Groupthink & a Mining Accident

To be sure, groups, when they are functioning well, can be among our best defenses against vicious self-deception. But when group thinking is replaced by what psychologists call “groupthink,” results can be disastrous. Irving Janis begins his treatment of groupthink by describing the case of Pitcher, Oklahoma. Daniel Goleman nicely summarizes the case as follows:

In 1950 a local mining engineer warned the people of this small mining town to flee. An accident had virtually undermined the town; it might cave in any minute. The next day at the Lion’s Club meeting, the town leaders joked…