So, in an attempt to conform (
) to the consensus view, I accept that groupthink is always bad. And yet, numerous examples suggest it is common throughout organizations in every part of society. This leads to a serious question -
if groupthink is bad, why do people keep doing it?
- What is bad? For now, I suppose it means that we get results that are worse than if we didn't engage in the behavior.
- Is it the bacon cheeseburger syndrome? We know it will have bad effects at some point, but it's really pleasant going down. And yet, who really likes meetings?
- Or, is the desire to conform, and to be a part of a group, so strong that we choose to be agreeable ahead of all other choices?
- Or, perhaps our internal calculator determines that there is little risk in nodding sagely, agreeing with everyone else, and avoiding original thought? In essence, slacking off is the predominant factor in determining human behavior in such settings.
Surely there must be reasons better than anything I've come up with. I wonder what they might be.