Tag: groupthink

The Psychology of Social Contagion

The Lollapalooza Effect describes a situation where multiple, mutually reinforcing psychological tendencies converge and act in concert, leading to an outcome significantly larger than the sum of its parts. Read on to learn more.

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The Abilene Paradox: The Dangers of Groupthink

The Abilene Paradox illustrated by a group of people in a small wooden row boat heading for the edge of a large waterfall. They are all going along with a plan, even though it is clearly not ideal, but none of them want to rock the boat or disappoint the group.

The Abilene Paradox is a situation in which a group of people collectively agree on a course of action that is counter to the preferences of most or all individuals in the group, while each individual believes it to be aligned with the preferences of most of the others. Read on for examples and learn how it can be avoided.

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Why We Don’t Listen to Those Who Warn Us

Illustration of the Cassandra Complex when nobody heads your warning as you speak to a large crowd, and then the calamity comes to pass (in this case) in the form of a fire in a grand Greek building.

The term Cassandra Complex was coined in 1949, and refers to a belief that things could be known in advance. The term is derived from the Greek myth of Cassandra, a Trojan princess who was granted the gift of prophecy by the god Apollo. However, Apollo also cursed Cassandra so that no one would believe her prophecies. As a result, Cassandra's warnings about the impending fall of Troy were ignored, and the city was eventually destroyed. Read on to learn more.

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