People working in groups often meet to make decisions and/or solve their problems. However, they sometimes become reluctant to share their opinions because of the fear they may appear unsupportive. This usually happens because group members wish to keep up their group cohesiveness, which eventually deteriorates their judgments leading to poor decisions. This phenomenon is referred to as groupthink (Ahlfinger & Esser, 2001). Irving Janis, a renowned social psychologist, is among the first individuals to publish literature addressing groupthink. In 1972, he published the work in which he stated that a group suffered from groupthink when its members ignored possible alternatives and decided to settle for less important alternatives. Furthermore, he argues that groupthink was responsible for hasty formulation of American foreign policy decisions in 1972. He claims that group unanimity pressures and the need to maintain cohesiveness led the US government to make some unwise foreign policy decisions (Galanes & Katherine, 2003). Groupthink happens when group members have similar origins, isolate themselves from external opinions, or lack proper guidance for making decisions. Social psychologists have identified symptoms that can help groups to identify groupthink and take possible measures to prevent it (Galanes & Katherine, 2003). Symptoms of Groupthink Illusion of Invulnerability Excessive optimism encourages group members to take extreme risks. This allows them to make decisions in haste, assuming that they are not vulnerable to risks (Galanes & Katherine, 2003). Collective Rationalization Group members convince themselves that their decisions are the best despite the existence of possible risks. They consider an opinion that goes against their own as the wrong one and shallowly researched. In other words, members despise other people’s evidence that contradicts their alternatives. Illusion of Unanimity Group members are afraid of making comments during the decision-making process. Therefore, since no one speaks out, they feel that their decisions are unanimous (Ahlfinger & Esser, 2001). Self-Censorship Members avoid giving opinions that contradict those that everyone in the group acknowledges. They refrain from expressing their doubts or opinions that oppose those perceived in a group. Self-appointed Mind-guards Members protect their opinions from outside opinions that may interfere with their decisions. This helps them to avoid controversy (Galanes & Katherine, 2003). Stereotyping Group members begin to view outsiders as inferiors who have different morals. This happens as the group members’ views become more unified. The members feel superior over the outsiders. Moral High Ground Each group member considers himself/herself as moral. Therefore, all members believe that their decisions are right. This often makes them to ignore the moral consequences of their decisions. Peer Pressure When a member gives an opinion that differs from the rest of the group members, he/she gets pressured by other members to comply with the majority. Complacency The group becomes convinced that all decisions made are right after a few successes. This makes them to abandon critical thinking while making de