Groupthink: Decision Making and Group

The term groupthink originated in 1952 in Fortune magazine by the author William Whyte. The theory, however, was not researched or clearly defined until around 1972 by Irving Janis. Whyte acknowledged that groupthink was a definition in progress; Janis picked up and further developed the study many years later. Groupthink is defined as a group’s inability to make correct decisions as a result of the implied need for group cohesion. “Janis provides a series of statements that collectively are a definition of groupthink: ‘Groupthink refers to a deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment that results from in-group pressures’” (Hutter 5). Group members force themselves to come to an agreement about decisions even when some members may have differing opinions on the subject at hand. Basically, doubts are set aside out of fear of offsetting the groups balance. Janis lays out eight prominent symptoms of groupthink in his two works Victims of Groupthink: A Psychological Study of Foreign-Policy Decisions and Fiascoes (1972) and Groupthink (1982). The first symptom occurs when the group develops a false sense of imperviousness which then leads to more risky decision making. The second symptom happens when the group chooses to ignore warnings and objections as a result of supposed invulnerability. Third, the group tends to cease questioning the morality of decisions being made due to the sense of security which results from being part of a group. In the fourth symptom, members of the group formulate stereotyped views of their opposition’s leader. Next, there is pressure on dissenters to follow the majority decision. The pressure leads to self-censorship of the dissenters. Those who do not want to express their doubts lead the group to have a false sense of unanimity which is the seventh symptom. The last of the symptoms is the result of what is referred to as “self-appointed mindguards.” This means that members of the