Groupthink is a serious problem because it can lead otherwise smart people to come to bad decisions. First, what is the psychological attribute of groups that is most heavily involved in groupthink?

Question

Give a short description of groupthink, identifying the factors that give it its name. What is the second major factor in groupthink?

Answer 1

Answer:
Groupthink springs from a high level of group cohesiveness. Groupthink is a strong tendency for decision-making groups to "close ranks" around a decision, to assume the group can't be wrong, with pressure on all members to support the decision, and for them to reject any information contrary to the decision. The second major factor is the emergence of group norms suggesting that the group is infallible, morally superior, and therefore, there's no reason for any further discussion. If criticism occurs from outside, the cohesiveness is strengthened, resulting in the decision being embraced even harder.