals, trust, accountability, support, and training. Some indicators that groupthink may be happening are; making unethical decisions, they think they are never wrong, close-minded about situations, and ignore important information. Many things can be done to prevent groupthink from happening. One way is to make each person in the group a “critical evaluator”. The leader must ...
Social Workers must be knowledgeable on how to facilitate and lead group sessions with clients. They must be cognizant on their responsibilities as a facilitator, and diligently work to meet the needs of all group members collectively and individually. According to Toseland, Ronald, & Rivas, Robert (2009) group work practice focuses on Social Work practice with a broad range of treatment and task groups and the group’s environment (pg. 2.). It is significant for Social Workers to be equipped with the knowledge and skills to be able to properly assess and assist in group atmospheres. At my field placement which is at the Covenant House, a homeless shelter in Detroit that services youth from ages 18-24. I am responsible for co-facilitating along with the agency’s Social Worker, a
...ve that the label of Groupthink can be used too loosely. I myself have experienced situations where a Group is too quick to label themselves as sufferers of Groupthink. Although I truly think that Groupthink is a severe problem that exists today, the Challenger being one of the most disastrous of those examples. I believe that we all need to be careful not to be too swift about the use of the Groupthink label. It can be just as negative to a group to label them as wronged in their process when no such error exists as to call them victims of Groupthink. Again the dilemma is that groups need to always be alert to the existence of Groupthink, they also need to not label themselves or other victims of Groupthink unfairly. Although there are many times that Groupthink leads to failure, there are few instances when it works for the food. This is a fine line to walk, but it is most definitely a line that needs to be walked time and time again.
Turman, P. (October 13, 2000b). Group Decision Making & Problem Solving: Group Communication [Lecture] Cedar Falls, IA. University of Northern Iowa, Communication Studies Department.
Numerous cases in history show that identification with a particular group can lead to dreadful outcomes. Together, with historical evidence, classic psychological studies tell a very powerful story. Decent people can take on oppressive roles and succumb to oppressive leaders. However, people often resist tyranny, and their resistance tends to be most effective when it is collective.
What is the most important thing you think the attorney needs to know about group dynamics?
There are eight symptoms of groupthink. The first symptom is when all or most of the group view themselves as invincible which causes them to make decisions that may be risky. The group has an enormous amount of confidence and authority in their decisions as well as in themselves. They see themselves collectively better in all ways than any other group and they believe the event will go well not because of what it is, but because they are involved. The second symptom is the belief of the group that they are moral and upstanding, which leads the group to ignore the ethical or moral consequences of the decisions. The group engages in a total overestimation of its morality. There is never any question that the group is not doing the right thing, they just act. The disregarding of information or warnings that may lead to changes in past policy is the third symptom. Even if there is considerable evidence against their standpoint, they see no problems with their plan. Stereotyping of enemy leaders or others as weak or stupid is the fourth symptom. This symptom leads to close-mindedness to other individuals and their opinions. The fifth symptom is the self-censorship of an individual causing him to overlook his doubts. A group member basically keeps his mouth shut so the group can continue in harmony. Symptom number six refers to the illusion of unanimity; going along with the majority, and the assumption that silence signifies consent. Sometimes a group member who questions the rightness of the goals is pressured by others into concurring or agreeing, this is symptom number seven. The last symptom is the members that set themselves up as a buffer to protect the group from adverse information that may destroy their shared contentment regarding the group’s ...
We learned about the phenomenon of Groupthink, which is a group usually makes decisions that are proven disastrous and in hindsight people agree that it is flawed from the onset. Groupthink as we have learned can happen anywhere from being with friends which we call peer pressure, to companies, corporations and especially government institutions. For our learning journal assignment, we have to find and read or own examples of groupthink disasters and the one that came to mind to me was Coca-Cola’s changing of the Coca-Cola’s recipe in the 80’s. The question that popped in my mind is, is that an example of groupthink decision making?
Kerr, N. L., & Scott, T. R. Group Performance and Decision Making. Annual Review of Psychology, 623-655.
This not only relates to the overall idea of the individual’s actions based on group influence but also alludes to the sub idea of the group of the classroom and how the individual does not want to be seen as lesser by giving a wrong answer. In doing this the group influences the individual to go along with the main idea of the group. In this experiment when given three lines to decide which one is more closely related to the original line it was found that the individual, that was part of the experimental group, would often pick the wrong answer to go along with the group (Baron, 2012). The influence stems from the group all choosing the wrong answer then the individual begins to believe that there is something wrong with the answer they had originally chosen due to the fact that the group overall has made a majority answer. The group itself can present tangible influence when they look to the individual to answer. That moment when the group looks toward the individual is where the influence becomes more concrete and the individual’s own beliefs begin to waiver because they believe that perhaps they are wrong and the group is correct
Several experiments and researches have been conducted that have focused on how people behave in groups. The findings have revealed that groups affect peoples’ attitudes, behavior and perceptions. Groups are essential for personal life, as well as in work life.