Groupthink

Groupthink describes a premature consensus-seeking tendency among group members that interferes with collective decision-making processes and leads to poor decisions. Irving Janis, in his initial research, characterized it as deterioration in group member mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgments. When experiencing groupthink, members tend to make simplistic statements about the issues and more positive in-group references than those in nongroupthink cases.

Groupthink theory has become an influential framework for understanding the origins of group decision-making fiascos and has been widely cited in a variety of disciplines, including psychology, business, political science, and communication. The appeal of the concept is evidenced by the ease with which it can be applied to numerous group decisions and the potential for groupthink to occur in various work situations.

Groupthink is ...