Groupthink And Social Influence

Social influence refers the ways in which people are altered by external factors People often behave based upon their beliefs of the behaviors of others and also on their own beliefs to adhere to social norms. It also can be seen in scenarios when a person makes a direct request to another and the other person obeys the request. Each day we are constantly surrounded with information that attempts to influence in some forms or another. Compliance is a form of social influence in which a person changes his or her behavior in response to implicit or explicit request made by another person. It is sometimes intentionally applied to gain something from someone, which can results in overt behaviors. In advertising, compliance is a very important technique …show more content…
It started in 1972 with Irving L. Janis observing a small group of individuals performing problem solving tasks. He noticed that these individuals maintain a focused attitude in never going outside of the group and remained isolated from being exposed to other options. Groups tend to work because people bring different ideas, collective inputs and remain close together. This can cause people to get a relief form the problem that the group is confronted by suppressing person doubts, quieting dissenters and following the leader’s opinion without consulting their own judgement on the matter at hand. Groups can be advantageous when individuals participate in activities where they can get feedback, acquiring new skills, and recognizing their strengths and weaknesses. On the other hand, groups can work out for certain activities where individuals can’t achieve on their own. The conditions for groupthink are important to analyze in order to comprehend the reasons behind people engaging in it. Janis has documented eight so called symptoms of groupthink while studying this decision process: Illusion of invulnerability, collective rationalization, belief in inherent morality, stereotypes, direct pressure, self-censorship, Illusion of unanimity and acting more of a guard against other information that seems threatening to the group cohesiveness. These symptoms have shown to more likely indicators for groupthink to happen though it may not occur even in the presence these factors. It is without question that groupthink will likely occur when members feel uncertain about a specific tasks and making decisions that could affect the outcome. As a result, they will tend to rely on someone or members within the group who are probably more experienced and have greater credibility to come to a decision. I believe that keeping an open mind helps one understands groupthink. It is a form of communication that can