Question Details

Read the passage and answer the following questions.

A common pattern in group decision-making—widely known as groupthink—occurs when a team’s hunger for complete agreement becomes stronger than its willingness to examine other viewpoints with a critical lens. As a result, choices often turn defective because disagreement is either quietly silenced from within or discouraged through social consequences. Closely linked to this is social conformity, the tendency to adjust one’s opinions or actions to match the majority—often unconsciously—to gain acceptance or prevent friction. In closely bonded circles such as boardrooms, policy groups, or academic committees, individuals may hold back opposing ideas due to fear of exclusion or damage to reputation. With time, this shared uniformity creates mental stagnation, weakens creativity, and increases the chance of strategic misjudgments. The Bay of Pigs episode and the Challenger space shuttle tragedy are commonly highlighted as classic cases where groupthink distorted judgment. From a psychological angle, conformity is tied to our evolutionary pull toward tribal belonging, where standing apart once carried survival threats. Today, that same impulse shows up through peer pressure, workplace norms, and online echo chambers. Digital platforms intensify conformity because algorithms construct personalized “bubbles” that confirm existing beliefs while screening out conflicting perspectives. The antidote to this narrowed thinking is to build dissent into the system. When teams welcome principled disagreement, it becomes a mental safety-check against tunnel vision. Encouraging an environment where counterviews are valued—not punished—supports stronger, more balanced, and more resilient decisions. In a time shaped by viral fads, polarized debate, and performative agreement, the bravery to question the crowd is both uncommon and necessary. Real progress grows not from automatic loyalty to majority norms, but from critical probing and the nerve to challenge what feels comfortable.

What remedy does the passage recommend for groupthink and conformity?

Options

A

Appointing more experienced seniors

B

Enforcing strict compliance

C

Encouraging constructive dissent

D

Increasing online reach and connections

Show Answer

Correct Answer :

Option C

Encouraging constructive dissent

Solution :

The correct option is Encouraging constructive dissent.


Step-by-step Explanation:


1. Analyze the Question: The question asks for the specific remedy or solution recommended by the passage to combat groupthink and social conformity.


2. Examine the Passage: Looking at the passage, it explicitly states: "The antidote to this narrowed thinking is to build dissent into the system. When teams welcome principled disagreement, it becomes a mental safety-check against tunnel vision. Encouraging an environment where counterviews are valued—not punished—supports stronger, more balanced, and more resilient decisions."


3. Evaluate the Options:

- Appointing more experienced seniors: Not mentioned in the passage as a solution to groupthink.

- Enforcing strict compliance: This would worsen conformity and groupthink rather than cure it.

- Encouraging constructive dissent: Directly aligns with building "principled disagreement" and valuing "counterviews" as recommended in the passage.

- Increasing online reach and connections: The passage notes that digital platforms often intensify conformity through echo chambers, so this is not the recommended remedy.


Therefore, Encouraging constructive dissent is the correct remedy recommended in the text.

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