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
Results 1-3 of 70
Page 73
at that dinner party on the eve of the attack and at the daily conferences held by
Admiral Kimmel during the preceding weeks: "The prevalent opinion in the Fleet
among the higher command, "he stated, ". . . was that the situation permitted of ...
at that dinner party on the eve of the attack and at the daily conferences held by
Admiral Kimmel during the preceding weeks: "The prevalent opinion in the Fleet
among the higher command, "he stated, ". . . was that the situation permitted of ...
Page 85
So far as their own base was concerned, these two officers, like everyone else in
the Navy group, were convinced that the Pacific Fleet concentrated at Pearl
Harbor was a major deterrent against an enemy air or naval attack. The fleet was
not ...
So far as their own base was concerned, these two officers, like everyone else in
the Navy group, were convinced that the Pacific Fleet concentrated at Pearl
Harbor was a major deterrent against an enemy air or naval attack. The fleet was
not ...
Page 93
The recipients of the official war warnings of November 24 and 27, sensitized to
words that fit in with their relatively placid assumptions, noted that a number of
possible targets for a Japanese attack were listed — the Philippines, Guam, ...
The recipients of the official war warnings of November 24 and 27, sensitized to
words that fit in with their relatively placid assumptions, noted that a number of
possible targets for a Japanese attack were listed — the Philippines, Guam, ...
What people are saying - Write a review
We haven't found any reviews in the usual places.
Contents
Why So Many Miscalculations? | 2 |
The Bay of Pigs | 14 |
Or Why the Fortress Slept | 72 |
Copyright | |
3 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
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 forces group dynamics groupthink hypothesis groupthink syndrome groupthink tendencies Haldeman Hawaii Ibid illusion in-group inner circle invasion plan issues Japanese John Dean Johnson Joint Chiefs judgment Kennan Kennedy's leader major Marshall 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 Soviet Union stereotypes stress symptoms of groupthink thinking threat tion transcripts Truman Vietnam warning Watergate cover-up White House group Wohlstetter
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 |
| ISBN | 0395317045, 9780395317044 |
| Length | 349 pages |
| Subjects | › Psychology / Social Psychology |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |