Groupthink Research Paper

Communication Essay Assignment: Groupthink Groupthink is a theory that aims to explain, “[. . .] group failures—decisions that in hindsight seem incredibly poor, ill advised, and generally incompetent” (226). Groupthink usually develops when the collective members of a group have similar opinions, attitudes, and beliefs that stifle the creativity and opposing viewpoints of those existing outside the group. To better understand the theory of groupthink, one could examine it through an oppressive regime-centered ideology such as American capitalism or fascism (if there is indeed a difference): in both cases, a small group, the governing body, whose members remain largely concerned with exploitation—i.e. dominating the rest of the country in order to perpetuate their own roles as “parasites of society”—fail to consider the positions of the masses; however, their lack of insight is falsely justified through the notion that they, the government, all hold similar feelings (those of fascism) and …show more content…
The most important, however, might also be the most overlooked. One catastrophic consequence of groupthink is that the group, since they all think alike and tend to agree with each other, usually fails to make a contingency plan. Why would they? They believe that there is no other answer and that they, hence, must be correct in their application of a solution. Our book cites “The Bay of Pigs” as an example of groupthink. Indeed there was no working contingency plan in “The Bay of Pigs” and when America’s plans were thwarted, they ended up looking real stupid. It is, to put it more simply, unlikely that members operating under a groupthink environment will ever construct a “Plan B.” Obviously, groupthink is a theory that applies to areas other than American capitalism; however, American capitalism can be utilized as a current example in comprehension of the theory that virtually all Americans can relate