Reading Comprehension

PT125 · S1 · P4 · Q24 Groupthink

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In principle, a cohesive group—one whose members generally agree with one another and support one another's judgments—can do a much better job at decision making than it could if it were noncohesive.

Topic

The effects of group cohesiveness on decision-making, specifically the risks and dynamics of "groupthink."

Framework

Problem / Solution

Main Point

While group cohesiveness can foster open and honest discussion, it can also lead to a problematic phenomenon called "groupthink," where the desire for consensus overrides critical thinking and sound judgment. The Most Valuable Sentence: Appears at the end of Paragraph 2 —

P1: Benefits of Group Cohesion

Groups that are cohesive tend to work together better because members feel comfortable sharing their true opinions. This openness leads to more honest, less censored discussions, because everyone trusts they'll still be valued even if they disagree with the group.

P2: Pitfalls of Too Much Cohesion—Groupthink

However, too much groupiness has a big downside: people might stop critically evaluating ideas in their pursuit of agreement. Instead of questioning group choices, members just go with the flow, leading to "groupthink"—a situation where critical thinking gets tossed aside for harmony.

P3: Symptoms and Conditions for Groupthink

Looking at real-world disasters in diplomacy and military decisions, researchers have spotted patterns of groupthink, like an overinflated sense of group power, ignoring warnings, and failing to consider alternatives. Cohesiveness is necessary but not enough by itself to cause groupthink—other factors are at play, and it's important to figure out what causes a cohesive group to become either effective or dysfunctional.

24.

It can be inferred from the passage that both the author of the passage and the researchers mentioned in the passage would be most likely to agree with which one of the following statements about groupthink?

Groupthink occurs in all strongly
Too Strong: all
The passage suggests that a strongly cohesive group is a requirement of groupthink but not a guarantee of it (third paragraph), so the author would not agree that groupthink occurs in all strongly cohesive groups.
7% picked this
The causal factors that transform
Too Strong: unique
the third paragraph states that it is important to identify the factors that determine whether cohesiveness will deteriorate into groupthink, but that doesn’t mean that the factors are unique to each case.
23% picked this
The continued study of cohesiveness
Contradiction
The passage states that it is important to identify these factors (final claim of the passage).
4% picked this
Outside information cannot influence group
Too Strong: cannot
Group decision-making will become closed-minded to warnings of problems and alternative viewpoints (third paragraph), but to say that those decisions cannot be influenced by outside information is too strong. After all, members might be influenced by outside information that agrees with their preconceived notions.
12% picked this
Correct
On balance, groupthink cannot be
Why this is right
This is softer than saying, "Groupthink never has a beneficial effect on decision making", which would definitely be too strong. This says, on balance, it can't be expected to have a beneficial effect. The "on balance" allows for parts of it to be beneficial, even if overall it's a negative. And the "can't be expected to" allows for the idea that sometimes groupthink might surprise us and lead somewhere positive, but overall we should assume it's a negative. The researchers based their analyses on major fiascoes, which means they studied groupthink by looking at times when decision making went terribly. They also use negative words to describe it: overestimation, excessive optimism, closed-mindedness to problems, unwarranted pressures, shared illusion. The author clearly thinks of groupthink as overall negative since she introduces the topic in the 2nd paragraph with the heading of, "But cohesion can have pitfalls as well" and presents a definition of groupthink as a "deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment".
Skill tested: Author Opinion · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.
54% picked this

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