Study 22 groupthink irving janis, 1972, 1982 exam2 flashcards from amwe g. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Janis victims of groupthink find, read and cite all the research. Articles warning of the dangers of groupthink and suggesting remedies appeared in management, psychology, and sociology periodicals. Oct 26, 2011 groupthink by irving lester janis, irving l. In recent years, acceptance of the groupthink phenomenon has become almost universal, and the term groupthink has entered the popular vocabulary.
Pdf on jun 1, 1991, pault hart and others published irving l. Janis 1972 developed the groupthink theory based on assessment of some of the worst decisions or. Methodological and theoretical problems with janis. Article information, pdf download for a partial test of janis groupthink. Groupthink and the hostage rescue mission cambridge core. Groups experiencing groupthink do not consider all alternatives and they desire unanimity at the expense of quality decis. Irving lester janis may 26, 1918 november 15, 1990 was a research psychologist at yale university and a professor emeritus at the university of california, berkeley most famous for his theory of groupthink which described the systematic errors made by groups when making collective decisions. Groupthink is a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive ingroup when the members strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action and a deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgement that results from ingroup pressure janis, 1982, p. Methodological and theoretical problems with janis groupthink theory. The methodology of janiss groupthink model has been largely criticised. Groupthink according to irving janis 1982 is a deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment, that results from ingroup.
Groupthink irving janis, 1972, 1982 exam2 communication. There several similar terms with the most popular alternative term being political correctness. Janis lays out eight prominent symptoms of groupthink in his two works victims of groupthink. This article critically examines janis s recommendations for preventing groupthink in highlevel policymaking. Although janis groupthink theory was based on historical case studies and not empirical evidence it quickly found mass appeal. A psychological study of foreign policy decisions and fiascoes by irving l. Janis 1983 then investigated if the groupthink model could apply to the decision making process in the fiascos, if groupthink did affect the decision process it could be determined as the. Groupthink principles and fundamentals in organizations. A psychological study of foreignpolicy decisions and fiascoes. But what janis more generally showed through each of his carefully researched case studies was how this form of collective human psychology operates according to certain clearly identifiable rules.
Groupthink psychological studies of policy decisions and fiascos. Psychological studies of policy decisions and fiascoes in 1982, the concept of groupthink was used by whom. Groupthink by irving janis early draft how could we have been so stupid. Groupthink, janis 1982 writes, is a quick and easy way to refer to a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive ingroup, when the members. Irving janis in his book victims of groupthink, in which he clarifies and amplifies the negative characteristics of groupthink that limit and interfere with objective, critical thinking. Irving janis, yale social psychologist, was fascinated with the question of. Groupthink became extremely popular in a wide range of literature. Documents in econstor may be saved and copied for your personal and scholarly. Groupthink of irving janis on the morning of january 28, 1986, the space shuttle challenger blasted off from the kennedy space center in florida. After the publication of janis book victims of groupthink in 1972, and a revised edition with the title groupthink.
Irving janis attributed the cause of the disaster to groupthink. Psychological studies of policy decisions and fiascoes by irving l. Janis felt that such intense cohesion was likely to be found in very high echelon decision groups such as jfks cabinet or nixons inner circle of advisors where the perks of membership are at intoxicating levels and the credibility of fellow members is extremely high. Irving janis, victims of groupthink, houghton mifflin, boston.
Groupthink according to irving janis 1982 is a deterioration of mental efficiency. Janis showed how this phenomenon contributed to some of the major u. This is one of the key characteristics of groupthink. Kennedy asked after he and a close group of advisors had blundered into the bay of pigs invasion. The model was created looking at historical case studies of presumably poor decision making processes, resulting in disasters. The first symptom occurs when the group develops a false sense of imperviousness which then leads to more risky decision making. Deciding with the leader and the devil springerlink. Free pdf download test, implement, and support new operating systemsvictims and hardware. The invasion was an utter failure when about 20,000 cuban soldiers ended the assault within three days.
