Training Our Protectors
  • Home
  • Site Contents
    • Index of all subtopics
  • Introduction
  • Stress Effects on Police
    • Papers: Stress Effects on Police
  • Understanding Violence
    • A Complex Matrix
    • Nature-Nurture Interactions>
      • Papers
    • Child abuse and neglect>
      • Papers
      • Papers: Corporal punishment effects
    • Effects of Trauma and Stress>
      • Papers
    • Powder-keg formula>
      • Papers: Early Signs
    • The Violent Brain>
      • Brain Injury and Damage>
        • Papers
      • Genes and temperament>
        • Papers
      • Neurohormonal imbalances>
        • Papers
    • Intimate violence and abuse>
      • Papers
    • Substance Abuse>
      • Papers
      • Papers
    • Psychopaths and APD>
      • Papers
    • Parallels of collective violence and war zones>
      • Papers
  • Abuse of Power
    • Authoritarians>
      • Papers
    • Going backward: A trend toward authoritarianism>
      • Papers
    • "Stand Your Ground">
      • Papers
    • Prosecutor's Certainty>
      • Papers
    • Innocents swept up in frenzy >
      • Papers
    • He’s just "faking it” >
      • Papers
    • Punitive approach>
      • Papers
    • Police Brutality>
      • Papers
      • Articles: Tasers and Pepper Spray
      • SWAT Overkill-Warrior Cops
      • Militarization
      • Stop and Frisk
      • Blog and News Posts: Police Abuse
    • Racial Profiling
    • A Global Crisis>
      • Global Reports
    • Locked up and restrained>
      • Papers
      • News and blog posts
    • Torture>
      • Papers
      • News and blog posts
      • Links
    • Human Rights Abuses>
      • Reports
      • Links
      • New Page
    • Governments Mistreating Citizens>
      • Papers
    • Civil liberties>
      • Links
      • Papers
    • "War on Terror" Errors and Effects>
      • Torture Debates
      • Bush Cheney Policies
      • Overreaction to 9/11
      • New Page
      • New Page
    • Systemic Corruption>
      • Papers
  • Juvenile "Injustice"
    • What are we doing to our children?
    • News around the world
    • News from U.S.
    • Links
  • Prison Nation
    • Links
    • Articles: Overview Issues
    • Mass Incarceration>
      • Papers
    • Solitary confinement
    • Supermax>
      • Articles
    • Sentencing Discrepancies>
      • Papers
    • Mandatory Minimum Sentencing
    • Three Strikes
    • The New Chain Gangs
    • Private For-Profit Prisons: Corporate welfare>
      • Links
      • Papers
      • Articles
    • Mentally ill in prison>
      • Papers and articles
    • Inside Rape>
      • Papers
    • Effects on Families and Children>
      • Papers
  • Neuroscience of law and justice
    • Fairness and Reciprocity>
      • Papers and Articles
      • Links
    • Diversity of Human Nature>
      • Papers
    • Memory>
      • How memory is reconstructed
      • Eyewitness fallibility
      • The Line-up
      • Academic Papers on Memory
    • False Confession
    • Misperception and misjudgment>
      • Papers
    • Micro-expressions>
      • Papers
    • Volition>
      • Assumptions about personal agency and self-control>
        • Papers
      • Temporary impulsive behavior
    • Prejudice and Discrimination>
      • Papers
    • Unrecognized extenuating circumstances
  • Social psychology of justice
    • Values and Attitudes>
      • Papers
    • Groupthink>
      • Papers
    • System Justification>
      • Papers
    • Obedience, Compliance, Conformity>
      • Papers
    • Denial and Projection>
      • Papers and Articles
    • Whistleblowers as Traitors>
      • Papers
    • Revisiting Zimbardo
    • Seminal Studies
    • Loyalty and Collusion>
      • Papers
    • Search for belonging: gangs and mercenaries>
      • Papers
    • Situational social roles>
      • Papers
  • Debating Approaches
    • Punishment vs. prevention>
      • Papers
      • Links
    • Gun control and Common Sense>
      • Papers
      • Links
    • Drug treatment or harsh incarceration>
      • Papers
      • Links
  • Ineffective and Outdated Methods
    • Coercive Interrogation and leading questions>
      • Papers
    • Myths About Psychological Profiling>
      • Papers
    • Polygraph>
      • Papers
    • Tough Love and Zero Tolerance>
      • Papers
    • Bounties and Informants>
      • Papers
    • Boot camps>
      • Papers
    • The "Bad Seed" view>
      • Papers
  • Economic and Political Issues
    • Privatization: mercenary and contract security>
      • Papers
    • Inadequate training and monitoring >
      • Papers
    • Mislabeling
    • Corruption: A Quiet Violence
    • War on Poor: Draconian Policies
    • Dickens and Les Miz
  • A Broad Cultural Background
  • Solutions
    • Prevention>
      • Links
      • Papers
    • Social Investment>
      • Links
      • Papers
    • Restorative Justice>
      • Links
      • Papers
    • Helping Kids-at-Risk>
      • Links
    • Juvenile Justice alternatives>
      • Papers
      • Links
    • Empathy and Ethics>
      • Papers
    • Conflict resolution>
      • Links
      • Papers
    • Community-based programs>
      • Links
    • Never Assume>
      • Links
      • Papers
    • Offset Damage>
      • Links
    • Healing the Hurt>
      • Links
      • Papers
    • Global Approaches
    • Helping Law Enforcement Professionals>
      • Coping with danger and high-stress situations
      • Triage and Crowd Control
      • Links
      • Papers
    • Major Policy Reforms>
      • Papers
  • Resources
    • Discussion of Methods
    • Exercises and Surveys
    • Authoritarian Questionnaire
    • Values Questionnaire
    • Civil Liberties Questionnaire
  • A Look at History
    • A History of Punishment
    • Inhumane incarceration, detention>
      • Papers
    • Chain gangs, debtor’s prison, the poorhouse>
      • Papers
    • Gulags, Political prisoners>
      • Papers
    • Internment>
      • Papers
  • Social Advances slideshow
  • Statistics
    • General Indicators
    • Stats: Prison Population
    • Stats: Gun Violence
    • Stats: Child abuse
    • Stats: Substance-abuse related violence
  • Recommendations
    • Organizations and Advocates
    • Books
    • Video Lectures
    • TV Shows
    • Feature Films
    • Documentaries
    • Other Media
    • Exhibits
  • Index of all Links
  • Index of all paper topics
"Groupthink is a deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment that results from in-group pressures." 

