Methods of Preventing Groupthink, Essay Example

List and provide an explanation with examples of Cialdini’s principles of social influence as presented in class. What route of persuasion do they tend to illustrate and why?

Cialdini ‘s principles of social influence are:-

• Reciprocity:- people ought to acknowledge a favor by returning one
• Commitment and Consistency: – people ought to stand to their word by executing their promises even when original incentives/ rewards are removed.
• Social Proof: – people tend to confirm and simply do what others are doing without any proof or evidence.
• Authority: – there is the tendency for people to just obey authority.
• Liking: – It is easy to be persuaded by people who someone loves.
• Scarcity: – A perceived scarcity generates subsequent demand.

Persuasion route and why?

It is important that people recognize these principles in their interactions with each other. For example, reciprocity tends to build a relationship. The route of persuasion is appeal to emotions.

Discuss Zimbardo’s five propositions about the appeal of cults and Pratkanis and Aronson’s seven suggestions for creating a cult. How do they reflect on other socially approved change agents?

Zimbardo’s five propositions about the appeal of cults are:-

• No one ever willingly joins a cult. They emerge when society thinks that they are deceptive
• Cults represent default values in a society
• If we sand for nothing we’ll fall for anything meaning we will all be absorbed in any subculture emerging in our environment.
• Anyone can be seduced into committing the acts a cult member does
• Cults use mundane social tactics for recruiting member rather than a mind influence.

Pratkanis and Aronson’s seven suggestions for creating a cult and impact on social change are :-

• Develop a personal social reality
• Create a granfaloon
• Develop a rationalization trap that forges people to commit
• Design a leadership that is credible, attractive and charismatic.
• Disperse members into the community for the purpose of proselytizing the unredeemed.
• Allow members to focus on desirable thoughts consistently.
• Engage them in a phantoms vision such as a god somewhere in the sky.

These suggestions impact social change in that cults have the power to revolutionize thinking and soon the very culture of many communities are changed and people accept alternatives as their ideals and goals.

Define the main symptoms of Groupthink and give examples in current events that illustrate the concept. Finally, describe methods to prevent Groupthink.

The main symptoms of Groupthink  and examples of  current events are:-

• Illusion of Invulnerability: – whereby people just take unreasonably risks in the presence of impending danger e.g suicide bombers. They are still optimistic regarding outcomes.
• Collective Rationalization: – individuals become deflective from the group such as soldiers that join the opposing armies and sell secrets.
• Illusion of Morality:- members of the group or individuals feel that their actions are morally correct such as bombing the twin tower.
• Excessive Stereotyping:- All Americans are bad and must be killed as stereotyping tactics of Muslims
• Pressure for Conformity: – members must confirm/ agree with policy or be tortured to death as in drug gangs.
• Self-Censorship: – Individuals and group members even when tortured do not speak out against the group
• Illusion of Unanimity: – There is the belief that everyone in the group agrees with the actions taken by members in authority.
• Mindguards:- A few members may take on the role of protecting the group from outside infiltration sand thereby report irregularities of group members to the authorities.

Methods to prevent Groupthink are:-

• Groups should consider unpopular alternatives
• Leaders should allow members to voice objections
• Adapt the divide and rule strategy by separating the group into tow parts
• The group ought to become aware of the causes and consequences of group think
• All warning signs ought to be thoroughly investigated.

 Explain how Cultural motivations can affect prejudice.

Prejudice is developed from an emotion that emerges from  a difference that is mythical or illusionary. For example, a feeling of apprehension may arise due to a difference in the shape of one’s nose, but it has nothing to do with who the person really is neither does it impact negatively on another. Importantly, it may be a cultural predisposition that all valuable people must have a straight nose. Therefore, anyone with another shaped nose  is unacceptable.