Groupthink

Groupthink (or communal reinforcement) happens when a desire for conformity within a group transcends rational thought, issues of right and wrong, or even personal opinion. When this happens, individuals in a group fail to express their doubts as commonly about the group's dynamic, direction, or decisions because of a desire to maintain (pseudo-)consensus or conformity. Thus even though the group may be on a headlong rush to error or disaster, no-one speaks up because they don't want to rock the boat. 
Groupthink can affect communities of any size from small groupsRationalWiki, we're looking at you. to whole nations.
The term was coined by of Fortune Magazine in 1952 but popularized by social psychologist in 1972.Growth in use of the term 
==Definition==
Psychologist Janis Irving described eight symptoms of groupthink:
#Overestimation of the invulnerability of the group, leading to extreme optimism and risk taking 
#Overestimation of the group's morality 
#Collective rationalization in order to discount contrary information or warnings
#Oversimplified views of enemies as stupid and weak, and therefore of no threat, or as evil, and therefore not worth negotiating with
#Members engage in self-censorship of their doubts with the group consensus
#Overestimation of the unanimity of agreement over the decisions made
#Attempts to pressure members who disagree with the consensus 
#The existence of individuals who protect the group from information that might disturb group cohesion
Groups are most vulnerable to the results of groupthink when their members come from similar backgrounds, when the group is insulated from outside opinions, and when there are no clear rules for decision-making. These factors get turbo-charged when group members are in states of high stress and they can't find a better solution than one favored by a leader. Alternatively, in the case of destructive cults, a clear rule may exist: "Accept what the cult leader or the leader's representatives tell us without question - otherwise face the consequences."
Groupthink relates in some ways to the older concept of crowd psychology, although "groupthink" refers not to the spontaneous actions of crowds but to the activities of groups with a shared interest or objective (such as LGATs), including many small groups, and groups of people who may be physically distanced from each other (for example, people in an Internet community). The similarity of the term to "doublethink" may suggest that Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four inspired the naming convention.
"Groupthink" is why everyone in that online forum/wiki you just joined not only doesn't go for your perspicacious and radical ideas, they actually seem uninterested. Sheeple!
==Role of the iconoclast==
A community's "drift" can seem to be automatic. This drift is frequently kept in check by an iconoclast who may seek to redefine that which has come to be defined precisely because of the group's drift. This serves to shock the group out of the automatic "go with the flow" and the more insidious "go along to get along" attitudes which can eventually get in the way of the group's stated goals. 
Sometimes iconoclasts, other than actually supporting or protesting something which is wrong and/or incorrect, are just bigoted jerks.Like so…
A more proper term for someone who challenges ideas for actual philosophical purposes is a "social gadfly", which is how Socrates referred to himself during his trial for "corrupting the youth" and "impiety."Apology by Plato, MIT
==Epistemic closure==
Julian Sanchez of the Cato Institute adapted the term "epistemic closure," originally to describe what he saw as the behavior of US conservatism. In a blog post that kicked off the "epistemic closure" debate of 2010, which drew in Andrew Sullivan, Jonah Goldberg, David Frum, Ross Douthat, Bruce Bartlett, and Jonathan Chait, Sanchez wrote:Frum, Cocktail Parties, and the Threat of Doubt (March 26th, 2010).
His usage is close to "false consensus" or "groupthink."
==See also==
*Crowd psychology
*Rationalization
*Hivemind
*Concern troll
*New Labour
*Star Wars - both real and fictional!
*List of cognitive biases
==External links==
*What Is Groupthink?
*Iraq War groupthink
*Challenger disaster groupthink
*The epistemic closure debate: William Saletan, Jonathan Bernstein and Bruce Bartlett
==Notes==
==References==
Category:Sociology
Category:Psychology