The first two stem from overconfidence in the groups power. I use the term groupthink as a quick and easy way to refer to the mode of thinking that persons engage in when concurrenceseeking becomes so dominant in a cohesive ingroup that it tends to override realistic appraisal of alternative courses in action. Janis was a research psychologist at yale university and a professor emeritus at the university of california, berkeley most famous for his theory of groupthink which described the systematic errors made by groups when taking collective decisions. Groupthink is a term coined by social psychologist irving janis 1972, occurs when a group or individual makes faulty decisions because group pressures lead to a deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment p. Psychological studies of policy decisions and fiascoes in 1982. Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people in which the. Jan 27, 2009 irving janiss work on groupthink has attracted considerable attention from those who seek to explain foreignpolicy decision making. Although the concept is widely accepted, it is highly controversial. Through a series of indepth case studies of historical incidents of group decisionmaking, successful and unsuccessful, janis adduces prima facie evidence that a principal impediment to good decisionmaking is groupthink, a syndrome in which.
Psychological studies of policy decisions and fiascoes, houghton mifflin, boston 1982. A psychological study of foreignpolicy decisions and fiascoes 1972 and groupthink 1982. Janis attributed the causes of groupthink in the bay of pigs to cohesion, secrecy, biased leadership, and lack of critical methodology. A fantastic book that discusses the theory of groupthink and employs, as case study, two of the most significant failures in us military history, ie the bay of pigs and pearl harbor. The groupthink model janis, 1971,1972, 1982 is the most prominent attempt to fill this void. Groupthink according to irving janis 1982 is a deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment, that results from ingroup pressure all academic inc.
May 30, 2019 groupthink is a phenomenon developed in groups marked by the consensus of opinion without critical reasoning or evaluation of consequences or alternatives. Groupthink is a concept that was identified by irving janis a forefather in the study of group dynamics in 1972 that refers to faulty decisionmaking in a group. Groupthink, a term marked by irving janis, is a model to describe the possible downsides of a decision made by a group. Janis originally defined groupthink as a mode of thinking that people engage. Evaluating janis groupthink model of faulty decision making. This essay gives an overview over janis concept and tries to show this controversy by illustrating the criticism of the model. Most of the initial research on groupthink was conducted by irving janis. The idea is that groupthink is a kind of thinking in which maintaining group cohesiveness and solidarity is more important than considering the facts in a realistic manner.
The methodology of janis s groupthink model has been largely criticised. For the last two years i have been studying that question, as it applies not only to the bay of pigs decisionmakers but also to those who led the united states as such other major fiascos as the failure. Twentyfive years of groupthink theory and research. In 1967 janis was awarded the sociopsychological prize by the american association for the advancement of science. In an unprecedented way, janis applied ideas from smallgroup analysis to the explanation of policy fiascoes. This study explored the heuristic value of janis 1982 groupthink and vigilant decision making models as explanations of failure and success in top. He made plausible the hypothesis that each of these events can, to a. Irving lester janis developed a study on decision making based on human social behavior in which maintaining group cohesiveness and solidarity is felt more important than considering the facts in a realistic manner.
It has been blamed for such decisionmaking fiascoes as the bay. Through a series of indepth case studies of histori. Janis 1983 then investigated if the groupthink model could apply to the decision making. While a professor friend of mine recommended it with caveats that it had some factual biases, it is an excellent piece that explicates some of the problems in. A psychological study of foreignpolicy decisions and fiascoes, which focused on the psychological mechanism behind foreign policy decisions such as the pearl harbor bombing, the vietnam war, and the bay of pigs invasion. Janis victims of groupthink paul t hart1 introduction victims of groupthink. Producer, director, and writer, steven katten the film analyzes, discusses, and illustrates the eight specific traits of group behavior isolated by dr. Victims of groupthink a psychological study of foreign. Professionalismirving janis and groupthink wikibooks, open. Assumptions of group think theory irving janis 1972, 1982 developed an influential theory of group decision making that he called groupthink. The effects of group cohesiveness and leader behavior on janis 1982 symptoms of. Chapter pdf available january 1997 with 2,467 reads how we measure reads a read is counted each time someone.
1042 1365 7 546 712 942 1020 1599 1418 1655 1149 817 1484 1607 1497 61 288 51 5 1491 1 1054 47 891 1096 397 1440 844 561 557 465 1100 998 1407 218 579 162