I have a sneaking suspicion Republicans in WI are caught up in Groupthink

[Quixote1818]

There is clearly a lot of poor decision making going on here that will probably come back to haunt them.


Symptoms of Groupthink

Janis has documented eight symptoms of groupthink:

Illusion of invulnerability –Creates excessive optimism that encourages taking extreme risks.
Collective rationalization – Members discount warnings and do not reconsider their assumptions.
Belief in inherent morality – Members believe in the rightness of their cause and therefore ignore the ethical or moral consequences of their decisions.
Stereotyped views of out-groups – Negative views of “enemy” make effective responses to conflict seem unnecessary.
Direct pressure on dissenters – Members are under pressure not to express arguments against any of the group’s views.
Self-censorship – Doubts and deviations from the perceived group consensus are not expressed.
Illusion of unanimity – The majority view and judgments are assumed to be unanimous.
Self-appointed ‘mindguards’ – Members protect the group and the leader from information that is problematic or contradictory to the group’s cohesiveness, view, and/or decisions.


Snip:

Examples of Groupthink: Past and Present



Examples of groupthink “fiascoes” studied by Janis include US failures to anticipate the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Bay of Pigs invasion, the escalation of Vietnam war, and the ill-fated hostage rescue in Iran. Current examples of groupthink can be found in the decisions of the Bush administration and Congress to pursue an invasion of Iraq based on a policy of “preemptive use of military force against terrorists and rogue nations”. The decision to rush to war in Iraq before a broad-based coalition of allies could be built has placed the US in an unenviable military situation in Iraq that is costly in terms of military deaths and casualties, diplomatic standing in the world, and economically.

Link: http://www.psysr.org/about/pubs_resources/groupthink%20overview.htm

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Yep, they are suffering from it

and that goes also for the extreme right wing.

[nebenaube]

2. They are actually playing us...

This is what they did today:

http://71.87.25.133/IVOD/COM/COM_110309_JNT_CONF.wmv

This is what it contained...

http://legis.wisconsin.gov/lfb/2011-13%20Budget/2011_03...

See page 16, item 3. and you can see exactly where this is going...

[Lifelong Protester]

3. link not found.

Could you give me a quick summation? I'm guessing lots of folks accessing this.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

4. I HAVE AN IDEA, LET'S SHUN WALKER

PUT HIM IN COVENTRY

[gkhouston]

5. Actually, they're also caught up in Groupsink, but they won't believe it until

after some of them get recalled.

[RandomThoughts]

6. That can be explained through a concept of spirituality.

Although group think like you explain that is thinking of a ideology as an inner thought or decision of belief on what is better in society.


Or the concept of there deciding factors being an ideology they follow.

That is the same thing that occurs without heart and reason. There can't be education and learning if you do not question what you think is best and worse occasionally, and what you feel about things. That is also part of looking whats in your macros, to see if the pattern behavior you do still matches what you have learned from experience.

And ideology can form a pattern of thought. If you are not thinking and feeling within changing dynamics, including your own learning by situations you experience, then that situation can occur.

So say you have some ideology, then you get in a group, and you learn they are messed up, and that can be about anygroup, if you go along with the ideology, and don't think and feel, you never help that group get better by offering thought and heart to the ideology to improve it.


Group think creates stagnation and lack of growth or improvement.

Although sometimes it can be due to a component missing that is needed for heart and rational thinking. For instance if someone suppresses or burns up their feeling then that component will not challenge an ideology they find themselves part of. In the same way if people don't learn how to think, they wont be able to use the many ideas in many places to cross pollinate some group with there unique learning experiences.

The group think, or action without heart and thought, is called the drone, or machine, and is the Terminator metaphor also. "They are machines, they wont ever stop." That is where that comes from, unthinking unfeeling action by ideology.

Not specifically about any group like Republicans, but about the concept of group think.

[defendandprotect]

7. What we need to pay attention to is our "Groupthink" -- have we figured out yet what's

really going on?

That both parties have been taken over by corporations which are now almost

completely funning the show --

buying government over the past 4 decades means that the OWN our government

and are freely doing what they want with it!!

This is corruption and crime -- and we had best begin dealing with it!!