Social judgment · Conformity Bias · Entry 148
Groupshift – when groups make riskier or safer choices than individuals
Did your team start off cautious but end up playing it ultra-safe? Or did they go from slightly risky to full-on reckless? That’s Groupshift – the tendency for group decisions to become more extreme than individual opinions.
Where it can show up
- Business & investing – a board discusses a bold strategy and ends up making an insanely risky move.
- Politics & activism – groups with conservative or radical views tend to become even more extreme over time.
- Team decision-making – collective choices sometimes swing between being overly cautious or dangerously aggressive.
A practical countermeasure
- Slow down decision-making – rushed discussions lead to extremes.
- Appoint a ‘devil’s advocate’ – someone should actively challenge the group’s reasoning.
- Break discussions into stages – gather individual opinions first, then compare with the group consensus.