Groupthink is a pattern of flawed group decision-making in which the desire for harmony, conformity or consensus within a cohesive group leads members to suppress dissent, avoid critically evaluating alternatives, and converge on a decision without genuinely weighing its risks. It is most associated with tightly knit, insulated decision-making groups under stress, such as government or military planning bodies. The word was coined in 1952 by the writer William H. Whyte Jr, and the social psychologist Irving Janis, at Yale University, developed the concept's detailed theoretical framework and diagnostic symptoms in an influential 1972 book, after studying foreign-policy fiascoes such as the Bay of Pigs invasion.
Facts
Core ClaimA group's pressure toward unanimity and harmony can override its members' realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action, producing worse decisions than the members would reach individually. 1 First Described Year Classification
Type of PhenomenonSocial or Interpersonal Phenomenon 1 Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Groupthink
Wikimedia FoundationOverview section
the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome.
History section, Janis 1972
William H. Whyte Jr. derived the term from George Orwell's 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, and popularized it in 1952 in Fortune magazine.
lead section, phenomenon-kind classification
Groupthink is a pattern of flawed group decision-making in which the desire for harmony, conformity or consensus within a cohesive group leads members to suppress dissent, avoid critically evaluating alternatives, and converge on a decision without genuinely weighing its risks.
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