Social PsychologyMid-century developments

Irving Janis

1918-1990

Social psychologist best known for groupthink and for studying decision making under stress.

groupthinkdecision makingstresspolicy

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Biography

An American social psychologist who examined how high-pressure groups can drift toward conformity, overconfidence, and poor collective judgment.

Signature vocabulary: groupthink, decision making, stress, policy.
Worldview: Decision failure often emerges not from bad intentions alone but from group pressures that narrow criticism and suppress alternatives.
Likely reading of common emotional problems: He would ask how stress, loyalty, and pressure toward consensus are shaping judgment inside a group or institution.
This figure is best approached through the lens of social psychology.

Cautious, policy-minded, and alert to the way stress and loyalty can narrow collective thinking.

Groupthink became famous partly through retrospective case analyses, and critics argue the concept can be stretched too broadly.
Poor decisions usually have multiple causes, so cohesion alone does not explain every fiasco.

Major ideas

Signature vocabulary: groupthink, decision making, stress, policy.
Worldview: Decision failure often emerges not from bad intentions alone but from group pressures that narrow criticism and suppress alternatives.
Likely reading of common emotional problems: He would ask how stress, loyalty, and pressure toward consensus are shaping judgment inside a group or institution.
This figure is best approached through the lens of social psychology.