Groupthink
GROOP-think
/ˈɡruːp.θɪŋk/
The practice of thinking or making decisions as a group in a way that discourages creativity or individual responsibility.
Implies a negative outcome where a strong desire for harmony causes members to suppress dissenting viewpoints.
The story behind the word. Coined by William H. Whyte Jr. in Fortune magazine in 1952 and systematically developed by psychologist Irving Janis in 1972, the term was structured to echo George Orwell's Newspeak terminology from '1984'.
Word relationships
- conformity: Conformity is aligning general behavior with norms, whereas groupthink specifically impairs collective decision-making.
- independent thinking: Independent thinking involves forming views without yielding to group pressures.
Commonly confused with
- Conformity: Conformity is matching norms broad-scale, while groupthink is the critical failure of analytical rigor in cohesive decision-making bodies.
Word family
- groupthinker (noun): An individual who engages in or yields to groupthink.
Collocations
- succumb to groupthink
- victim of groupthink
- avoid groupthink
Idioms & expressions
- echo chamber
Example sentences
- "The executive board succumbed to groupthink, ignoring clear financial warnings because no one wanted to disrupt the consensus." Corporate Decision Making
- "In his analysis of foreign policy failures, Irving Janis coined the term to explain how groupthink led to the Bay of Pigs fiasco." Historical Analysis
Memory hook
Imagine a group sharing a single brain, where critical thoughts get systematically thrown out. One mind, zero dissent.
When not to use
Do not use to describe routine teamwork or unanimous consensus achieved through open debate.
Fun facts
- The term was explicitly inspired by George Orwell's vocabulary constructs like 'doublethink' and 'crimethink'.
Related words
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