The Groupthink Trap

The Groupthink Trap

Ducks are delightful creatures that entertain us and simply live their lives by following in whatever direction the flock decides to go.  If one duck decides to eat bugs, the entire flock waddles about in search of them.  If one splashes in the pond, they all splash in the water. Ducks never make independent decisions. They are creatures of groupthink.

Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon in which all members of the group support an idea, not necessarily because they agree with it, but because they are unable, or unwilling, to disagree.  It happens when belonging is more important than to risk rocking the boat by expressing a different point of view.  Members avoid raising questions that could lead to disputes, and it is assumed that the group is working with a consensus when, in fact, it is not.

You leave a meeting wondering how the group could have possibly reached that conclusion. You chastise yourself for failing to say something that may have led the group to a better decision. You talk to other members after a meeting and learn they shared your views, but also failed to speak up.  If this scenario has happened to you, you have experienced groupthink.

Groupthink can be as innocuous as a teenage fad, or as odious as the Jonestown cult.   It can have devastating consequences for the nation, such as the Bay of Pigs and the Vietnam War.  Each of these resulted from top presidential advisors going along with the group rather than considering information that could possibly have thwarted disaster.

We are currently facing another national disaster.  Our country is dividing into numerous factions, each of which seems to be in a perpetual state of groupthink.  Be it politics, social issues, environmental problems, or a myriad of other subjects, we see groups claiming the moral high ground.  With the internet, social media, and other forms of instant communication, excessive verbiage flies at us from all directions and plenty of ‘expert sources’ can be found to validate any point of view.

People aligned into like-minded groups listen only to information that supports their point of view.  They are caught in a groupthink trap—which brings me back to the aforementioned ducks. When we raised ducks on the farm, they followed the same path down to the pond every morning and back up to the barn every evening.  They did this every day, all summer long, until one fateful afternoon in October….

On the path from the pond to the barn, the ducks had to walk through a small foot gate that was always open.  One day during harvest, they were traumatized when they waddled all the way back up the hill only to find the gate closed.  This had never happened before!  The poor ducks simply could not cope with the change and tried to get through the closed gate.  However, no matter how hard they tried, the gate remained closed.  They could only continue to quack and pile up on top of each other against the closed gate.

Finally, one duck stepped back from the group, looked around, and noticed a wide opening.  This gate had been closed all summer, but that day it was open for harvest equipment.  One duck, acting alone, calmly led the others through to the safe haven of the barn.

In our current political and social climate, we have divided into hardline factions with little in the way of give and take.  Intransigent thinking rules and no one is willing to hear opposing points of view.  All parties are operating in a groupthink trap. Group members who may hold a differing point of view choose to remain silent rather than speak out.  Perhaps it’s time for everyone to take a step back, breathe, and be like the duck that finally saw the open gate.  At this critical time in American history, people must find the courage to step out of the groupthink trap and be the voice of reason.