By Joseph Scaglione

There is an evolutionary need for humans to belong to social groups. These groups are essential for collaboration, which increases opportunities for success, and more importantly, survival. Group leaders establish rules for conformity. When individuals fail to conform they become outcasted deviants.

The term “Groupthink,” coined by Irving Janis, happens when a group makes poor decisions due to inner-group pressures, which erode mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgement. groupthink causes individuals to ignore alternatives and act irrationally to diminish the credibility of other groups. Groupthink is present in isolated groups where members share backgrounds and no clear rules are set for decision making. Janis describes eight symptoms of groupthink:

Illusion of Vulnerability: Creating excessive optimism which promotes risk-taking Collective Rationalization: Members discredit warnings and fail to reconsider their thoughts Belief in Inherent Morality: Members believe their cause is morally just and ignore the ethical consequences of their decisions Stereotyped Views of Outgroups: Negatively viewing the enemy to refrain from responding to criticism Direct Pressure on Dissenters: Members are socially pressured to only support the beliefs of the group; do not provide opposing arguments Self-Censorship: Group members do not voice their doubts and concerns Illusion of Unanimity: The majority views and beliefs are assumed unanimous Self-Appointed Mindguards: Key members who protect the rest of the group and group leaders from counterpoints and contradictory information.

Poor, ill-advised decisions result from groupthink due to belief in strength in numbers. Group leaders guide fellow members towards groupthink through informational social influence. This form of influence develops during an ambiguous or crisis situation where members will agree with expert group leaders who have more experience and presumably better judgement.

Corporate groupthink is worrisome as large corporations with tremendous power should not rely on the thoughts of a few leaders when decision-making, however, there is a more concerning and prevalent form of groupthink driven by mainstream and social media. Media corporations set norms, rules, and beliefs. Those who do not follow suit are outcast. This form of groupthink heavily incorporates symptoms 2-7 from Janis’ list.

Members of the groupthink place pressure on dissenters, which leads to self-censorship through the “spiral of silence,” feeding the illusion of unanimity. The spiral of silence relates to evolution. A wolf separated from the pack will not survive. There is strength in numbers; it is a core survival instinct. Individuals keep differing opinions to themselves; in silence. Once a media groupthink mentality is established it is difficult to challenge. Journalists conform for their own survival. If journalists push conventional wisdom, thoughts, and beliefs of media outlets, their job is secure. If Journalists challenge ideas of media outlets they risk becoming outcasts, radicals. Thus, journalists’ differing opinions remain unheard.

It takes courage and capability to voice unpopular opinions that differ from the groupthink. PEW research and Rutgers issued a study to determine if the spiral of silence diminished on social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Results found people were unwilling to discuss the Edward Snowden/NSA controversy on social media than any other public forum out of fear they would offer differing opinions from their followers and friends. This is a form of normative influence, where individuals conform their beliefs and opinions for acceptance from friends and family. Lack of acceptance from these groups decreases chances of survival.

Groupthink may appear invincible on the surface, but it unravels once a decision is made. The best example of the failure of groupthink is the 2016 American Presidential election. Media outlets ran rampant with criticism of Donald Trump labelling him with as every “phobe” known to humankind; from xenophobe to germaphobe (Google it). Journalists feared publishing reports that supported Trump, which would make them outcasts. The mainstream media believed they were morally right in donating these labels. Outlets stereotyped the views of out-group Trump supporters, considering them as ill as Trump. Social media spread normative influence and pressure on dissenters from mainstream media opinions of Trump, which lead to Trump supporter self-censorship through the spiral of silence. This built an illusion of unanimity; the mainstream media and Clinton supporters were convinced they had the election won in a landslide because few voiced their support for Trump.

On November 8th, 2016, under the secure isolation of the voting booth, those who were afraid to voice their support of Trump; media journalists, celebrities, and American citizens alike, pulled the string on one colossal groupthink with a simple “X” in a box. No survival or acceptance distorting their personal beliefs. We conform for acceptance, which leads to survival, unless there is no need to survive. The isolation of the voting booth ended the silence and falsified the unanimity of the groupthink.

It is advised to keep an eye for symptoms of groupthink. As long as there is strength in numbers, groupthink will exist, and crowds of people will enter the spiral of silence. A decision must be made on whether to remain silent for survival, or voice conflicting opinions for hope saner ideas stick.