Groupthink Model Research Articles

A Partial Test of Janis' Groupthink Model: Effects of Group Cohesiveness and Leader Behavior on Defective Decision Making

The effects of group cohesiveness and leader behavior on Janis' (1982) symptoms of defective decision making were investigated within a laboratory setting. Two-hundred-eight college students were divided into four-person groups to solve a hypothetical business problem during tape-recorded group discussion sessions. Results showed that members of noncohesive groups engaged in more self-censorship of information than did members of cohesive groups. Teams with directive leaders proposed and discussed fewer alternative solutions to the problem than did groups with leaders who encouraged member participation. Groups with directive leaders were also willing to comply with the leaders' proposed solutions when the leaders stated their preferences early in the group discussion. These results only partially support Janis' groupthink model.

Identifying victims of groupthink from public statements of decision makers.

The present study attempts to test hypotheses derived from Janis's groupthink analysis of several foreign policy decisions of the American government. Content analyses were performed using the public statements of key decision makers involved in crises for which Janis's case studies revealed or did not reveal evidence of groupthink. Consistent with Janis's theory, it was found that, relative to non-groupthin k decision makers, groupthink decision makers were more simplistic in their perceptions of policy issues and made more positive references to the United States and its allies (own group). Inconsistent with Janis's theory, groupthink decision makers did not make significantly more negative references to Communist states and their allies (opponents). Possible explanations for the findings are assessed, and methodological and practical obstacles to definitive testing of the groupthink model are examined.