What is Groupthink?
Groupthink occurs when the desire for harmony within a group leads to conformity in beliefs, often at the expense of truth or critical thinking.
Groupthink thrives because humans are wired to seek connection and avoid conflict. But when belonging becomes more important than truth, the results can be dangerous. Groupthink loves company—and it hates a good debate.
When Unity Overrides Truth
Authors Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt remind us that group thinking can interfere with a free search for the truth. “Solidarity can interfere with a group’s efforts to find the truth, and the search for truth can interfere with a group’s solidarity.” The Coddling of the American Mind.
The group’s unity in thinking often becomes more important than free thinking and seeking the truth.
The Tribal Mentality on College Campuses
In their writing, Lukianoff and Haidt describe an ‘Us versus Them’ tribal trend on college campuses. Deviations from groupthink are often publicly called out and punished with public shame. ‘Cancel culture’ is seen as a virtue. Even violence is seen as justified to protect students from being emotionally upset by exposure to different ideas. Because of this obsession with groupthink, many college campuses are no longer places where young people are encouraged to think for themselves in pursuit of truth.
Instead, they are pressured by administrations, professors, and peers to adhere to the current groupthink party line about politics, social issues, etc. This has shut down a free search for truth on many campuses.
Groupthink in Religion and Politics
But this trend isn’t limited to academia. Groupthink infiltrates many other areas of life, from religion to politics.
Earlier in life, I was part of a conservative Christian religious group that held particular beliefs. It was clear that to be an approved member, one had to agree with these beliefs and could not question them. Questioning was viewed as a threat to the group’s integrity.
Although the group held the ideal that the Bible was the source of authority, it was actually specific interpretations of the Bible that held authority. Any interpretation that threatened the group’s beliefs, regardless of the quality of the evidence, was met with suspicion, public calling out, and labeling as the enemy. There was pressure to conform to the group’s thinking.
Many political groups have likewise turned into ‘Us versus Them’ tribes where free thinking or disagreement is not allowed. Dave Gray, writing in Liminal Thinking: Create the Change You Want by Changing the Way You Think , points out that people often look at the same situation and have very different understandings. He says these arguments are based on different beliefs, “But because people confuse their beliefs with reality, they say the other side is stupid, evil, or crazy. That’s a belief, too, and a very dangerous one.” (Dave Gray, Liminal Thinking)
In our culture, it’s not hard to find examples where political groups encourage their members to vilify others and engage in lock-step groupthink.
In the last US election, liberal progressives vilified President Trump and his supporters as hateful, fascist, ignorant, stupid, enemies of democracy, and bigoted racists. President Trump supporters vilified Vice President Harris supporters as hateful, socialist, ignorant, stupid, enemies of democracy, and bigoted reverse racists. Both sides have their own groupthink that members must adhere to to be acceptable to the group.
Breaking the Chains of Groupthink
Commit to staying open to the truth (and modify our beliefs) no matter what groups we identify with. Think independently.
“Look at the group you belong to, and you will inevitably see some sort of enemy or bogeyman to push against. What you require is the ability to detach yourself from this dynamic and to see the “enemy” as it is, minus the distortions.”
Robert Greene, The Laws of Human Nature
Truth Over Tribe: Lessons from the Stoics
The ancient Stoic Philosopher Seneca exemplified accepting truth from different sources, even competing philosophers. Writing to his younger friend Lucillius, he said, “Whatever is true is my own” (Letter 12.11) and “Whatever is well said by anyone belongs to me.” (Letter 16.7) Seneca’s Letters From a Stoic. He didn’t care what the source was, as long as it was truth.
The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius sought to be open to truth. He wrote, “If anyone can refute me—show me I’m making a mistake or looking at things from the wrong perspective—I’ll gladly change. It’s the truth I’m after, and the truth never harmed anyone. What harms us is to persist in self-deceit and ignorance.” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations: A New Translation.
Think for Yourself
“The heart of open-mindedness is curiosity. Curiosity doesn’t take sides or insist on a single way of doing things. It explores all perspectives. Always open to new ways, always seeking to arrive at original insights.”
Rick Rubin, The Creative Act
If you identify with or participate as a part of a group that pushes groupthink:
• Recognize where you’re conforming out of fear or pressure from the group.
• Seek out opposing perspectives and ask, ‘What can I learn from this?’
• Challenge your own assumptions regularly.
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