groupthink

Lecture notes: Group behavior

GroupThink

Group Think - deindividualization

we embedded in social contexts, we are influenced by imitation and risk aversion = herding, information cascades =

imitation can be a rational response, no one knows everything and we can specialize

we supplement our information by looking at what others are doing and decisions are not made all at once but in sequence, at some point stop paying attention to our own knowledge and rely on the flow of others,

depend more on public knowledge than private knowledge, then cascade stops becoming informative

groups that are too much like each other find it harder to keep on learning because each member brings less and less information to the table,

bringing in new members into an organization makes it smarter (even if the people are less experienced and capable, usually less than the person they replaced),

diversity makes it easier for an individual to say what they really think,

Conditions	Groupthink occurs when groups are highly cohesive and when they are under considerable pressure to make a quality decision.
Negative outcomes	Some negative outcomes of groupthink include: Examining few alternatives Not being critical of each other's ideas Not examining early alternatives Not seeking expert opinion Being highly selective in gathering information Not having contingency plans
Symptoms	Some symptoms of groupthink are: Having an illusion of invulnerability Rationalizing poor decisions Believing in the group's morality Sharing stereotypes which guide the decision Exercising direct pressure on others Not expressing your true feelings Maintaining an illusion of unanimity Using mindguards to protect the group from negative information

Tragedy of the Commons: Win As Much As You Can

Cooperation - societies need cooperation, laws alone wouldn’t work, but it is not rational to cooperate, “shadow of the future” not about trust but about durability of relationship, the promise of continued interaction,

but then we also cooperate with strangers such as donating to charities, buying on ebay, tipping,

we see over time that trade and exchange are games that everyone gains rather than zero-sum games with only a winner and loser, reciprocity = key idea, we will pay our fair share of taxes (although we stand to benefit for services even if we don’t) if everyone does and there is a chance that those who don’t will get caught and punished,

most of us are conditional consenters who cooperate if that is why the game works, it is important that we believe the system works

Coordination – it is possible for us to be coordinated even without talking to each other, people’s experiences of the world are often similar, this creates norms and conventions that regulate behavior but new rules can be formed quickly, conventions also reduce amount of cognitive work, first-come first-served seating in public places (subway, bus, movie theater, on the beach), not the best way to distribute seating but it is easy and internalized

The Ultimatum Game