PSYCH253 Chapter Notes - Chapter 7: Hinder, Ingroups And Outgroups

• School: University of Waterloo
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYCH253
• Professor: Christopher Lok

Document Summary

Groupthink: the mode of thinking that persons engage in when concurrence-seeking becomes so dominant in a cohesive in-group that it tends to override realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action. Causes unquestioned belief in the group"s morality. Causes mindguards who protect the group from unpleasant information. Group cohesion overrides realistic appraisal of a situation, leading to bad decisions. True when group members strongly desire unity, when they are isolated from opposing ideas, and when the leader signals what he or she wants from the group. Critics have noted that some aspects of janis"s groupthink model seem more implicated in a flawed decisions than others. Research on group problem-solving suggests that groups can be more accurate than individuals; groups also generate more and better ideas if the group is small or if, in a large group, individual brainstorming follows the group session. Leadership: the process by which certain group members motivate and guide the group.