In principle, a cohesive groupone whose members generally agree with

In principle, a cohesive group—one whose
members generally agree with one another and
support one another’s judgments—can do a much
better job at decision making than it could if it were
(5) noncohesive. When cohesiveness is low or lacking
entirely, compliance out of fear of recrimination is
likely to be strongest. To overcome this fear,
participants in the group’s deliberations need to be
confident that they are members in good standing and
(10) that the others will continue to value their role in the
group, whether or not they agree about a particular
issue under discussion. As members of a group feel
more accepted by the others, they acquire greater
freedom to say what they really think, becoming less
(15) likely to use deceitful arguments or to play it safe by
dancing around the issues with vapid or conventional
comments. Typically, then, the more cohesive a group
becomes, the less its members will deliberately censor
what they say out of fear of being punished socially
(20) for antagonizing their fellow members.

But group cohesiveness can have pitfalls as well:
while the members of a highly cohesive group can
feel much freer to deviate from the majority, their
desire for genuine concurrence on every important
(25) issue often inclines them not to use this freedom. In a
highly cohesive group of decision makers, the danger
is not that individuals will conceal objections they
harbor regarding a proposal favored by the majority,
but that they will think the proposal is a good one
(30) without attempting to carry out a critical scrutiny that
could reveal grounds for strong objections. Members
may then decide that any misgivings they feel are not
worth pursuing—that the benefit of any doubt should
be given to the group consensus. In this way, they
(35) may fall victim to a syndrome known as
“groupthink,” which one psychologist concerned with
collective decision making has defined as “a
deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and
moral judgment that results from in-group pressures.”

(40) Based on analyses of major fiascoes of
international diplomacy and military decision making,
researchers have identified groupthink behavior as a
recurring pattern that involves several factors:
overestimation of the group’s power and morality,
(45) manifested, for example, in an illusion of
invulnerability, which creates excessive optimism;
closed-mindedness to warnings of problems and to
alternative viewpoints; and unwarranted pressures
toward uniformity, including self-censorship with
(50) respect to doubts about the group’s reasoning and a
concomitant shared illusion of unanimity concerning
group decisions. Cohesiveness of the decision-making
group is an essential antecedent condition for this
syndrome but not a sufficient one, so it is important
(55) to work toward identifying the additional factors that
determine whether group cohesiveness will deteriorate
into groupthink or allow for effective decision
making.

1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?

(A) Despite its value in encouraging frank discussion, high cohesion can lead to a debilitating type of group decision making called groupthink.
(B) Group members can guard against groupthink if they have a good understanding of the critical role played by cohesion.
(C) Groupthink is a dysfunctional collective decision-making pattern that can occur in diplomacy and military affairs.
(D) Low cohesion in groups is sometimes desirable when higher cohesion involves a risk of groupthink behavior.
(E) Future efforts to guard against groupthink will depend on the results of ongoing research into the psychology of collective decision making.


2. A group of closely associated colleagues has made a disastrous diplomatic decision after a series of meetings marked by disagreement over conflicting alternatives. It can be inferred from the passage that the author would be most likely to say that this scenario

(A) provides evidence of chronic indecision, thus indicating a weak level of cohesion in general
(B) indicates that the group’s cohesiveness was coupled with some other factor to produce a groupthink fiasco
(C) provides no evidence that groupthink played a role in the group’s decision
(D) provides evidence that groupthink can develop even in some groups that do not demonstrate an “illusion of unanimity”
(E) indicates that the group probably could have made its decision-making procedure more efficient by studying the information more thoroughly


3. Which one of the following, if true, would most support the author’s contentions concerning the conditions under which groupthink takes place?

(A) A study of several groups, each made up of members of various professions, found that most fell victim to groupthink.
(B) There is strong evidence that respectful dissent is more likely to occur in cohesive groups than in groups in which there is little internal support.
(C) Extensive analyses of decisions made by a large number of groups found no cases of groupthink in groups whose members generally distrust one another’s judgments.
(D) There is substantial evidence that groupthink is especially likely to take place when members of a group develop factions whose intransigence prolongs the group’s deliberations.
(E) Ample research demonstrates that voluntary deference to group opinion is not a necessary factor for the formation of groupthink behavior.


4. The passage mentions which one of the following as a component of groupthink?

(A) unjustified suspicions among group members regarding an adversary’s intentions
(B) strong belief that the group’s decisions are right
(C) group members working under unusually high stress, leading to illusions of invulnerability
(D) the deliberate use of vapid, clichéd arguments
(E) careful consideration of objections to majority positions


5. It can be inferred from the passage that both the author of the passage and the researchers mentioned in the passage would be most likely to agree with which one of the following statements about groupthink?

(A) Groupthink occurs in all strongly cohesive groups, but its contribution to collective decision making is not fully understood.
(B) The causal factors that transform group cohesion into groupthink are unique to each case.
(C) The continued study of cohesiveness of groups is probably fruitless for determining what factors elicit groupthink.
(D) Outside information cannot influence group decisions once they have become determined by groupthink.
(E) On balance, groupthink cannot be expected to have a beneficial effect in a group’s decision making.


6. In the passage, the author says which one of the following about conformity in decision-making groups?

(A) Enforced conformity may be appropriate in some group decision situations.
(B) A high degree of conformity is often expected of military decision-making group members.
(C) Inappropriate group conformity can result from inadequate information.
(D) Voluntary conformity occurs much less frequently than enforced conformity.
(E) Members of noncohesive groups may experience psychological pressure to conform.


7. In line 5, the author mentions low group cohesiveness primarily in order to

(A) contribute to a claim that cohesiveness can be conducive to a freer exchange of views in groups
(B) establish a comparison between groupthink symptoms and the attributes of low-cohesion groups
(C) suggest that there may be ways to make both cohesive and noncohesive groups more open to dissent
(D) indicate that both cohesive and noncohesive groups may be susceptible to groupthink dynamics
(E) lay the groundwork for a subsequent proposal for overcoming the debilitating effects of low cohesion


8. Based on the passage, it can be inferred that the author would be most likely to agree with which one of the following?

(A) Highly cohesive groups are more likely to engage in confrontational negotiating styles with adversaries than are those with low cohesion.
(B) It is difficult for a group to examine all relevant options critically in reaching decisions unless it has a fairly high degree of cohesiveness.
(C) A group with varied viewpoints on a given issue is less likely to reach a sound decision regarding that issue than is a group whose members are unified in their outlook.
(D) Intense stress and high expectations are the key factors in the formation of groupthink.
(E) Noncohesive groups can, under certain circumstances, develop all of the symptoms of groupthink.