Group Extremity

Interesting insight into group dynamics from a book called Risk by Dan Gardner (who I hadn’t heard of, but his blog looks pretty good).

Decades of research has proved that groups usually come to conclusions that are more extreme than the average view of the individuals who make up the group. When opponents of a hazardous waste site gather to talk about it, they will become convinced the site is more dangerous than originally believed. When a woman who believes breast implants are a threat gets together with women who feel the same way, she and all the women in the meeting are likely to leave believing they had previously underestimated the danger. The dynamic is always the same.

Groups rile themselves up. Makes sense in the face of angry mobs, but hadn’t thought about it in this context before.

April 30, 2009