The document discusses two phenomena in group decision-making: groupthink and groupshift. Groupthink occurs when conformity pressures inhibit critical evaluation of alternatives, leading to poor decisions, while groupshift results in exaggeration of initial positions during discussions, often shifting towards greater risk. Strategies to mitigate these effects include monitoring group size, encouraging impartial leadership, and assigning a devil's advocate role.

1. Sindh University
Department of MBA
What is Different between
Group Think & Group Shift?
Submitted by: Manesh Kumar Ahuja
Submitted To : Sir Suhail Ahmed Shaikh

2.  GROUPTHINK AND GROUPSHIFT
Two byproducts of group decision making have received a considerable amount of
attention by researchers in Organizational Behavior. These two phenomena have the potential to
affect the group’s ability to appraise alternatives objectively and to arrive at quality decision
solutions.
The first phenomenon, called groupthink, is related to norms. It describes situations in which group
pressures for conformity deter the group from critically appraising unusual, minority, or unpopular
views. Groupthink is a disease that attacks many groups and can dramatically hinder their
performance.
The second phenomenon we will review is called Group shift. It indicates that in discussing a given
set alternatives and arriving at a solution, group members tend to exaggerate the initial positions that
they hold. In some situations, caution dominates, and there is a conservative shift. More often,
however, the evidence indicates that groups tend toward a risky shift. Let us look in detail
 Groupthink example:
Have you ever felt like speaking up in a meeting, classroom, or informal group, but
decided against it? One reason may have been shyness. On the other hand, you may have been
victim of groupthink, the phenomenon that occurs when group members become so enamored of
seeking concurrence that the norm for consensus overrides the realistic appraisal of alternatives
courses of action and the full expression of deviant, minority or unpopular views. It describes
deterioration in an individual mental efficiency, reality, testing, and moral judgment as a result of
group pressures.
We have all seen the symptoms of the groupthink phenomenon.
1. Group members rationalize any resistance to the assumptions they have made. No matter how
strongly the evidence may contradict their basic assumptions; members behave so as to reinforce
those assumptions continually.
2. Members apply direct pressures on those who momentarily express doubts about any of the
groups shared views or who question the validity of arguments supporting the alternative favored by
the majority.
3. Members who have doubts or hold differing points of view seek to avoid deviating from what
appears to be group consensus by keeping silent about misgivings and even minimizing to
themselves the importance of their doubts.
4. There appears to be an illusion of unanimity. If someone doesn’t speak, its assumed that he or she
is in full accord. In other words, abstention becomes viewed as a Yes vote.

3. Groupthink appears to be closely aligned with the conclusion Asch, the expert in behavioral studies,
drew in his experiments with a lone dissenter. Individuals who hold a position that is different from
that of the dominant majority are under pressure to suppress, with hold, or modify their true feelings
and beliefs. As members of a group, we find it more pleasant to be in agreement to be a positive part
of the group than to be a disruptive force, even if disruption is necessary to improve the effectiveness
of the group’s decisions.
Does groupthink attack all groups?
No, it seems to occur most often when there is a clear group identity, when
members hold a positive image of their group that they want to protect, and when the group
perceives a collective threat to this positive image. So groupthink is not a dissenter-suppression
mechanism as much as it’s a means for a group to protect its positive image.
Groupthink Example 2:
For NASA, it is a problem stem from its attempt to confirm its identity as the elite organization that
could do o wrong?
What can managers do to minimize groupthink? Example 3
One thing is to monitor group size. People grow intimidated and
hesitant as group size increases and, although there is no magic number that will eliminate
groupthink, individuals are likely to feel less personal responsibility when groups get larger than
about 10 members. Managers should also encourage group leaders to play an impartial role. Leaders
should actively seek input from all members and avoid expressing their own opinions, especially I
the early stages of deliberation. Another thing is to appoint one group member to play the role of
devil’s advocate. This member’s role is to overtly challenge the majority position and offer divergent
perspectives. Still another suggestion is to use exercises that stimulate active discussion of diverse
alternatives without threatening the group and intensifying identity protection. One such exercise is
to have group members talk about dangers or risks involved in a decision and delaying discussion of
any potential gains. By requiring members to first focus on the negatives of a decision alternative,
the group is less likely to stifle dissenting views and more likely to gain an objective evaluation.
Group Shift:
In comparing group decisions with the individual decisions of members within the group, evidence
suggests that there are differences. In some cases, the group decisions are more conservative than the
individual decisions. More often, the shift is towards greater risk.
What appears to happen in groups is that the discussion leads to a significant shift in a position of
members towards a more extreme position in the direction in which they were already leaning before
the discussion. So conservative types become more cautious and the more aggressive types take on
more risk. The group discussion tends to exaggerate the initial position of the group.

