Should Groupthink Education be MANDATORY for all administrations?

Examples of Groupthink: Past and Present
http://www.psysr.org/groupthink%20overview.htm


Examples of groupthink “fiascoes” studied by Janis include US failures to anticipate the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Bay of Pigs invasion, the escalation of Vietnam war, and the ill-fated hostage rescue in Iran. Current examples of groupthink can be found in the decisions of the Bush administration and Congress to pursue an invasion of Iraq based on a policy of “preemptive use of military force against terrorists and rogue nations”. The decision to rush to war in Iraq before a broad-based coalition of allies could be built has placed the US in an unenviable military situation in Iraq that is costly in terms of military deaths and casualties, diplomatic standing in the world, and economically.


My Thoughts:

I cant express how strongly I feel about this! Groupthink has been the leading cause of many of the worst historical decisions throughout time. It has lead to the loss of perhaps millions of lives in a countless number of wars that could have and should have been avoided. Why on earth Administration officials are not required to take a course on Groupthink is a travesty!!!!! In fact I think measures should be put in place as standard operating procedure to prevent Groupthink in US Administrations. This should be proposed as a Bill by a group of Democrats as soon as possible!!! How can we make this happen?


What is Groupthink?

Groupthink, a term coined by social psychologist Irving Janis (1972), occurs when a group makes faulty decisions because group pressures lead to a deterioration of “mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment” (p. 9). Groups affected by groupthink ignore alternatives and tend to take irrational actions that dehumanize other groups. A group is especially vulnerable to groupthink when its members are similar in background, when the group is insulated from outside opinions, and when there are no clear rules for decision making.

Review the following consequences of groupthink and consider how many of them apply to the Bush administration’s handling of the ‘war on terrorism’ and the issues related to Iraq and Saddam Hussein:



a) incomplete survey of alternatives

b) incomplete survey of objectives

c) failure to examine risks of preferred choice

d) failure to reappraise initially rejected alternatives

e) poor information search

f) selective bias in processing information at hand

g) failure to work out contingency plans

h) low probability of successful outcome





Remedies for Groupthink



Decision experts have determined that groupthink may be prevented by adopting some of the following measures:



a) The leader should assign the role of critical evaluator to each member



b) The leader should avoid stating preferences and expectations at the outset



c) Each member of the group should routinely discuss the groups' deliberations with a trusted associate and report back to the group on the associates reactions



d) One or more experts should be invited to each meeting on a staggered basis. The outside experts should be encouraged to challenge views of the members.



e) At least one articulate and knowledgeable member should be given the role of devil's advocate (to question assumptions and plans)



f) The leader should make sure that a sizable block of time is set aside to survey warning signals from rivals; leader and group construct alternative scenarios of rivals' intentions.


Some other links on Groupthink:


Rice appointment assures more Bush Administration Groupthink

http://media.www.thedailyaztec.com/media/storage/paper741/news/2005/01/25/Opinion/Rice-Appointment.Assures.More.Bush.Administration.Groupthink-840011.shtml?sourcedomain=www.thedailyaztec.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com

Chickenhawk Groupthink?

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0512-02.htm

Fahrenheit 9-11: Jolting Us Out of 'Groupthink'
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0629-11.htm


http://www.why-war.com/news/2002/09/16/isgroupt.html

Their are a MILLION articles about Groupthink and this Administration. We should call this administration the Bush Groupthink Administration.