Groupthink

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Groupthink

• Small Group Communication
• Bill Boggs

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Communication so far

• Intrapersonal
• Interpersonal
• Perception
• Listening
• Verbal Communication
• Nonverbal Communication
• Understanding Relationships
• Building a Positive Communication Climate

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What is small group communication?

• 3 to 8 people
• Sharing a common objective
• Usually interacting face to face

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What is Groupthink?

• Illusion of invulnerability
• Collective rationalization
• Belief in inherent morality
• Stereotyped views of out-groups
• Direct pressure on dissenters
• Self-censorship
• Illusion of unanimity
• Self-appointed mindguards
• (Janis, 1982)

From http//www.tc-forum.org/images/tc-forum/001-
1.gif
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Whats wrong with Groupthink?
It can lead to very bad decisions.
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Kennedy Vietnam
Kennedy photo is public domain. Map is from
WorldAtlas.com and is used with permission.
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Kennedy Vietnam
The Norm of Secrecy
the norm of secrecy emerged through the
interrelationships of phenomena such as the
coding of documents, the sharing of a language
of intrigue and conspiracy, the use of small
secret task groups, and a communication that
portrayed the press as an enemy. (Ball, 1994, p.
187).
Kennedy photo is public domain. Map is from
WorldAtlas.com and is used with permission.
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Kennedy Vietnam
The Norm of Duplicity
The meanings, values, and beliefs embedded in
the groups communication about guerilla warfare,
intrigue, and secrecy, converged with the
communication and organizational practices
associated with the norm of duplicity. (Ball,
1994, p. 189).
Kennedy photo is public domain. Map is from
WorldAtlas.com and is used with permission.
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Nixon Watergate
Nixon photo is public domain. Watergate Complex
photo is used with permission of the Gerald Ford
Museum.
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Nixon Watergate
Illusion of Unanimity -- An apparent unanimous
decision in a group usually ends the discussion
quickly. If the apparent unanimity is an
illusion, the discussion ends too early (Cline,
1994).
Nixon photo is public domain. Watergate Complex
photo is used with permission of the Gerald Ford
Museum.
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Nixon Watergate
First, the Watergate cover-up discussions
capture the prevalence of unanimity that thrives
because participants not only agree readily, but
agree repeatedly while neither providing
justification for their own optimism nor
demanding justification from their
all-too-postitive cohorts. Those hoping to
avoid groupthink might monitor such trends while
encouraging a norm of asking questions, offering
reasons, and demanding justification when the
group appears to be achieving consensus too
easily. (Cline, 1994, p. 222).
Nixon photo is public domain. Watergate Complex
photo is used with permission of the Gerald Ford
Museum.
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Bush Iraq?
http//www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/01/im
ages/20020107-3-4.jpg
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First Church of the Divine Fiasco
The impact of groupthink on the elder board of
Community Church
It looked like an easy onea simple switch in our
church childrens ministry programming. The
more amiability and esprit de corps among the
members of a policy-making group, the greater is
the danger that independent critical thinking
will be replaced by groupthink, which is likely
to result in irrational and dehumanizing actions
directed against out-groups (Cline, p. 13).
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So is Groupthink always bad?
From http//www3.sympatico.ca/thetrainingoasis/gr
oupthink.gif
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Preventing Groupthink
Get your anti-Groupthink booster shots

• Booster Shot 1
• Booster Shot 2
• Booster Shot 3
• Booster Shot 4
• Booster Shot 5
• Booster Shot 6

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Applicable Indiana Academic Standards

• Career and Technical Programs
• English/Language Arts
• Standard 7 Listening Speaking
• Skills, Strategies, and Applications.
• Comprehension, 12.7.1.
• Organization Delivery of Oral Communication,
  12.7.10-12.7.15.

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References

• Cline, R. (1994). Groupthink and the Watergate
  cover-up the illusion of unanimity. In L. Frey
  (Ed.), Group communication in context Studies of
  natural groups (pp. 199-223). Hillsdale, NJ
  Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Janis, I. (1972). Victims of groupthink. Boston
  Houghton Mifflin.
• Janis, I. (1982). Groupthink Psychological
  studies of policy decisions and fiascoes (2nd
  ed.). Boston Houghton Mifflin.
• Leathers, D. (1992). Successful nonverbal
  communication Principles and applications (2nd
  ed.). New York Macmillan.
• Littlejohn, S. (2002). Theories of human
  communication (7th Ed.). Belmont, CA Wadsworth.
• Longley, J. and Pruitt, D. (1980). Groupthink A
  critique of Janis's theory. In L. Wheeler (Ed.),
  Review of Personality and Social Psychology Vol.1
  (pp. 74-93). Beverly Hills, CA Sage
  Publications.
• Raven, B. H., French, J. R. P. (1958).
  Legitimate power, coercive power, and
  observability in social influence. Sociometry,
  21, 83-97.

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Groupthink
Thanks for your attention!