Studying Groupthink

Surprises Found in Studying Groupthink There are many things that groups of people are capable of that might be surprising to someone who has not studied the theory. As there have been more tests throughout the theories history, scientist have found fascinating results.
The first interesting discovery made while studying groupthink is, “Group deliberation often produces worse decisions than can be obtained without deliberation. (Often enough for epistemic concern.)” (Solomon, 2006). Despite most people thinking that working together enhances our ability to create sound decisions it undermines our ability to make good conclusions. This, of course, does not happen every time, but it happens often enough to be a concern for scientists testing
Solomon’s studies on groups have provided the community with strange ideas. It has also furthered the evidence behind the theory of groupthink.
Public Influence Groupthink has been an influential theory in social psychology since its inception. “Janis' introduction of the concept in 1972 spawned a tidal wave of attention from textbook writers in social psychology and management. Likewise, the concept captured the imagination of the media and press, providing, as it did, comprehensible explanations for some of the major fiascoes of the time.” (Turner and Pratkanis, 1998). Despite the idea becoming mainstream, society contrasted the idea and began to work more as groups. Offices and schools in the 21st century are becoming more group oriented despite the warning against it. People rarely work by themselves anymore. There are increasingly more offices with open floor plans and no way to have alone time. Bosses now look more for people skills than they do at the skill that are relevant to the work the employee will actually be doing. Schools require more group work to be done, which is either incredibly frustrating for the people who are assigned to do all the work, or less good work gets done because the students only pick their friends to do work
“The one important exception to this dismal record is electronic brainstorming, where large groups outperform individuals; and the larger the group the better... It's a place where we can be alone together...” (Cain, 2012). The internet has provided a tool for people to anonymously create dialogue with one another without having the effects of social pressures. Researchers conducting tests using the internet can also utilize external knowledge by giving a population without those people knowing what they are being tested on, which produces more accurate