4. Group shift can be viewed as actually a special case of groupthink. The decision of the group reflects
the dominant decision-making norm that develops during the group’s discussion. Whether the shift
in the group’s decision is towards greater caution or more risk depends on the dominant pre-
discussion norm.
The greater occurrence of the shift toward risk has generated several explanations for the
phenomenon. It’s been argued, for instance, that the discussion creates familiarization among the
members. As they become more comfortable with each other, they also become more bold and
daring. Another argument is that most first world societies value risk that we admire individuals who
are willing to take risks, and that group discussion motivates members to show that they are at least
as willing as their peers to take risks. The most plausible explanation of the shift toward risk,
however, seems to be that the group diffuses responsibility. Group decisions free any single member
from accountability for the group’s final choice. Greater risk can be taken because even if the
decision fails, no one member can be held wholly responsible.
So how should you use the findings on Group shift? You should recognize that group decisions
exaggerate the initial position of the individual members that the shift has been shown more often to
be toward greater risk and that whether or not a group will shift toward greater risk or caution is a
function of the member’s pre-discussion inclinations.
Two byproducts of group decision making have received a considerable amount of attention by
researchers in Organizational Behavior. These two phenomena have the potential to affect the
group’s ability to appraise alternatives objectively and to arrive at quality decision solutions.
The first phenomenon, called groupthink, is related to norms. It describes situations in which group
pressures for conformity deter the group from critically appraising unusual, minority, or unpopular
views. Groupthink is a disease that attacks many groups and can dramatically hinder their
performance.
The second phenomenon we will review is called Group shift. It indicates that in discussing a given
set alternatives and arriving at a solution, group members tend to exaggerate the initial positions that
they hold. In some situations, caution dominates, and there is a conservative shift. More often,
however, the evidence indicates that groups tend toward a risky shift. Let us look in detail
Groupthink:
Have you ever felt like speaking up in a meeting, classroom, or informal group, but decided against
it? One reason may have been shyness. On the other hand, you may have been victim of groupthink,
the phenomenon that occurs when group members become so enamored of seeking concurrence that
the norm for consensus overrides the realistic appraisal of alternatives courses of action and the full
expression of deviant, minority or unpopular views. It describes deterioration in an individual’s
mental efficiency, reality, testing, and moral judgment as a result of group pressures.

5. We have all seen the symptoms of the groupthink phenomenon.
1. Group members rationalize any resistance to the assumptions they have made. No matter how
strongly the evidence may contradict their basic assumptions; members behave so as to reinforce
those assumptions continually.
2. Members apply direct pressures on those who momentarily express doubts about any of the
groups shared views or who question the validity of arguments supporting the alternative favored by
the majority.
3. Members who have doubts or hold differing points of view seek to avoid deviating from what
appears to be group consensus by keeping silent about misgivings and even minimizing to
themselves the importance of their doubts.
4. There appears to be an illusion of unanimity. If someone doesn’t speak, it’s assumed that he or she
is in full accord. In other words, abstention becomes viewed as a Yes vote.
Groupthink appears to be closely aligned with the conclusion Asch, the expert in behavioral studies,
drew in his experiments with a lone dissenter. Individuals who hold a position that is different from
that of the dominant majority are under pressure to suppress, with hold, or modify their true feelings
and beliefs. As members of a group, we find it more pleasant to be in agreement to be a positive part
of the group than to be a disruptive force, even if disruption is necessary to improve the effectiveness
of the group’s decisions.