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 32
Page 46
... going to avoid seeing the CIA direc- tor , Kennedy went out of his way to support Dulles by inviting him for a drink and ostentatiously putting his around him in the presence of the would - be ostracizer . This is a typical way for a ...
... going to avoid seeing the CIA direc- tor , Kennedy went out of his way to support Dulles by inviting him for a drink and ostentatiously putting his around him in the presence of the would - be ostracizer . This is a typical way for a ...
Page 66
... going on , he asked , and how could a man in his position be guilty of such an indiscretion ? " The President tried to calm Barkley by telling him that this was no time " to damage Mac- Arthur's prestige " or to " pull the rug from ...
... going on , he asked , and how could a man in his position be guilty of such an indiscretion ? " The President tried to calm Barkley by telling him that this was no time " to damage Mac- Arthur's prestige " or to " pull the rug from ...
Page 95
... going to attack British or Dutch territory in the Far East ? According to Secretary Stimson's notes on this meeting , the consensus was that the Japanese expeditionary force was going to try to " get around the southern point of Indo ...
... going to attack British or Dutch territory in the Far East ? According to Secretary Stimson's notes on this meeting , the consensus was that the Japanese expeditionary force was going to try to " get around the southern point of Indo ...
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 CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 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 Kennan Kennedy's Korean War leader major Marshall Plan McNamara meetings military moral naval 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 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Vietnam Vietnam War warning Watergate cover-up White House group