Groupthink and Irving Janis?

Question

If anybody out there knows about Groupthink, can those anybody's tell me where Irving Janis first published his work on Groupthink-was it in a book or in an article or something similar, and what was the name of the book/article/thingies?

I'm aware that Janis didn't first coin the term, but it's his ideas I'm interested in, and he's done lots of work on the subject anyway.

If anyone has just stumbled on this by chance, I urge you to fiddle about on the internet and find out a little about Groupthink because even a nunce like me think's it's really cool, as is whoever answers this question.

Answer 1

Groupthink was literally 'coined' by William H. Whyte in 1952: -

''Groupthink being a coinage — and, admittedly, a loaded one — a working definition is in order. We are not talking about mere instinctive conformity — it is, after all, a perennial failing of mankind. What we are talking about is a rationalized conformity — an open, articulate philosophy which holds that group values are not only expedient but right and good as well.''

Irving Janis, who worked on the 'Groupthink' subject reported a somewhat different emphasis: -

'' 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.''

The work of Janis has been cited repeatedly, but one good source is: The key role of collective. efficacy in decision fiascoes. Organizational Behavior & Human Decision. Processes, 73 (2-3), 185-209