The document discusses the relationship between groupthink theory and social media, highlighting how various groupthink characteristics, such as invulnerability and self-censorship, manifest in online platforms like Facebook and Twitter. It also explores social identity theory, explaining how individuals categorize themselves within groups and how social media influences self-esteem and group dynamics. Historical examples, such as the Challenger disaster, illustrate the dangers of groupthink, while theories by Henri Tajfel and John Turner explore categorization and its psychological impacts.

1. THE RELATION BETWEEN GROUPTHINK
THEORY AND SOCIAL MEDIA
PRESENTED BY TRONG NGUYEN & VICTORIA GRIFFIN
Figure 1: Groupthink (Mistofmanagement.net, 2015)
Author Note
This presentation was prepared for COM 600 – M001,
taught by Professor Grygiel

2. IRVING JANIS
• Born in Buffalo, New York,
in 1918 and studied at the
University of Chicago and
earned his doctorate from
Columbia University in
1948. He completed his
postdoctoral study at the
New York Psychoanalytic
Institute. (“Goodtherapy.or
g,” 2007)
• Be identified for the group
think theory.
(“Goodtherapy.org,” 2007) Figure 2: Irving Janis (geocities.ws)

3. GROUPTHINK THEORY
“In a group sometimes there comes a situation when
all the members of the group think it is more
important to come to a unanimous decision than to
carefully go through all their options to get at the most
beneficial course of action.” (“Communication Theory,”
2010)
http://communicationtheory.org/groupthink/

4. A FAMOUS CASE
The Challenger space shuttle disaster:
• The engineers knew about faulty parts, but in order
to avoid negative press, they went ahead with the
launch anyway. (“History.com,” 2016)
• On Jan 28, 1986, the American shuttle orbiter
Challenger broke up 73 seconds after liftoff,
bringing a devastating end to the spacecraft’s 10th
mission. (“History.com,” 2016)
http://www.history.com/topics/challenger-disaster

5. MAY GROUPTHINK RELATE TO SOCIAL MEDIA?
- Invulnerability: The members
of the group feel they are perfect
and that anything they do will turn
out to be successful.
(“Communication Theory,” 2010)
YES
Facebook users create pages or
groups, where members believe in
what they do. However, it poses
some signs of dangers.

6. MAY GROUPTHINK RELATE TO…? (Cont)
• Collective Rationalization:
They try giving reasons as to
why the others don’t agree and
thereby go ahead with their
original decisions.
(“Communication Theory,”
2010)
NO
Social media is an opinion market.
Google or Twitter search provides
us multiple ideas based on their
database of knowledge.

7. MAY GROUPTHINK RELATE TO…? (Cont)
• Morality: whatever the group does will be
right as they all know the difference between
right and wrong. They overlook the
consequences of what they decide.
(“Communication Theory,” 2010)
YES
No face-to-face conversation will make people
less thoughtful and irresponsible.

8. MAY GROUPTHINK RELATE TO…? (Cont)
Out – Group Stereotypes:
The group believes that those
who disagree are opposed to
the group on purpose. They
stereotype them as being
weak or evil.
(“Communication Theory,”
2010)
YES
The brands are taking
advantage of this trait to hire
influencers to promote their
products.

9. MAY GROUPTHINK RELATE
TO…? (Cont)
Pressure on Dissenters: The
majority directly threaten the
person who questions the
decisions by telling them that
they can always leave the group
if they don’t want to agree with
the majority. Pressure is applied
to get them to agree.
(“Communication Theory,”2010)
YES
“Magical weapon” - Block button
on Facebook

10. MAY GROUPTHINK RELATE
TO…? (Cont)
• Self – Censorship:
People engage in self –
censorship where they
believe that if they are
the only odd one out then
they must be the one
who is wrong.
(“Communication
Theory,” 2010)
YES
That is Editing and
Custom Apps

11. MAY GROUPTHINK RELATE
TO…? (Cont)
• Illusions of unanimity:
Members share an illusion
of unanimity, in part
because those who have
doubts keep them to
themselves.
(“Communication Theory”,
2010)
YES
Trending topics on Facebook
and Twitter mislead users
that everything is important.

12. MAY GROUPTHINK RELATE
TO…? (Cont)
• Mind Guards: They are
members of the group
who take it upon
themselves to discourage
alternative ideas from
being expressed in the
group. (“Communication
Theory,” 2010)
YES
Fans bully to protect their
idols over anti-fans on social
media like Twitter, Facebook,
YouTube.
Figure 3: Minaj vs Swift (OKMagazine, 2015)

13. THE RELATION
BETWEEN
SOCIAL
IDENTITY AND
SOCIAL MEDIA
Author Note
This presentation was prepared for
COM 600 – M001, taught by
Professor Grygiel
PRESENTED BY: VICTORIA
GRIFFIN & TRONG NGUYEN
Syracuse University
Figure 1. Fake Identities (Meir, 2012).

