Download GROUP THINK - World In Conversation

Conformity and Independence
The Pit-falls of Group Think
Confirmation Bias: How we include
or exclude information to confirm or
reject our opinions and ideologies
• There are tens of millions of species on the
planet. How did they all fit on Noah’s ark?
(must have been a big boat…right?)
• If Darwin is correct and we all “naturally
evolved,” where did the first multi-celled
organism come from? From where did
consciousness emerge? (Just kind of
happened…right? Perhaps God started it?)
• Sports fans who randomly select their teams
Study on “confirmation bias”
• 15 Strong Republicans and 15 Strong
Democrats had an fMRI brain scan while
assessing statements by George Bush and John
Kerry
• These were statements in which the candidates
clearly contradicted themselves
• Republicans were only critical of Kerry and
Democrats were only critical of Bush – but not
their own candidate
Neuro-imaging Results While the
Study Was in Process:
LEAST ACTIVE PART OF THEIR BRAINS
• Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex
– Part of the brain associated with reasoning
MOST ACTIVE PART OF THEIR BRAINS
• Orbital Frontal Cortex
– Part of the brain associated with emotions
• Anterior Cingulate
– Part of the brain associated with conflict resolution
• Posterior Cingulate
– Part of the brain associated with making judgments about moral
accountability
• Ventral Striatum
– Part of the brain associated with reward and pleasure
Informational Social Influence
Occurs in ambiguous social situations – we
assume that others around us know more
than we do about a situation (we herd)
• Joshua Bell – Washington, DC subway
– Made $32 for an hour of violin playing
– Only one person recognized him
• Canned laughter
• Connected with racism – latent prejudice
and discrimination
Group Think
“When concurrence-seeking becomes so
important in a (cohesive) ‘in group’ that it
overrides realistic appraisals of reality and
alternative courses of action.”
- Collective tunnel-vision
- Suggestions for alternatives are seen as
disloyalty
- Narrow thinking breeds disregard for risk
8 Symptoms of “group think”
OVERESTIMATION OF MIGHT & RIGHT
• An illusion of invulnerability
• Unquestioned belief in the group’s morality
CLOSED-MINDEDNESS
• Group time is spent explaining and
justifying group actions
• Opponents are stereotyped
8 Symptoms of “group think”
PRESSURE FOR UNIFORMITY
• Extreme pressure to conform
• Self-censorship prevails (don’t want to be
a nuisance to colleagues)
• There is an illusion of unanimity
• Group members protect the group from
contrary information