Groupthink: what it is and how it influences us

The influence of groups makes us much more prone to fall into mistakes and mental traps.

Do you think you decide better when you are alone or when you are in a group? Researcher Irving Janis observed that when we are in a group we tend to make wrong decisions, and he called this phenomenon groupthink. called this phenomenon groupthink.

The formation of groups and decision making in them have been widely studied phenomena in social psychology. We are going to know the main characteristics of groupthink, a concept that tries to explain the mistakes or biases we make when we make decisions in groups.

What is a group?

A group is a unit composed of a certain number of separate organisms that have a collective perception of their whole, and that have the capacity to act.and that possess the capacity to act.

The group tends to act effectively together in relation to its environment.

Group polarization

Group polarization is a concept that we need to understand beforehand in order to understand what group thinking is. This appears in group processes, and consists in an accentuation of the initially dominant position due to group discussion. due to group discussion.

Myers found this phenomenon in a Wide range of contexts, such as stereotypes, prosocial and antisocial behavior, play, negotiations, etc.

Later, Janis spoke of groupthink as an extreme form of group polarization. Let's see what this new phenomenon consists of.

Groupthink according to Janis

Irving Janis (1972, 77) described groupthink by observing that many like-minded groups (e.g. councils, committees,...), ended up by taking incorrect or irrational decisions due to the fact of belonging to one's own group.. In other words, the members of the groups influenced each other (or rather, their thinking) in such a way that they ended up erring in their decisions.

Thus, groupthink appears when, in the decision-making process, a very cohesive or like-minded group, is so conditioned by the search for consensus that its perception of reality deteriorates..

Characteristics

The 5 fundamental characteristics of groupthink are the following.

1. Illusion of invulnerability

It is the belief shared by the members of the group that nothing bad is going to happen to them as long as they stick together.. It is believed that the group will not fail if it acts together or united.

2. Pressure for uniformity

This is the pressure to "be all the same", which in turn gives rise to four other symptoms:

2.1. Pressure on dissidents.

Criticism of the group or its actions is rejected.. The greater the cohesion and relevance of the problem, the greater the rejection of the group members towards the non-conformist.

2.2. Self-censorship

Group members do not express their doubts about the decisions taken by the group.

Illusion of unanimity

Consists of the tendency to overestimate the degree of agreement that exists among group members.

2.4. Appearance of the gatekeepers of the mind

This occurs when members of the group try to maintain the group orthodoxy (group norms) and for this purpose denounce possible deviations, trying to denounce possible deviations, trying to protect the group from adverse information..

3. Rationalization

These are the a posteriori justifications, when a decision has already been made, instead of a previous, detailed and careful analysis of the problems affecting the group. In other words, the group skips the analysis of the problem and The latter replaces it with justifications based on their desires and motivations (conscious or unconscious). (conscious or unconscious).

4. Belief that the group is inherently moral.

Group members exaggeratedly perceive that their approaches as a group are moral and righteous.

5. Stereotyping of exogroups

There is a homogeneous, uniform homogeneous, uniform and generally pejorative image of the members of the exogroups (the "other" groups). (the "other" groups). This image includes stereotyped ideas of the behavior and thinking of the members of the exogroup.

• You may be interested in "Stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination: why should we avoid prejudging?"

How is groupthink reinforced?

Groupthink is reinforced if a number of conditions are met:

• That the group is highly cohesive.
• The group is deprived of alternative sources of information.
• The leader clearly supports a certain option.

Thus, these conditions promote a scenario where group discussions are characterized by attempts to rationalize among everyone; actions that are congruent with the option are assumed, while discordant information is ignored or disqualified..

How is it reduced?

Some of the strategies to reduce groupthink are these.

1. Assign the role of critical evaluator to all members of the group.

This involves prioritizing the objections of group members. The leader will have to be able to withstand criticism..

2. Leader's impartiality

Another strategy is that the leader maintains an impartial attitude when making decisions or supporting or not supporting certain opinions.

3. Open discussions

Open discussions are encouraged, where all members of the group can speak freelywithout pressure or censorship.

Bibliographical references:

• Hogg, M. (2010). Social psychology. Vaughan Graham M. Panamericana.
• Marin, M. (2012). Psicología social de los procesos grupales. Pirámide.