Opinion: What is group-think and how can we avoid it?

As Dominic Cummings accuses the UK Government of 'group-think' over Covid-19, Dr Colin Fisher (UCL School of Management) explains what the term actually means, as well as how we can avoid it. Former government adviser Dominic Cummings has made waves by suggesting the UK Government's response to the Covid-19 crisis was "a classic historic example of group-think". He said the more people criticised the government's plan, the more those on the inside said others did not understand. He added that, had the plans been open to scrutiny earlier, "we would have figured out at least six weeks earlier that there was an alternative plan". Although we can't know for sure the truth of this criticism, it raises an important question about the dynamics of decision-making in groups. What actually is group-think and what does scientific research tells us about how to avoid it? Group-think is a popular explanation for how groups of knowledgeable people can make flawed decisions. The essence of group-think is that groups create psychological pressure on individuals to conform to the views of leaders and other members. Famous examples of group-think include the decision of the US to invade Cuba in 1961 and Coca-Cola's decision to launch "New Coke" in 1985. In these and other famous examples, groups failed to make the right choice even when they had all the information they needed right there in the room. Members failed to share their dissenting opinions and information that could have avoided embarrassing or tragic decisions. What causes group-think. How can smart people get together and come to seemingly inexplicable conclusions?