Which statement about groupthink is supported by the material?

Which statement about groupthink is supported by the material?

• A. It frequently leads to bad choices
• B. It never affects group decisions
• C. It is unrelated to decision making
• D. It has no relation to teams

Answer: (A)

Groupthink occurs when the desire for group harmony or consensus overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives. In this dynamic, people might withhold doubts, downplay risks, and fail to scrutinize plans because disagreeing feels like a threat to unity. This is why the statement that groupthink frequently leads to bad choices is the best-supported: the suppression of critical evaluation and the pressure to conform make it easy to miss warning signs, overlook better options, and justify flawed decisions as unanimous. The material highlights symptoms such as an illusion of invulnerability, unquestioned belief in the group’s morality, stereotyping outsiders, self-censorship, direct pressure on dissenters, and mindguards shielding the group from contrary information. All of this tends to produce poorer outcomes rather than sound judgments. By contrast, claims that it never affects group decisions, is unrelated to decision making, or has no relation to teams conflict with how groupthink actually operates, since it is defined by its impact on how groups decide and function.

Groupthink occurs when the desire for group harmony or consensus overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives. In this dynamic, people might withhold doubts, downplay risks, and fail to scrutinize plans because disagreeing feels like a threat to unity. This is why the statement that groupthink frequently leads to bad choices is the best-supported: the suppression of critical evaluation and the pressure to conform make it easy to miss warning signs, overlook better options, and justify flawed decisions as unanimous. The material highlights symptoms such as an illusion of invulnerability, unquestioned belief in the group’s morality, stereotyping outsiders, self-censorship, direct pressure on dissenters, and mindguards shielding the group from contrary information. All of this tends to produce poorer outcomes rather than sound judgments. By contrast, claims that it never affects group decisions, is unrelated to decision making, or has no relation to teams conflict with how groupthink actually operates, since it is defined by its impact on how groups decide and function.