462 CHAPTER 12
conformity is no greater for women than for men, but if a public response is required,
women do tend to show more conformity than men (Eagly, 1987; Eagly et al., 2000;
Eagly & Carli, 2007). This effect may be due to the socialization that women receive in
being agreeable and supportive; however, the difference in conformity is quite small.
Why do people feel the need to conform at all? One factor at work is normative social
inf luence, the need to act in ways that we feel will let us be liked and accepted by others
(Hewlin, 2009; Kaplan & Miller, 1987). We use the behavior and attitudes of other people
as our “measuring stick” of what is “normal.” We then judge how we are doing against
that “norm.” Have you ever laughed at a joke you really didn’t get because everyone else
was laughing? That’s an example of normative social influence. Another factor at work is
informational social inf luence, in which we take our cues for how to behave from other peo-
ple when we are in a situation that is not clear or is ambiguous (Isenberg, 1986). In this case,
the behavior of the people around us provides us with information about how we should
act, and so we conform to their actions. Another possible explanation for some conform-
ing behavior may involve individuals confusing their own behavior with the behavior of
others, resulting in a kind of “mental averaging” of that behavior (Kim & Hommel, 2015).Group Behavior
12.2 Explain how our behavior is impacted by the presence of others.
Social influence is clearly seen in the behavior of people within a group, as Asch’s classic
study illustrated. But conformity is only one way in which a group can influence the
behavior of an individual. Here are just a few others.
THE HAZARDS OF GROUPTHINK Shortly after the terrorist attack on the World
Trade Center in New York, President George W. Bush and his administration
made the decision to invade Iraq. Although there were advisors who thought
the action to be a mistake, no one person was willing to stand up to the rest of
the group and challenge the group’s decision and assumptions. Many now see
this decision as a prime example of groupthink. Groupthink occurs when peo-
ple within a group feel it is more important to maintain the group’s cohesive-
ness than to consider the facts realistically (Hogg & Hains, 1998; Janis, 1972, 1982;
Kamau & Harorimana, 2008; Schafer & Crichlow, 1996). Other examples include
the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 (the group responsible for designing and build-
ing the ship assumed she was unsinkable and did not even bother to include
enough lifeboats on board for all the passengers), the Challenger disaster of 1986
in which a part on the shuttle was known by a few to be unacceptable (but no one
spoke up to delay the launch), the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba during
the Kennedy administration, and the Deepwater Horizon oil explosion of 2010.
Why does groupthink happen? Social psychologist Irving Janis (1972, 1982), who orig-
inally gave this phenomenon its name, lists several “symptoms” of groupthink. For exam-
ple, group members may come to feel that the group can do no wrong, is morally correct,
and will always succeed, creating the illusion of invulnerability.* Group members also tend
to hold stereotyped views of those who disagree with the group’s opinions, causing mem-
bers to think that those who oppose the group have no worthwhile opinions. They exert
pressure on individual members to conform to group opinion, prevent those who might dis-
agree from speaking up, and even censor themselves so that the group’s mindset will not
be disturbed in a “don’t rock the boat” mentality. Self-appointed “mind guards” work to
protect the leader of the group from contrary viewpoints. (See Ta b l e 12. 1 .)
Several things can be done to minimize the possibility of groupthink (Hart, 1998;
McCauley, 1998; Moorhead et al., 1998). For example, leaders should remain impartial,
and the entire group should seek the opinions of people outside the group. Any votinggroupthink
kind of thinking that occurs when
people place more importance on
maintaining group cohesiveness than
on assessing the facts of the problem
with which the grouR is concerned.
On April 20, 2010, an explosion occurred on the
Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig in the Gulf of
Mexico. Oil flowed into the Gulf for 3 months, but the
environmental impact will no doubt be felt for years.
How might groupthink apply in this situation?
*invulnerability: quality of being unable to be attacked or harmed.