Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Group Think - Apathy is NOT a Factor

[Norman Gauss (normangauss]

If everyone is willing to approve a measure, do those uncommitted people act
because of groupthink or because they just want the issue to be decided.

Norm Gauss
Oak Creek Commons
Paso Robles, CA

-----Original Message-----
From: Sharon Villines [mailto:sharon [at] sharonvillines.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, July 05, 2011 6:49 AM
To: Cohousing-L
Subject: Re: [C-L]_ Group Think - Apathy is NOT a Factor



On 5 Jul 2011, at 9:10 AM, Joanie Connors wrote:

> Groupthink does not mean everyone is thinking alike. It means they are 
> willing to appear to think the same as the majority.


Here is an earlier quote from Whyte:

William H. Whyte coined the term in 1952, in Fortune magazine:

Groupthink being a coinage - and, admittedly, a loaded one - a working
definition is in order. We are not talking about mere instinctive conformity
- it is, after all, a perennial failing of mankind. What we are talking
about is a rationalized conformity - an open, articulate philosophy which
holds that group values are not only expedient but right and good as
well.[5]

The original one I posted from Janis:

Irving Janis led the initial research on the groupthink theory. His main
principle of groupthink states:

The more amiability and esprit de corps there is among the members of a
policy-making ingroup, the greater the danger that independent critical
thinking will be replaced by groupthink, which is likely to result in
irrational and dehumanizing actions against outgroups.[6]

The unforced nature of group think, is the one that I think is crucial to
any group of people who have invested decades of their lives and probably
most of the financial resources (income and outgo) on a concept like
cohousing. It feels good, for example, to believe that cohousing is _the_
answer. No one needs to coerced by anyone in order to be a victim of group
think. Group think is something we see in ourselves in hind sight but at the
time, it just feels good, it feels right.

Sharon
----
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org




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