Groupthink/janis

Groupthink/Janis

Individual Vs Group Mentality al Affiliation) In today’s world, group mentality is a common occurrence. People all over the world from different backgrounds prefer this line of thinking and action. The occurrence of group mentality is evident in everyday settings such as school, work, home, and religious centers. What people seems to overlook is what group thinking says about one’s individuality (Janis, 1982). Firstly, it postulates that one is lazy. This is the only reason as to why; one would prefer to be dependent on other people’s knowledge rather than their own. Each human being has their own thinking capacity and therefore in most cases one should refer to this capacity rather than to the group mentality. Secondly, it illustrates insecurity. One is unsure of the strength and logic of their reasoning and therefore opts to include others to secure favorable outcome. Notably, successful people are usually risk takers and independent thinkers. Statistically, a group thinker is unlikely to be generally successful in the concept that is life.
The article stipulates that softheaded groups in the norm are usually hardhearted in the event that they are dealing with enemies. In higher settings such as legal business operations, groups opt for soft line stances. This is because their aim is not to completely oust the enemy because this would result in the elimination of the challenge. Criminal organizations are the ones that result to hard line stances – their aim is to do way with the challenge. This indicates a failing in their mental capacity. In summation, if one must belong to a group it is best that they align themselves with one that is hardheaded with a softhearted stance. It is however recommendable that one believes and resorts to their individual capacity.
References
Janis, I. (1982). Groupthink : psychological studies of policy decisions and fiascoes.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin.