Sociology / Unit 5 Soc 0637 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Groupthink
Captions available
The idea
Groupthink, named by Irving Janis, is the tendency of a cohesive group to suppress dissent and converge on a poor decision in order to preserve agreement.
In practice
Members privately doubting a plan say nothing, each reading the silence of the others as consent.
Where people slip
Groupthink arises from cohesion and the wish to preserve it, not from any member's incompetence.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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