groupthink

Overview

Meaning Now

• A psychological phenomenon where the desire for harmony or conformity in a group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome.
• The practice of thinking or making decisions as a group in a way that discourages creativity or individual responsibility.

Journey

The term was coined by William H. Whyte in 1952, though it gained academic prominence in the 1970s through Irving Janis’s research on social psychology, which sought to explain disastrous government foreign policy decisions like the Bay of Pigs invasion as the result of suppressed dissent within high-level advisory groups.

Evolution

1. 1952

   groupthink

   “A pressure toward conformity within an organization.”

   Coined by William H. Whyte.

2. 1972

   groupthink

   “A mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group.”

   Popularized in a psychological context by Irving Janis.

Connections

Explore next

Related to groupthink

• a-char→