Janis suggested that groupthink tends to be the most prevalent in conditions:
1) When there is a high degree of cohesiveness.
2) When there are situational factors that contribute to deferring to the group (such as external threats, moral problems, and difficult decisions).
3) When there are structural issues (such as group isolation and a lack of impartial leadership)
4) Low knowledge: When people lack personal knowledge of something or feel that other members of the group are more qualified, they are more likely to engage in Groupthink.
5) Stress: Situations where the group is placed under extreme stress or where moral dilemmas exist also increase the occurrence of Groupthink
Ms. Cherry comments,
One of the current issues we are observing from the mainstream media (MSM) commentary is that their participation in Groupthink tends to lead group members to perceive the group as inherently moral or right.
Stereotyped beliefs about other groups can contribute to this biased sense of rightness. It also leads to unreasonable and unsupportable statements about the other side and self-righteous commentary that builds on false assumptions. Supposed journalists report stories that fit their template without doing the research to verify the accuracy, resulting in absolutely false stories presented as truth, with very few retractions. And, when they do come, they are too little and too late.
The author identifies several problems Groupthink can cause:
1) Blindness to potentially negative outcomes
2) Failure to listen to people with dissenting opinions
3) Lack of creativity
4) Lack of preparation to deal with negative outcomes
5) Ignoring important information
6) Inability to see other solutions
7) Not looking for things that might not yet be known to the group
8) Obedience to authority without question
9) Overconfidence in decisions
10) Resistance to new information or ideas