Groupthink and Group shift

Groupthink and Group shift are two concepts between which some difference can be
identified. Groupthink refers to a psychological phenomenon in which members of a group
make decisions based on the pressure that they get from the group. On the other hand,
Group shift refers to a condition where the position of an individual in the group changes to
adopt a more extreme position due to the influence of the group. The key
difference between the two is that while, in groupthink, the individual discards his
personal view; in group shift, he has the opportunity to present an extreme position of it.

What is Groupthink?

First let us pay attention to groupthink. This term was coined by the social psychologist
Irving Janis in 1972. Groupthink refers to a psychological phenomenon in which members
of a group make decisions based on the pressure that they get from the group. This also
denotes that the members put aside their opinions and beliefs. For instance, some group
members can keep quiet even when they feel that the decision that the group arrives at is
wrong just because he does not want to oppose the idea of the group.

According to Janis, there are mainly eight symptoms of groupthink. They are as follows.

1. Illusions of invulnerability (excessive optimism of members)

2. Unquestioned beliefs (ignoring moral problems and group and individual acts)
3. Rationalization (stops the member from reconsidering his opinion)
4. Stereotyping (ignore the out-group members who have the ability to challenge the
ideas of the group)
5. Self-censorship (hiding fears)
6. Mind guards (hiding information that have issues)
7. Illusion of unanimity (creates a belief that everyone agrees)
8. Direct pressure

We all have experienced groupthink in our lives. For instance imagine a situation where you
are with a bunch of close friends and discussing a matter before arriving at a decision. All
the other members seem to hold a particular opinion, which is very different to your person
belief. Even if you feel that the decision of the other members of the group is rather faulty,
you will keep quiet because you do not want to taint the harmony of the group. This is a
very simple example of groupthink. Now let us move on to group shift.

What is Group Shift?

Group shift refers to a condition where the position of an individual in the group changes
to adopt a more extreme position due to the influence of the group. This denotes that the
individual would adopt a riskier decision in his group although in reality this is different to
his initial position. Social psychologists highlight that this is mainly because the risk is shared
in the group.

When speaking of group shift, first we need to pay attention to various types of members in
the group. There are members who are conservative and also others who are aggressive. In
group shift what happens is that the conservative members become even more cautious
than before while the aggressive becomes even more risk takers. This is why psychologist
point out that group shift entails taking extreme positions. Also, studies on group shift
emphasize that it is a result of the bonds that are being created within the group. Since it is
a group, the pressure, anxiety, and responsibility are diffused allowing the members to
behave in any manner that suits them. Also, it creates an environment for people to be
influenced by others as well.

What is the Difference Between Groupthink and Group Shift?

Groupthink: Groupthink refers to a psychological phenomenon in which members of a

group make decisions based on the pressure that they get from the group.

Group Shift: Group shift refers to a condition where the position of an individual in the
group changes to adopt a more extreme position due to the influence of the group.

Characteristics of Groupthink and Group Shift:

Personal view:
Groupthink: Personal view can be put aside in favour of the popular view.

Group Shift: Personal view becomes much stronger due to group influence.

Pressure:

Groupthink: The group has an immense pressure on the individual.

Group Shift: Similar to Groupthink, the group, has an immense pressure on the individual.

There is a major difference between group discussion, group decision making, groupthink
and groupshift. In order to maintain a well-functioning group, one should encourage
group discussions and collaborative decision making but in the same place should try to
eliminate groupthink and groupshift.

Groupthink

Sometimes we feel like speaking up in a meeting, classroom, or informal group, but decide
against it. Why?

Mainly due to shyness, or we may have been victim of groupthink. The phenomenon that
arises when group members become so enamoured of seeking concurrence that the norm
for consensus alters the realistic appraisal of substitute courses of action and the full
expression of deviant, minority or unpopular views.

It worsens an individual’s mental efficiency, reality, testing, and moral judgment due to
group pressure.

The symptoms of the groupthink phenomena are −

 Group members justify any resistance to the assumptions they have made. No
matter how firmly the evidence contradicts their basic assumptions, members
behave in way so as to reinforce those assumptions continually.
 Members apply direct pressure on those who briefly present their doubts about any
of the views shared by the group or the one who question’s the validity of
arguments supporting the substitute favoured by the majority.
  Members reserving doubt or holding contradicting viewpoints seek to avoid
deviation from what appears to be group consensus, by maintaining silence about
misgivings and minimizing the importance of their doubts to themselves.
 An illusion of unanimity appears in the picture. If someone doesn’t speak, it is
assumed that he or she is in favor. In other words, silence becomes viewed as a
‘Yes’ vote.

