Stop misunderstanding groupthink

In a recent news article, former minister (he stepped down) Lim Boon Heng made a comment that 'There is no groupthink within PAP'.

Almost immediately, there was a response by well-known parody Tweeter @Fake_PMLee:

And followed it up with an almost identical tweet, as if he was afraid people would not understand the first tweet (which I think is funnier though - jokes lose their effect the more you have to explain them)

And even more recently, @fakeSTcom made an almost identical joke too, probably because they don't follow anyone besides @stcom

All this was of course, retweeted endlessly because it IS a funny joke - IF you had the same misconception of what 'groupthink' is as these two Tweeters.

They seemed to have the impression that 'groupthink' refers to some sort of 'similar thinking within a group of people, hence everyone conforms to whatever is said without dissent'.

While this is an accurate description of groupthink, it is not an accurate definition of groupthink.
What do I mean by this? To use an analogy, if you were to ask me 'What is democracy?' and I answer 'It is a fair system', I'm describing what it is, not defining it. If I were to define it, I would say something along the lines of 'It is a form of government in which all citizens have an equal say about the decisions that are made with regards to the nation'. (I may be off here in my accuracy of the definition but you get the distinction)


An accurate definition of 'groupthink' is as such:

Groupthink refers to a characteristic way of thinking in a group in which members of the group suspend critical thinking and judgement in order to reach a consensus in decision-making.

(definitions vary in wording, so I paraphrased them. Sources from various textbooks, websites, and the beloved wikipedia)

And some factors that lead to groupthink:
- A highly cohesive group
- Presence of a strong, directive leader
- Pressure to reach a decision quickly
(There are more, but these are just some of them)

Random comic to illustrate groupthink

If you haven't realized by now, with the knowledge of this definition, the attempted jokes do not really make sense anymore. Agreeing to what is said without disagreement so as not to be seen as a dissenter(as the joke implies that everyone agrees with what LBH said without dissent) is more of normative conformity/social influence, which is a different concept altogether.

The criticisms of groupthink within the government is talking about how decision-making within the Parliament may be impaired by the presence of groupthink, and LBH responds with his example of the casino issue, in which there was actually much debate regarding the issue, and it was NOT the case that everyone just held their tongue and did not want to dissent.

Just agreeing with a comment (e.g. LBH saying 'there is no groupthink') without anyone debating it is NOT a case of 'groupthink', as the jokes try to imply, but merely a case of conformity. Groupthink is deeper and more complex than that, and refers to the decision-making process in particular, when people do not critically evaluate the suggested decisions.

To conclude, I'll give some examples of what is groupthink, and what is not.

NOT GROUPTHINK:

"Smart student: 'The answer is 3.14159!'
Peers: 'Yup that's correct!'"
(A possible case of informational social influence)

"Popular girl: 'I think pink shoes look the nicest!'
Friends: 'Yea they do!'"
(A possible case of normative social influence)

"LBH: 'There is no groupthink in PAP!'
PAP: 'Yup yup! There isn't!'"

YES, THIS IS REFERRING TO GROUPTHINK

"Group leader: 'I think we should address the 2nd issue first as it seems more plausible and ignore the 3rd issue'
Group member A: 'Yea that seems right'
Group member B: 'Yup that's right let's do that'
(even if they think it's not right) "

"LKY: 'We should ban cigarettes in SG!'
MP: 'Hm yea we should!'
Another MP: 'Yup ok'
(agreeing without weighing pros/cons!)"

"LBH: 'We should make an announcement saying there's no groupthink in PAP!'
MP: 'No I don't think we should, what if everyone misunderstands what 'groupthink' means and someone starts some viral joke about it?'
MP2: 'Perhaps you should also define what 'groupthink' is in your press release?'
(This is a case demonstrating the group is not affected by groupthink, because they DO think critically about the decision at hand before making the decision) "

P.S. Many people may be thinking now : 'Why is this person so anal about this whole thing? They are just trying to make a joke! Leave them alone!' but my aim is just to prevent a collective misunderstanding of the term.