In social psychology, group polarization refers to the tendency for a group to reach decisions that are more extreme than the initial inclinations of its individual members, shifting toward greater risk when members initially lean toward risk and toward greater caution when they initially lean toward caution. The phenomenon also holds for attitudes rather than just decisions: a group's initial attitude toward a situation tends to strengthen and intensify after group discussion, a related effect known as attitude polarization.
Facts
Core ClaimGroups tend to make decisions more extreme than the initial inclination of their members. 1 First Described Year Classification
Type of PhenomenonSocial or Interpersonal Phenomenon 1 Connections
Sources
1. Group Polarization - Wikipedia
Overview
In social psychology, group polarization refers to the tendency for a group to make decisions that are more extreme than the initial inclination of its members.
History (year)
The study of group polarization can be traced back to an unpublished 1961 Master's thesis by MIT student James Stoner, who observed the so-called 'risky shift'.
lead section, phenomenon-kind classification
In social psychology, group polarization refers to the tendency for a group to make decisions that are more extreme than the initial inclination of its members.
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