14. HENRI TAJFEL &
JOHN TURNER
• Henri Tajfel
 Born on June 22, 1919, in Włocławek, Poland
 Grew up in Poland, survived World War II in a series
of prisoner-of-war camps
 The effect lead to his later work on the psychology of
prejudice and intergroup relations
• John Turner
 Born on September 7, 1947 in South London
 Research for his PhD led to him becoming Tajfel’s
student
• They developed the theory of social identity in
1979
Wikipedia, 2016
Figure 3. John C. Turner (Reicher & Haslam, 2011).
Figure 2. Henri Tajfel (EASP, 2012).

15. 3 COGNITIVE PROCESSES
Being part of the in-group or the out-group
Social Identification
Social Categorization
Social Comparison

16. SOCIAL IDENTITY THEORY
“People tend to
categorize
themselves into
groups in order to
gain a greater
sense of who they
are, with
consequences for
self-esteem,
prejudice and
stereotyping”.
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2011/sep/06/john-turner-obituary
http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/psychology/social/social_identity_theory.html
Figure 4. Social Identity Chart (Age of The Sage, ND).

17. SOCIAL IDENTIFICATION
• Finding
compatibility
within the in-
group based on
the worth,
attitude, and the
"normality" of the
group
• A more open but
plainly
undisguised
process
Figure 5. Mean Girls (Sterns, 2015).
(Age of The Sage, 2016)

18. SOCIAL CATEGORIZATION
• Deciding which group
you belong to based on
who is in it
• Being a neutral party or
independent of group
thinking can cause
conflict
(Age of The Sage, 2016)
Figure 6. Comparative Context (Haslam, 2011).

19. SOCIAL COMPARISON
• Your thinking begins
to resemble how the
group thinks and you
estimate your worth
by:
• Comparing it to
society
• How it is rated in
society
(Age of The Sage, 2016)
Figure 7. Social Comparison Theory (Plante, 2013).

20. HOW IT RELATES TO…
FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, LINKEDIN, PINTEREST,
TUMBLR, ETC…

21. POSITIVE SELF-
DISTINCTIVENESS STRATEGY
Social Identity theory details certain strategies which help to
achieve and maintain positive self-distinctiveness in a group of
individuals.
(Communication Theory, 2010)

22. INDIVIDUAL MOBILITY
• If it is possible to
change your
status in the
group, individuals
become more
motivated to
achieve self
objectives rather
than group ones.
Figure 8. Individuality (Pixabay, 2013).
(Communication Theory, 2010)

23. SOCIAL CREATIVITY
• If statuses are
more concrete and
held by
boundaries
individuals of low
status are more
inclined to the
achieve creatively.
 Behavior is a
factor
Figure 9. Creativity (Mainwaring, 2009).
(Communication Theory, 2010)

24. SOCIAL COMPETITION
• Statuses are as
changeable as the
wind in this group
and most
boundaries if not all
can be passed
though easily,
resulting in the
individual
challenging the
group.
 The identity of the
group is brought
into question.
(Communication Theory, 2010)
Figure 10. Competition (Johnson 2013).

25. REFERENCE
1. Group Think. Group Communication, Organizational Communication, Psychology, Behavioral and Social Science.
Retrieved Feb 8, 2016, from http://communicationtheory.org/groupthink/
2. Social Identity. Group Communication, Organizational Communication, Psychology, Behavioral and Social Science.
Retrieved Feb 7, 2016, from http://communicationtheory.org/social-identity-theory/
3. Challenger Disaster. A&E Television Network. Retrieved Feb 8, 2016, from
http://www.history.com/topics/challenger-disaster
4. Brian, Solis. Q&A: Why the Future of Business is Shared Experiences. Brian Solis Blog. Retrieved Feb 8, 2016, from
http://www.briansolis.com/2013/04/qa-why-the-future-of-business-is-shared-experiences/
5. Henri Tajfel - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 8, 2016, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Tajfel
6. John Turner obituary | Education | The Guardian. Retrieved from
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2011/sep/06/john-turner-obituary
7. Social Identity Theory - Tajfel and Turner 1979. Retrieved from http://www.age-of-the-
sage.org/psychology/social/social_identity_theory.html

26. Q&A