Uniting and dividing

- [Narrator] Preventing group polarization requires effort. Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt solicited opinions from outside their circles of advisors. Today, internet access offers those who are curious alternative points of view. The like-minded people tend to interact within a compatible social network. Sociologist, Irving Janis identified this type of collective behavior as groupthink. He studied how groupthink affects decision-making processes and how it can lead to extremism and mistakes. In his research, Janis noted that certain groups discourage alternative viewpoints, avoid discussions, and emphasize consensus. To counter groupthink, group members must question their assumptions and discover why other people object. One way to test assumptions is to post the same problem to different groups and outside experts without a vested interest in the outcome. - [Narrator] Information flows among groups…