Group think is an interesting concept that I’m not sure I agree with. Maybe that is entirely because I fall into the trap every time, but I don’t believe that if the designated leader of the group has enough control of the situation, like J.F.K. seemed to have, then group think will not come to fruition as often as Janis’ article made it appear. I would almost say that group think only happens when there is not a strong enough leader to keep the situation under control, maintaining order while still giving everyone a say. In applying the idea of group-think to the movie, it appears that the military generals were the ones using the group-think methodology as they all want war. Here is where J.F.K. steps in to combat the “dastardly” ideas they were concocting to go to war.
On the flip side of this, group think is not always a bad thing. It can produce ideas that would have never been thought of by a single leader. I presume this is why leaders surround themselves with counselors and advisers to help them through difficult times. Group-think only becomes a problem when the leader does not maintain “control” of the advisers and lets them all run things at the same time.
I can definitely relate with you that groupthink is something I very consistently become subject to, but I think it happens to the best and all of us. I completely agree with your take on the positive and negative aspects of groupthink. I think groupthink really helps us understand the importance of strong leaders in society.
I disagree with your point of view of groupthink. You said that it only happens when a leader is not strong enough to keep the group under control, but I think that the whole point of groupthink. It is a chain of issues within a group that cause groupthink to occur.
I somewhat agree with you view in that groupthink occurs under leaders who aren’t as strong or in control of the members, but I also feel that it can occur even when the leader is very much in control. Maybe the leader is in control and has position but they can be compelled to escalate their ideas or disregard warnings due to the members’ ideas and points of view.
I don’t think that group thinking is something that anyone can have control over, and sometimes it can even go unnoticed. If one is very passionate about something or believes strongly about something (for example a religious group) they tend to defend it no matter what. I think that’s more of what group think can be.