- What's up you guys? Some of you might remember this.
Back in 1986, the world was watching on in anticipation
as NASA prepared to launch the Challenger Space Shuttle.
As we all know now, the excitement of that day
took a very sharp turn only 73 seconds after the launch
as the shuttle failed on live television
costing seven people their lives.
How could a room full of some of the world's smartest people
have gotten it so catastrophically wrong?
Today 37 years later, the Challenger disaster
is thought to have been caused by groupthink.
Later investigations revealed that multiple scientists
throughout NASA's chain of command
knew that there were problems with the launch,
but under incredible outside pressure
to stick with the plan, go with the flow,
keep the higher ups happy....
nobody said anything.
(rocket roaring)
Groupthink happens when the expectation for everyone
to agree with each other and go along
with the group consensus,
becomes so intense that it squashes our ability
to safely express dissent, disagreement,
and to have healthy debate with each other.
This stuff isn't just lofty intellectual exercises,
they're actually critical to making smart decisions together
as a group, and to forming more accurate beliefs!
So how can we identify groupthink when it's happening?
(soft music)
First we need to be able to identify groups.
Each of us has many in-groups, these are social groups
that are usually formed around things
that we have in common with other people.
Many in-groups are formed around identities
like political or religious affiliations,
race, gender, sexuality, things like that.
We also belong to our geographic in-groups,
your neighborhood, your city, your state, your country.
We have teams and in-groups we're part of at work,
we're members of online communities,
like this one or a subreddit or whatever.
Researchers have been observing a surge in groupthink
in recent years, now that more and more people
are getting their news and information on the internet.
Obviously strong outside pressure
like what NASA experienced,
creates kind of a high-risk situation for groupthink.
But another high-risk situation is when an in-group
feels threatened by an out-group.
Perhaps physically threatened,
but more often...a threat to the group's values,
or their way of life or their identities.
And when this happens, things can get very out of hand.
Violence and all sorts of madness can be justified
by the group, especially when they feel
that traditional avenues of justice are broken.
And that, my dears, is how groupthink can turn into a mob.
(upbeat music)
Here's six ways to recognize groupthink in action.
One of the key indicators that groupthink is happening
is when people start to censor themselves.
When people in a group are not free
to express disagreements with each other,
for fear of social retaliation,
or being stigmatized, losing friends, losing jobs,
things like that.
In those situations conformity
is not just the comfortable option,
it is the survival option.
Now, you might be able to think of situations
where self-censorship could be a good thing!
You don't necessarily need to say every thought
that crosses our minds out loud, right?
In some situations, the line between self regulation
and self censorship might not be so clear.
And when self-censorship becomes the social norm in a group,
it creates an atmosphere that's ripe for manipulation.
Not even intentionally. By big extroverted personality types...
or by bullies.
Self-censorship also creates the illusion
that everyone in the group agrees with each other,
when in reality they don't,
so the truth goes unsaid.
And that's why although it is very common
in groupthink situations,
it's not always easy to identify
because how do you know when someone's censoring themselves?
Fortunately, there are other red flags to look out for.
Rationalizing is another red flag.
Rationalizing harassment,
rationalizing dehumanizing language or behavior or violence,
rationalizing away evidence that contradicts
with the group's beliefs.
Alternative possibilities are brushed off
and aren't meaningfully addressed.
Another red flag that isn't always as obvious
as it sounds like it should be is ultimatums.
"If you don't like what we decided here, then you can leave."
"If you don't go along with this, then people will die."
(And it'll all be your fault!)
Could have just gone with the flow, man.
Number four is an us versus them mentality.
As an in-group becomes more and more uniform
in their beliefs and they start weeding out
undesirable thoughts and ideas,
groups will often start to regard outsiders as bad people.
You know, they're morally inferior,
they have bad character, bad culture, or whatever it may be.
Stereotypes about "the other" flourish.
This effectively allows groupthink
to insulate itself and continue spiraling.
Number five, complacency can also be a bad sign.
This happens sometimes when a group
starts to accrue some power, or has had some success.
From the NASA example, you know, "We're NASA!
We got this, we know what we're doing."
When people let their guard down,
groupthink might happen and it might also seem like
it's not that big of a deal.
And it's not really a big deal,
at least until it is.
The last red flag we'll talk about is moral talk.
Groupthink might be present when a group of people
start to rely solely on moral arguments
to convince a group.
"We have to do this because anything else
would be morally wrong."
In this scenario, the pressure to self-censor
just becomes tremendous,
because now disagreeing makes you a bad person.
So it's very tricky and very convincing,
especially because sometimes moral talk is needed.
Sometimes issues of right and wrong are at hand!
So I think it helps to sort of be on your guard
and be aware that moral talk can be weaponized.
It can be abused and has been throughout history
by religious leaders, political leaders, cult leaders!
Considering these six indicators,
it's pretty easy to see why groupthink has historically
been especially common in religious and moral conflicts and
in high stakes scenarios, like in business or in war.
(Although...what's the difference?)
(upbeat music)
Sometimes just being aware that groupthink is a thing
that happens and we do it,
is enough to kind of pump the brakes.
In many situations, simply asking,
"Hmm could we be engaging in groupthink right now?"
is enough to sort of shake people into self-awareness
and to redirect the conversation in a more open way.
But beyond that, here are three methods that you can use
to break up groupthink..
One of my favorite methods is called the six hats.
This method encourages us and our groups
to consider a single problem
from six different perspectives.
You know, wearing six hats!
The logic hat, the emotions hat,
the cautious hat, the optimistic hat,
the creative, let's get weird and think outside the box hat.
And of course the practical, logistical,
is this really feasible? hat.
A simplified version of this exercise
that I've used on creative teams I've been a part of,
is to invite people to share
their "devil's advocate" ideas and strategies,
as part of the brainstorming process.
It takes the pressure off of people
to just go along with it and nod their head in agreement.
And I think it encourages creative thinking.
Another method, maybe for different situations,
is to invite group members to share their feedback
and critiques anonymously.
This is especially helpful in my experience,
when there are people in a group
who tend to have big personalities
that dominate a discussion,
or in situations where group members
might feel some pressure to save face and not step on toes.
Lastly, I have a more preventative approach,
I think it's really important to
cultivate a norm and a tone
that invites people to ask questions,
that invites disagreement,
that invites people to not conform and do their own thing!
This comes back to a basic principle
that I think we try to teach young adults and kids,
which is to be yourself.
You don't need to do that thing or wear those clothes
just because the popular kids are doing it.
Free thinking is the grownup sophisticated version of that.
Cultivating that little bit of healthy mischief
in ourselves or our kids or our groups,
I think that can be a positive thing.
Not cruelty and not being an edge Lord for edge Lord's sake!
But simply to allow people to question things
that might sometimes feel unquestionable.
Use your power wisely, my dears. (chuckles)
So, this is effectively part two
of my critical thinking guide that I posted a month or so ago,
I'll put a link to that down below.
Check it out if you're interested!
I feel like these two videos go together very well
to kind of audit our thinking processes.
Of course, let me know what you guys think down below.
Thanks for stopping by, I'll see you next time!
(upbeat music)