Self-paced
P1
In principle, a cohesive group—one whose members generally agree with one another and support one another's judgments—can do a much better job at decision making than it could if it were noncohesive. ███
intro topic ·
Cohesive group can have better decision-making than non-cohesive group
Cohesive group = members generally agree with each other and support each other's judgments.
Causal mechanism ·
Group members more willing to say what they think
When cohesiveness is low, people are less willing to speak freely because of fear of social harm.
P2
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High cohesion can have risks ·
Can be less likely to deviate from majority opinion
Causal mechanism ·
Groupthink
Members of high-cohesion group may not scrutinize others' proposals. They'll either think the proposal is good without critical thinking, or they'll suppress any doubts for the benefit of group consensus.
P3
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Factors that can lead to groupthink ·
Overestimating group's power and morality, closed-mindedness, pressure toward uniformity
Requirement for groupthink ·
Cohesion in group is necessary, but not sufficient, for groupthink
Let's do some more research on other factors that can lead to groupthink.
Passage Style
Problem-analysis
Single position
25.
In the passage, the author ████ █████ ███ ██ ███ █████████ █████ ██████████ ██ ███████████████ ███████
a
Enforced conformity may ██ ███████████ ██ ████ █████ ████████ ███████████
“Enforced” conformity is never mentioned. The author never discusses a group forcing others to agree.
b
A high degree ██ ██████████ ██ █████ ████████ ██ ████████ ███████████████ █████ ████████
Not stated. We’re never told what is expected of military group members.
c
Inappropriate group conformity ███ ██████ ████ ██████████ ████████████
Not stated. Lack of information is never mentioned as contributing to anything related to decision-making in the passage.
d
Voluntary conformity occurs ████ ████ ██████████ ████ ████████ ███████████
Not stated. The author never compares the frequency of voluntary conformity and enforced conformity. “Enforced” conformity is never mentioned.
e
Members of noncohesive ██████ ███ ██████████ █████████████ ████████ ██ ████████