The Paradox of Group Intelligence – Why Smart People Make Bad Decisions

Why can a group of intelligent, rational individuals still end up making poor decisions?

In this episode, Sean and Uri explore irrational group thinking, examining how dynamics like groupthink - where the desire for harmony leads to poor decision-making - occur.

We discuss what causes groups to fall into these traps, the potential harm to organizations, and how managers can promote a culture of critical thinking and open dialogue.

 

Research we cover in this episode includes:

• Barr, K., & Mintz, A. (2022). Groupthink, Polythink, and Con-Div. Routledge Handbook of Foreign Policy Analysis Methods, 269.
• Harel, M., Mossel, E., Strack, P., & Tamuz, O. (2021). Rational groupthink. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 136(1), 621-668.
• Janis, I. L. (1972). Victims of groupthink: A psychological study of foreign-policy decisions and fiascoes. Houghton Mifflin
• Pol, O., Bridgman, T., & Cummings, S. (2022). The forgotten ‘immortalizer’: Recovering William H Whyte as the founder and future of groupthink research. human relations, 75(8), 1615-1641.