        Irving Janus, 1972

Picture
  • Perceived intergroup competition
  • Social identity theory 
  • Social judgment
  • Group-based social hierarchy
  • Group attribution error 
  • Deindividuation
  • Group polarization 
  • Integrative theory of intergroup conflict
  • Perceived group competition
  • Social comparison
  • Upward social comparison 
  • Downward social comparison

Group Influence

People change their behavior or attitudes to match those of the group they identify with or seek to belong to. Group members often prematurely seek consensus, influencing decisions and actions. 

Group Polarization

The original attitudes of individuals become exaggerated when shared by others. Group members can fuel each other’s sense of superiority, dislike for adversaries and outrage at any perceived threat. In extreme cases, this exaggerated polarization can lead to group frenzy and mob behavior.

In-Group Bias 

Identification with a group makes individuals unduly subject to being influenced by the biases, loyalties, and values of the group. Embedding reporters with troops during a war builds ties of loyalty and identification that make it almost impossible for them to report in an impartial or comprehensive way.

Group Projection

Each “side” projects traits onto the groups that it sees as allies or foes. Two polarized sides call each other biased and extreme. Each may truly believe that the other is being unreasonable. Semantics can blur the line. Freedom fighter or violent rebel? Terrorist or soldier? Fanatic or martyr?

Bandwagon effect    

Tendency to do (or believe) things because many other people do (or believe) the same. Related to groupthink, herd behavior and conformity.