Groupthink and
Outliers
How often have we sat in on meetings, or in social
gatherings and felt pressured to agree with the majority? Or fallen silent on
social media when we disagree with the tirade of shared accusations?
This holds true for government policy or national security meetings,
corporate board meetings, academic institutions, trade unions, political
parties, drawing room conversations and of course social media. This phenomenon
has come to be known as Groupthink.
The term “Groupthink”
first appeared in a 1952 Fortune magazine article by social analyst, William H
Whyte, a concept expanded by psychologist Irving L. Janis in his book “Victims of Groupthink” .
While consensus is important for implementation of any form
of progress in state, community or family matters, Groupthink refers
specifically to the priority given to maintaining unity for emotional rather
than rational reasons. Groupthinkers feel morally right, foster an “us versus them”
attitude. It can polarize management employee relationships, conflict between
countries, racial relations, the generation gap, and a host of other situations,
sometimes with dangerous consequences.
The failed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba is often cited
as an example, but in our own time, there is the disastrous attack on Iraq
based on incorrect intelligence about Iraq’s alleged Weapons of Mass
Destruction. Negative groupthink can also lead to social mobilization such as
Nazism, Cold War propaganda, Islamophobia and religious extremism. Groupthink would also explain Brexit, the
support for Trumps and the anti-immigration panic in Europe.
Groupthink can sometimes have positive consequences such as
Bob Geldorf’s Band Aid , #MeToo, Avaaz,
and the Green movements.
In the lives of ordinary people, groupthink is most often
seen on social media. Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter can build one’s business
and reputation. It also has a dark side. Inflammatory posts with reactive
comments can run into the hundreds. Keyboard warriors or jihadis as they are
called locally, are, as psychologist Deborah
Pontillo says, emboldened by shared anger. Trolling is a term for people
who sow discord on the internet by starting arguments. Social media can make
the powerless feel powerful. Cyberbullying
is the third leading cause of death in USA among young people, resulting
in approximately 4,400 deaths per year.
Timothy Graham in his article “Unsocial Media: The rise of
group-think and communities of belief on Facebook” suggests that personal
opinions are easily solidified into knowledge “authorised by the crowd”. The
fear of being removed from the group, or ostracized encourages conformity. William
Golding’s 1954 book “Lord of the Flies” about a group of young boys stranded on an uninhabited island , explores
the disastrous effects of group pressure.
One of the main causes of groupthink is the devaluing of
individualism. Individualism is seen as disruptive, egotistical, socially isolating. Yet many successful people are those who
dared to think beyond the status quo. One can include the Prophets, many
philosophers and thinkers such as Darwin, Freud and Marx; artists such as the
Impressionists, and Cubists; visionaries such as Steve Jobs; politicians such
as William Wilberforce who presented the anti-slavery bill for 20 years,
Gorbachev who opened up USSR; Muhammad Ali Clay who refused to fight in the
Vietnam War; Edhi who established one of the largest philanthropic organizations in a third world economy; Princess Diana when she shook hands with HIV
positive patients; or even whistleblowers and good investigative journalists.
Malcom Gladwell uses the term “Outliers” to represent high
achievers in society - a statistical term for data that significantly deviates
from the norm. While we are a product of our society and our times, we need to
nurture our individuality to have “the strength and presence of mind” to
recognize opportunities that present themselves to us.
Durriya Kazi
June 9, 2019
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