Establish that everyone’s thoughts and ideas are welcome, even if they may be different from others. Explain the role of the facilitator as someone who helps guide activities but isn’t a participant in the activities.

Build an awareness around groupthink: In the beginning of a workshop, discuss what groupthink is to build awareness.Sometimes, group members perceive the facilitator as a decision maker because they are running the workshop this perception can lead to groupthink. They help make sure diverse perspectives are heard and aim to provide objective guidance to help progress towards a goal. During UX workshops : Facilitators have an important role in UX workshops. It also ensures that all ideas are represented in an unbiased way.Ģ. This approach gives shy people the chance to contribute in a way that is comfortable for them. Then, have them identify top ideas to share with the group. Start with solo ideation: Give group members the chance to ideate on their own first.For example, “if you see an idea you disagree with, comment on your concern but also validate why this idea may have come up.” These rules can stimulate ideation and ongoing dialogue around ideas instead of intimidating others. Communicate group norms at the beginning: Before any ideation session, communicate group norms - such as “there are no stupid questions or ideas.” There could also be rules around conflicting ideas.(Note that this scenario is not specific to design - any person or subgroup who has authority in a domain may influence ideation if the ideation is related to that domain.)

Those who may have dissenting ideas do not dare to share them because they are intimidated by both the authority of the designer and the apparent consensus of the rest of the group. People favor the first fully formed idea that the designer suggests. The designer on the team quickly takes control, because of their skills in drawing, and leaves others feeling inadequate. Perhaps, you and your team are exploring the visual design of a design feature. During group ideation : Groupthink often occurs when we informally ideate with a lack of focus. Here are 5 common scenarios where groupthink occurs in UX and guidelines on how we can prevent it:ġ. Groupthink can lead to poor decision making. UX Considerations and Guidelines for Preventing Groupthink This behavior sends the message that people shouldn’t speak up when they disagree. Direct pressure on dissenters: Any argument against the group’s opinions, decisions, ideas or rationales is poorly received, with group members pressuring dissenters to change their opinions.Sometimes, the member even starts to doubt their own dissenting views because it seems like everyone is under agreement. Self-censorship: A member of a group remains silent, withholds any dissenting views, or tempers their words because they are under the impression that the group is in consensus.Illusion of unanimity: Members of a group assume that, because everyone is silent, they are all in agreement with each other.Instead of discussing the concerns, group members come up with explanations around why they are not worrisome and sometimes even discredit the concerns. Collective rationalization: Members of a group rationalize any warnings or negative evidence that come up.

In the context of UX-work environments, these four are the most common: Irving Yanis, a social psychologist who researched groupthink, came up with eight symptoms of groupthink. How can we prevent a groupthink from happening? We must start by understanding the signs and symptoms of groupthink. The concurrence-seeking tendency of highly cohesive teams can often result in poor decision making. Our motivation to come to a consensus overrides the consideration of alternative approaches or ideas. When we work in highly cohesive teams and are deeply involved in making decisions with a “solidarity” mentality, we often fall into the trap of groupthink. But does collaboration mean we have to all agree? No. In most cases, product teams actively plan and strive to create a collaborative environment. Dissenting ideas or disagreements are consciously avoided or unconsciously ignored because of the desire for unanimity and to maintain harmony. Groupthink occurs when highly cohesive teams lose sight of individual thoughts and opinions. This is an example of groupthink.ĭefinition: Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that propels well-intentioned individuals to follow the behavior or opinion of the majority and make suboptimal decisions for the sake of conformity. Then the team ends up moving forward with a faulty idea without fully considering the true root of the problem or alternative solutions. Have you ever encountered a situation when a senior member of your product team is overly optimistic or suggests a solution that is risky? You had some concerns about it but didn’t share them because it seemed like the majority was in consensus.

Group psychological phenomena