The Basic Idea
Imagine you’re part of a team managing the launch of a new space shuttle. You work on the project for years and bond with your team, heavily publicizing the projected launch. When engineers are brought to examine the shuttle only a few months before the planned take-off date, they point out some faulty parts. Hoping to avoid any negative press, your team decides to push ahead with the launch - after all, you know best and if everyone in the group agrees, then it must be the correct decision. This is exactly what happened in the 1986 NASA Challenger explosion, a famous example of groupthink.1
Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon in which people strive to maintain cohesion and reach consensus within a group.2 This can mean that consensus is achieved without critical thinking or an evaluation of the possible consequences or alternatives. Groupthink tends to happen when there’s a strong and persuasive leader, a high level of group cohesion, and external pressure to make the “right” decision. People may set aside their personal beliefs and adopt the majority opinion, either voluntarily or as a result of group pressure. Ultimately, the desire to avoid conflict often stifles individuality and results in conformity.
When we all think alike, no one thinks very much.
– Albert Einstein, Nobel Prize winning German physicist