Groupshift

In balancing group decisions with the individual decisions of members within the group,
evidence hints that there are differences. In some cases, the group decisions are more
timid than the individual decisions. More often, the shift is close to greater risk.

What appears to happen in groups is that the discussion results in a significant shift in a
position of members towards a more extreme position in the direction in which they were
already leaning before the discussion.

So conservative types become more cautious and the more intrusive types take on more
risk. The group discussion tends to fabricate the initial position of the group.

Group shift is the phenomena in which individual decisions make way for exaggerated
group decisions. Group shift can be seen as a special case of groupthink.

The decision of the group shows the dominant decision-making norm that is developed
during the group’s discussion. Whether the shift in the group’s decision is towards greater
deliberation or more risk depends on the dominant pre-discussion norm.

The greater episode of the shift towards risk has generated several explanations for the
phenomenon. It has been argued, for instance, that the discussion creates familiarization
between members. As they become more comfortable with each other, they also become
more bold, confident and daring.

Group decisions free any single individual from accountability for the group’s final choice.
Greater risk can be taken as even if the decision fails, no single individual can be held
wholly responsible.

Techniques to Eliminate Groupthink & Group shift

In order to eliminate group think and group shift from a group, we can use four different
techniques that will help us make a collaborative decision that is best for the group. These
techniques are −

 Brainstorming

 Nominal group thinking

 Didactic technique

 Delphi technique

Brainstorming

This technique includes a group of people, mostly between five and ten in number, sitting
around a table, producing ideas in the form of free association. The main focus is on
generation of ideas and not on evaluation of these ideas.

If more ideas can be originated, then it is likely that there will be a unique and creative idea
among them. All these ideas are written on the blackboard with a piece of chalk so that all
the team members can see every idea and try to improvise these ideas.

Brainstorming technique is very effective when the problem is comparatively precise and
can be simply defined. A complex problem can be divided into parts and each part can be
dealt with separately at a time.

Nominal Group Thinking

This technique is similar to brainstorming except that this approach is more structured. It
motivates individual creativity.

Members form the group for namesake and operate independently, originate ideas for
solving the problem on their own, in silence and in writing. Members do not communicate
well with each other so that strong personality domination is evaded.

The group coordinator either collects the written ideas or writes them on a large
blackboard so that each member of the group can see what the ideas are.

These ideas are further discussed one by one in turn and each participant is motivated to
comment on these ideas in order to clarify and improve them. After all these ideas have
been discussed, they are evaluated for their merits and drawbacks and each actively
participating member is needed to vote on each idea and allot it a rank on the basis of
priority of each alternative solution.

The idea with the highest cumulative ranking is selected as the final solution to the
problem.

Didactic Interaction

This technique is applicable only in certain situations, but is an excellent method when a
situation actually demands it.

The type of problem should be such that it generates output in the form of yes or no. Say
for example, a decision is to be made whether to buy or not to buy a product, to merge or
not to merge, to expand or not to expand and so on. These types of decision requires an
extensive and exhaustive discussion and investigation since a wrong decision can have
serious consequences.

There are many advantages as well as disadvantages of this type of situation. The group
that makes the decision is divided into two sub-groups, one in favor of the “go” decision
and the opposing in favor of the “no go” decision.

The first group enlists all the “pros” of the problem solution and the second group lists all
the “cons”. These groups meet and discuss their discoveries and their reasons.

After tiring discussions, the groups switch sides and try to find weaknesses in their own
original standpoints. This interchange of ideas and understanding of various viewpoints
results in mutual acceptance of the facts as they exist so that a solution can be put
together around these facts and ultimately a final decision is reached.

Delphi Technique

This technique is the improvised version of the nominal group technique, except that it
involves obtaining the opinions of experts physically distant from each other and unknown
to each other.

This isolates group members from the undue influence of others. Basically, the types of
problems sorted by this technique are not specific in nature or related to a particular
situation at a given time.
Say for example, the technique could be used to explain the problems that could be
created in the event of a war. The Delphi technique includes the following steps −

 The problem is first identified and a panel of experts are selected. These experts are
asked to provide potential solutions through a series of thoughtfully designed
questionnaires.
 Each expert concludes and returns the initial questionnaire.
 The results of the questionnaire are composed at a central location and the central
coordinator prepares a second set of questionnaire based on the previous answers.
 Each member receives a copy of the results accompanied by the second
questionnaire.
 Members are required to review the results and respond to the second
questionnaire. The results typically trigger new solutions or motivate changes in the
original ideas.
 The process is repeated until a general agreement is obtained.