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. |
From inside the book
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Page 39
... appears to have been based on superficial appearances of complete concurrence , achieved at the cost of self - censorship of misgivings by several of the members . From post - mortem discussions with participants , Sorensen concluded ...
... appears to have been based on superficial appearances of complete concurrence , achieved at the cost of self - censorship of misgivings by several of the members . From post - mortem discussions with participants , Sorensen concluded ...
Page 66
... appears to have been a spontaneous emotional re- sponse , and there is no reason to doubt that he sincerely believed what he was saying . Truman launched a second verbal attack against the pro - Republican press later during the same ...
... appears to have been a spontaneous emotional re- sponse , and there is no reason to doubt that he sincerely believed what he was saying . Truman launched a second verbal attack against the pro - Republican press later during the same ...
Page 233
... appears likely , therefore , that the groupthink syndrome is a probable cause of the defective decision - making that characterized the group's cover - up policy . Were conditions present that foster groupthink ? One of the essential ...
... appears likely , therefore , that the groupthink syndrome is a probable cause of the defective decision - making that characterized the group's cover - up policy . Were conditions present that foster groupthink ? One of the essential ...
Contents
Why So Many Miscalculations? | 2 |
The Bay of Pigs | 14 |
The Wrong | 48 |
Copyright | |
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Acheson administration Admiral Kimmel advisers advisory group Allen Dulles alternative American assumptions attack avoid Bay of Pigs bombing Castro Chiefs of Staff Chinese cohesive group Communist concurrence-seeking consensus course of action critical Cuba Cuban missile crisis danger Dean Defense deliberations discussion effect Ehrlichman enemy evidence Executive Committee expected fiasco group dynamics groupthink hypothesis groupthink syndrome groupthink tendencies Haldeman Hawaii Ibid in-group inner circle invasion plan Japanese Johnson Joint Chiefs judgment Kennan Kennedy's Korean War leader MacArthur's major Marshall Plan McNamara meetings military moral naval Navy group Nixon norms North Korea North Vietnam officers participants Pearl Harbor Pentagon Papers policy-making group political present President Kennedy President's pressures problem procedures psychological questions responsible risks Robert Kennedy role Rusk Schlesinger Secretary shared social Sorensen Soviet Union stereotypes stress symptoms of groupthink thinking threat tion transcripts Truman Vietnam Vietnam War warning Watergate cover-up White House group Wohlstetter