Read the passage and answer the following questions:
It is generally seen that important decisions are taken by groups and not by individuals alone. For example, a decision had to be taken regarding corruption charges against an employee. Johnson was an employee working as an Assistant Manager in a pharma company. He joined this company in 2020 and has proven his mettle by his performance and commitment. One day he was caught red-handed by a senior official of the company while he was taking bribes from a client for some favor. This news spread like fire in the company. A high level committee consisting of 5 members was set up to look into the matter. There had been precedence when demotion was awarded as a punishment in similar cases. Initially, when the inquiry was set up, every member was of the view of downgrading his current rank. But one member shared his/her view about his termination. Over the discussions, it was found that every member developed an opinion about Johnson's termination from the services. It is a general tendency that when one's view is favoured by others, the person feels like his view is validated by the public. In this matter, the committee finally announced his termination.
Which phenomenon is the reason behind the committee's extreme step in announcing the termination of Johnson's services?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Group polarisation
Option (1) Groupthink — Incorrect. In groupthink a cohesive group’s concern for unanimity overrides a realistic appraisal of choices: no member expresses a dissenting opinion, so that there is an appearance of consensus and the decision is uncritical. In the committee, a different view was openly shared and discussed, and the members’ own views changed through the discussion.
Option (2) Cohesiveness — Incorrect. Cohesiveness is the togetherness, ‘we feeling’ or mutual attraction among group members. It is a property of a group, not a process by which a group moves to an extreme decision.
Option (3) Group polarisation — Correct. Groups are more likely to take extreme decisions than individuals alone. The committee began by thinking of demotion, the usual punishment in such cases; after discussion every member came to favour termination, the most extreme step. This strengthening of the group’s position as a result of interaction and discussion is group polarisation.
Option (4) Social loafing — Incorrect. Social loafing is a reduction in individual effort when working on a collective task whose outputs are pooled, as in tug-of-war. It concerns effort at a task, not the decision a group reaches.
NCERT (2025-26): “Group Polarisation … Groups show another tendency referred to as ‘group polarisation’. It has been found that groups are more likely to take extreme decisions than individuals alone. Suppose there is an employee who has been caught taking bribe or engaging in some other unethical act. Her/his colleagues are asked to decide on what punishment s/ he should be given. They may let her/ him go scot-free or decide to terminate her/his services instead of imposing a punishment which may be commensurate with the unethical act s/ he had engaged in. Whatever the initial position in the group, this position becomes much stronger as a result of discussions in the group. This strengthening of the group’s initial position as a result of group interaction and discussion is referred to as group polarisation. This may sometimes have dangerous repercussions as groups may take extreme positions, i.e. from very weak to very strong decisions.…” |