24.6: Groupthink

Groupthink is an impairment in decision making and judgment that can occur in highly cohesive groups with a strong, dynamic leader. Group members isolate themselves from outside information, try to please the group leader, and agree on a decision even if it is irrational. They tend to have feelings of invulnerability, and a strong sense that they are right. Such a group is in strong need of a “reality check.” But since there is so much pressure inside the group to agree, it is not likely to come from inside the group. And since the group often feels isolated, sometimes even persecuted, it is not likely to listen to voices from outside the group. History is full of such cases, but you probably see it most clearly with cults. For example, David Koresh and the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas, Jim Jones and his followers in Jonestown, Guyana, and the members of Heaven’s Gate.

More importantly, groupthink can occur on less extreme scales. Often, top governmental decision makers are part of a small, closed team, and they too can fall prey to groupthink. For example, America’s attempts to overthrow Castro in Cuba led to the Bay of Pigs fiasco in 1961. In view of the lack of preparation, this was quite predictable, but none of the top officials in Kennedy’s government saw the disaster coming. Even after their landslide victory over George McGovern in 1972, the Nixon White House felt under siege, going so far as to construct an official “Enemies List.” Their schemes led to Watergate, and Nixon’s eventual resignation.