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 11
The imperfect link between groupthink and fiascoes Simply because the outcome
of a group decision has turned out to be a fiasco , I do not assume that it must
have been the result of groupthink or even that it was the result of defective ...
The imperfect link between groupthink and fiascoes Simply because the outcome
of a group decision has turned out to be a fiasco , I do not assume that it must
have been the result of groupthink or even that it was the result of defective ...
Page 195
A disastrous outcome can be the result of unforeseeable sabotage , poor
implementation by people outside the decision - making group , or unexpected
accidents beyond the control of the policy - makers , some of which have to be
chalked up ...
A disastrous outcome can be the result of unforeseeable sabotage , poor
implementation by people outside the decision - making group , or unexpected
accidents beyond the control of the policy - makers , some of which have to be
chalked up ...
Page 220
Even when the group was disintegrating as a result of the “ bombshells ” that
shattered their defenses , the members appear to have been striving to regain a
sense of invulnerability by giving grossly overoptimistic reassurances to each
other .
Even when the group was disintegrating as a result of the “ bombshells ” that
shattered their defenses , the members appear to have been striving to regain a
sense of invulnerability by giving grossly overoptimistic reassurances to each
other .
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Contents
Why So Many Miscalculations? | 2 |
The Bay of Pigs | 14 |
Or Why the Fortress Slept | 72 |
Copyright | |
4 other sections not shown
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Common terms and phrases
accept 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 discussion effect errors evidence example Executive expected fact factors feel fiasco forces give 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 Soviet staff stress strong suggested symptoms of groupthink 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 |
| ISBN | 0395317045, 9780395317044 |
| Length | 349 pages |
| Subjects | › Psychology / Social Psychology |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |