The attack of groupthink

woodrow.typepad.com/.../04/10/groupthink.gif

I was from a local polytechnic and have had many experiences of working in groups as part of my business course. Working in groups can really be a pain, especially when you're forced to work with people you don't get along with, or people you originally thought you could work with but end up rubbing each other the wrong way. But of course, working in groups have also produced some of my best friendships to-date. We all bond through adversity, don't we? (or perhaps we bond even greater through a common enemy)

My experiences in groups have led me to believe that when the group is too big, and there are two or three dominant members, social loafing occurs. The large group size facilitates this since it is easier to hide behind the efforts of the other members. Also, these social loafers, or free-riders, as they are sometimes termed, have little incentive of doing work because of the group size and existing vocal members. They feel like their individual efforts will not contribute much to the group and are sometimes seen as having a lack of commitment to the group. Group productivity is then horribly compromised, and we end up having lots of animosity towards the social loafers.

While working in groups, it is also important to achieve the balance between producing results (being task orientated) and group cohesiveness (being people orientated). This means that although you may be happy to spend time with your group on the pretext of doing the project on hand, the time must also produce work and tangible results. I remember how my group got too distracted during group meetings and had to stay up all night to turn in our report before the deadline. We weren’t flexible in both task and maintenance roles. Perhaps we needed an appointed time-keeper to keep us on-track.

I have also been plagued been groupthink. I have experienced illusion of invulnerability when my group mates and I really thought our proposed marketing campaign was the best that anyone could think of. On hindsight, I am now embarrassed to be part of a team to suggest an endurance themed game where people would spend as much time as they could withstand in a transparent lifestyle box in the middle of Orchard Road. This was to feature the many ways and occasions to put on a stunning outfit from the apparel brand we were proposing the campaign for. We must have lost all sense of reality and feasibility. Our idea was shot down when one of our peers heard of it, but we were adamant that it was a brilliant idea, probably believing in our group’s own morality. Come to think of it, it was amazing nobody within the group spoke up against this, which probably could have saved us from the dreadful C- grade we received for this marketing project. I suppose there was pressure on dissenters so nobody dared to speak against the project.

I have been exposed to the theory of groupthink before, but I never really saw truth in its elements. I didn’t think it would actually occur, and that it would affect the dynamics, productivity and results of a group as drastically as it has. Have you been attacked by groupthink before?

Do groups promote blind following?

Our textbook says "Groups tell us what to think and feel and how to act. We are who we are because of the groups we have been a part of."

I won't quite ask if you agree with the statement, at the risk of this sounding like an essay question. But I did have quite a few thoughts run through my mind after I read the statement, and would appreciate very much for your opinions to be raised also!

The quoted statement is quite hard to swallow, especially in this age of rising individualism. People actually like being unique, and don't quite care for the idea of seeing someone else wearing the same shirt we have on. However, as much as we have these people who like to stand out and be admired/followed/worshiped/outcasted/gawked at, there will also be other people who like to blend in and don't feel the dying need to be noticed.

That said, the above statement does have some truth. I think almost everybody has been in situations where you’re influenced by the groups you find yourself in. We can get gently tugged to think green is the new black or forcefully coerced to adopt similar values/habits/beliefs. (Like how gangs force on tattoos to mark their members)

I recall, not too long ago, being influenced to think that going overseas for a degree was the way for me, largely due to the group of people I was with. The ones closest to me were jetting off overseas and I thought I wanted that life as well.

In some ways, I think the influencing power of groups also translates to trends. When more people do something, there is a level of comfort and assurance for the others to follow that option as well. It is as if the way is tried and tested, and more people flock to that path, as if they were being told how to think feel and how to act. Or the more people do it, the more confirmation we receive that this path is socially acceptable, and the more we are inclined to follow that trend. You think so?