Abilene Paradox

The Abilene paradox is a collective fallacy in which a group of people collectively decides on a course of action that runs counter to the preferences of most or all of the individuals in the group, while each individual believes that course to be aligned with what most of the others actually want. It involves a breakdown of group communication in which each member mistakenly believes their own preference goes against the group's, and so does not raise an objection, sometimes even voicing support for an outcome they do not want, out of a desire not to rock the boat. It differs from groupthink in what drives the shared error: in groupthink, individuals distort or deceive themselves about their own views, often to avoid a future they sense they cannot prevent by speaking out, while in the Abilene paradox individuals simply fail to perceive what others actually prefer or to manage reaching an honest agreement.