Facebooked: Groupthink in the era of computer mediated social networking

This thesis is an exploration of the symptoms of Groupthink as they manifest themselves in the modern age of computerized social networking. What began as a social-psychological condition used to explain the policy blunders of governments and organizations, Groupthink has evolved into the computerized landscape, and in so doing has provided researchers a new medium for investigating the process. The study investigates specific political events tied to this condition, providing a historical examination of the profound manner that Groupthink has shaped society and how it will mold the future of computer mediated interaction. The thesis also evaluates research methodologies presently being used to diagnose the symptoms of Groupthink in organizational settings. This analysis is an instrumental part of the thesis because Groupthink research is notably difficult to conduct in clinical conditions utilizing the scientific method. However, because social networking sites do not follow the same rules governing the organizational structures previously being tested—they provide a unique means for compiling empirical data pertinent to Groupthink study. The task however, is discovering where the exact defects are in Groupthink and the errors that stem from them. The principal question of this research is to identify if the ever-growing trend towards Internet-based social networking, like Facebook, can provide researchers with successful strategies for clinically evaluating the process of Groupthink. Using this model, tangible solutions for combating Groupthink are possible.