Groupthink

A good way to define this term is to tell you how Irving Janus (the main researcher on this topic) describes it. Janus (1972) said that groupthink is "a deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment that results from in-group pressures."

Essentially, people within a group become so consumed with the group, maintaining group cohesiveness, and doing what is important for the group that they themselves lose their ability to think independently and make good, sound judgments.

There are quite a few symptoms and causes of groupthink, but it is important to know what groupthink is and that it has been used to explain a variety of tragic events throughout history such as, mass suicides (like the Heaven's Gate suicides), poor political decisions (like the Bay of Pigs invasion), riots, and more.

A solution to escaping groupthink is to learn Critical Thinking skills. This involves evaluating ideas and beliefs against your own morals and standards, rather than someone else's (the group). This is easier said than done, as it requires courage to present ideas that go against the group, which is why Groupthink as very common.