Groupthink: Psychological Studies of Policy Decisions and FiascoesGroupthink - the psychological drive for consensus at any cost that suppresses disagreement and prevents the appraisal of alternatives in cohesive decision-making groups. In the first edition (Victims of groupthink), Iriving L. Janis showed how this phenomenon contributed to some of the major U.S. foreign policy fiascos of recent decades: the Korean War stalemate, the escalation of the Vietnam War, the failure to be prepared for the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the Bay of Pigs blunder. He also examined cases, such as the handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the formulation of the Marshall Plan, where groupthink was avoided. Here, in this revised and expanded edition, Janis applies his hypothesis to the Watergate cover-up, portraying in detail how groupthink helped to put the participants on a disastrous couurse and keep them there. In addition, he presents some fresh ideas on how and why groupthink occurs and offers suggestions for avoiding it. |
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Page 53
Defective decision - making Scholars disagree about the quality of the Truman
administration ' s initial intervention decisions , made in June 1950 , authorizing
American military support to help South Korea resist the North Korean invaders .
Defective decision - making Scholars disagree about the quality of the Truman
administration ' s initial intervention decisions , made in June 1950 , authorizing
American military support to help South Korea resist the North Korean invaders .
Page 106
All during the summer and fall of 1965 , the air war against North Vietnam was
continued . But because Operation Rolling Thunder was not achieving its original
purpose of breaking the will of the North Vietnamese , its purpose was redefined .
All during the summer and fall of 1965 , the air war against North Vietnam was
continued . But because Operation Rolling Thunder was not achieving its original
purpose of breaking the will of the North Vietnamese , its purpose was redefined .
Page 285
Furthermore , the United Nations was about to vote on the resolution authorizing
MacArthur to operate in North Korea , so “ it appeared quite likely that Chou En -
lai ' s ' message ' was a bald attempt to blackmail the United Nations by threats ...
Furthermore , the United Nations was about to vote on the resolution authorizing
MacArthur to operate in North Korea , so “ it appeared quite likely that Chou En -
lai ' s ' message ' was a bald attempt to blackmail the United Nations by threats ...
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Contents
Why So Many Miscalculations? | 2 |
The Wrong | 48 |
Or Why the Fortress Slept | 72 |
Copyright | |
6 other sections not shown
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Common terms and phrases
accepted according action administration Admiral advisers alternative American appears asked assumptions attack avoid Bay of Pigs become called Chiefs cohesive Committee concerning consensus consequences continued course cover-up crisis critical Cuba Cuban danger Dean decision decision-making Defense deliberations Department direct discussion effect errors evidence example Executive expected fact factors feel fiasco forces give going groupthink Haldeman invasion involved issues Japanese Johnson judgment Kennedy leader leading major March meetings military missile moral Nixon norms North objections officers operation participants Pearl Harbor policy-making political position possible present President pressures probably problem procedures proposed questions responsible result risks role says Secretary seems Senator shared social sources Soviet staff stress strong suggested thinking threat tion transcripts Truman United Vietnam warning Watergate White House
References to this book
Bibliographic information
| Title | Groupthink: Psychological Studies of Policy Decisions and Fiascoes |
| Author | Irving Lester Janis |
| Edition | 2, illustrated, revised |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin, 1982 |
| Original from | the University of Michigan |
| Digitized | 11 Aug 2007 |
| ISBN | 0395317045, 9780395317044 |
| Length | 349 pages |
| Subjects | › Psychology / Social Psychology |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |