Posted on 07/24/2010 1:17:27 PM PDT by Eddie01
Eddie, why am I reading your vanity?
Because I am going to share a discovery with you that explains everything the left says and does.
First, let me introduce you to Irving Lester Janis (26 May 1918 - 15 November 1990).
He was a research psychologist at Yale University and a professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley.
He is most famous for his theory of "groupthink" which described the systematic errors made by groups when taking collective decisions.
So what Eddie? Groupthink is a tired slur that gets tossed around, make this quick or I’m outta here.
Wait! Groupthink is much more than a word.
REF: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/groupthink
Groupthink is a type of thought within a deeply cohesive in-group whose members try to minimize conflict and reach consensus without critically testing, analyzing, and evaluating ideas.
Mr. Janis studied a number of American Foreign policy 'disasters' such as failure to anticipate the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (1941); the Bay of Pigs fiasco (1961) when the US administration sought to overthrow Cuban Government of Fidel Castro; and the prosecution of the Vietnam War (1964-67) by President Lyndon Johnson.
Studying these events that it was the cohesive nature of these important committees which made these decisions and which prevented contradictory views being expressed. As defined by Janis, “A mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the members' strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action”.
Individual creativity, uniqueness, and independent thinking are lost in the pursuit of group cohesiveness, as are the advantages of reasonable balance in choice and thought that might normally be obtained by making decisions as a group.
During groupthink, members of the group avoid promoting viewpoints outside the comfort zone of consensus thinking. A variety of motives for this may exist such as a desire to avoid being seen as foolish, or a desire to avoid embarrassing or angering other members of the group. Groupthink may cause groups to make hasty, irrational decisions, where individual doubts are set aside, for fear of upsetting the group’s balance.
To make groupthink testable, Janis devised eight symptoms indicative of groupthink (1977).
1. Illusions of invulnerability creating excessive optimism and encouraging risk taking.
2. Rationalizing 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.
4. Stereotyping those who are opposed to the group as weak, evil, biased, spiteful, disfigured, impotent, or stupid.
5. Direct pressure to conform placed on any member who questions the group, couched in terms of "disloyalty".
6. Self censorship of ideas that deviate from the apparent group consensus.
7. Illusions of unanimity among group members, silence is viewed as agreement.
8. Mind guards — self-appointed members who shield the group from dissenting information.
While Janis’ research provided behaviors to avoid during decision making. He unwittingly uncovered the most effective way to manipulate and control opinion.
The power mad and constitution hating left embraced and institutionalized those behaviors throughout their political machinery.
The MSM was assigned the role of mind guard. The front of objective journalism was established with phony awards like the Pulitzer to promote the myth of journalistic integrity. There are no journalists on the left, just journOlists.
When you call a leftist stupid for what they say, like Biden or Krugmen realize they know exactly what they are doing. They are following the groupthink template and it works very well on those who put way too much emphasis on group affiliation.
Hanging on the wall of every leftist leader hang the following:
Eight Commandments of the Liberal Left recast from Irving Janis (Yale) groupthink behaviors.
I
Thou shalt create an illusion of invulnerability shared by most members to foster excessive optimism and encourage extreme risks taking
II
Thou shall not allow any member to question the group's inherent morality, instead members shall be encouraged to ignore the ethical or moral consequences of their decisions
III
Thou shalt promote collective efforts to rationalize in order to discount warnings, or other information that might lead members to reconsider their assumptions before they recommit themselves to their assumptions
IV
Thou shalt reinforce stereotyped views of enemy leaders as too evil to warrant genuine attempts to negotiate, or as too weak and stupid to counter whatever risky attempts are made to defeat their purpose
V
Thou shalt self-censor any deviation from the apparent group consensus, inclining each member to minimize the importance of their doubts and counterarguments
VI
Thou shalt create and maintain a shared illusion of unanimity concerning judgement conforming to the majority view
VII
Thou shalt apply direct pressure on any member who expresses strong arguments against any of the group's stereotypes, illusions, or commitments, making clear that this type of dissent is contrary to what is expected of all loyal members
VIII
Thou shalt appoint mindguards to protect the group from adverse information that might shatter their shared complacency about the effectiveness and morality of their decisions.
Eddie01 circa '98
As a fun exercise, the very next irrational action you read about, pull out the eight commandments and see how many apply.
Why was Bush called evil and stupid? Now you know.
What's truly interesting is that no free thinker, no true rebel, would fall prey to groupthink. Your post demonstrates that it is the leftist elites who are the real lemmings in society.
Members of the minority group, instinctually realize they must stick close together to prevail, turn to charasmatic leaders for marching orders. The leaders use the groupthink template to chain their minds.
It explains everything the left does and says. Thanks for reading my post.
E01
BTW, welcome to FreeRepublic!
Thanks for the welcome.
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