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 117
... position as the sec- ond most powerful member of the Johnson administration . The story comes from Townsend Hoopes , whose position as undersecretary of the Air Force brought him in frequent contact with McNamara during the Secretary's ...
... position as the sec- ond most powerful member of the Johnson administration . The story comes from Townsend Hoopes , whose position as undersecretary of the Air Force brought him in frequent contact with McNamara during the Secretary's ...
Page 151
... position was morally justified . He went on to say that " what changed my mind was Bobby Kennedy's argument that we ought to be true to ourselves as Americans , that surprise attack was not in our tradition . Frankly , these ...
... position was morally justified . He went on to say that " what changed my mind was Bobby Kennedy's argument that we ought to be true to ourselves as Americans , that surprise attack was not in our tradition . Frankly , these ...
Page 152
... position at least once - some more than once - during the week of brainstorming . " Sorensen : " Each of us changed his mind more than once that week on the best course of action to take . " Schlesinger : " Thinking aloud , hearing new ...
... position at least once - some more than once - during the week of brainstorming . " Sorensen : " Each of us changed his mind more than once that week on the best course of action to take . " Schlesinger : " Thinking aloud , hearing new ...
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