Question

In what ways does groupthink relate to teams?
1. Groupthink is necessary for psychological safety.
2. Effective teams strive to avoid groupthink.
3. It is common for groupthink to take place on teams.
4. Effective teams seek to increase groupthink.
5. Groupthink frequently leads to bad choices

Answer 1

Answers: 2, 3, and 5 are correct. Brief notes:

1. False — Groupthink is not necessary for psychological safety; actually it is the opposite. Psychological safety means people feel free to disagree and raise concerns, which reduces groupthink.

2. True — Effective teams actively try to prevent groupthink so they can make better decisions.

3. True — Groupthink commonly occurs on teams, especially when groups are cohesive, homogeneous, insulated from outside input, or under pressure.

4. False — Effective teams do not try to increase groupthink; they try to reduce it.

5. True — Groupthink frequently leads to poor or risky decisions because alternatives and dissenting views are suppressed.

If useful, I can list practical ways teams can avoid groupthink (e.g., assign a devil’s advocate, solicit outside opinions, encourage dissent, run pre-mortems, avoid leader domination).