Groupthink: What's wrong with political parties

Characteristics of Groupthink:
  1. Illusions of invulnerability creating excessive optimism and encouraging risk taking.
  2. Rationalising warnings that might challenge the group's assumptions.
  3. Unquestioned belief in the morality of the group, causing members to ignore the consequences of their actions. [God is a Republican. Dems are immoral.]
  4. Stereotyping those who are opposed to the group as weak, evil, disfigured, impotent, or stupid. [Rep's Obama or Dem's Bush]
  5. Direct pressure to conform placed on any member who questions the group, couched in terms of "disloyalty". [Utah]
  6. Self censorship of ideas that deviate from the apparent group consensus. [Steel's apology to Limbaugh]
  7. Illusions of unanimity among group members, silence is viewed as agreement.
  8. Mindguards — self-appointed members who shield the group from dissenting information. [Limbaugh, other pundits]
Teamthink: What's right when political parties work right
  1. Encouragement of divergent views
  2. Awareness of limitations [teleprompter to overcome stutter]
  3. Recognitions of views outside the group
  4. Discussion of collective doubts
  5. Utilization of non-stereotypical views
  6. Recognition of ethical and moral consequences of decisions
I believe that Obama practices teamthink, i.e. a new kind of politics.

Notes from my Organizational Behavior class.

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