The role of the Titanic played a huge part in the cohesion for groupthink. In particular, the group members of the ship such as the captains, crewmembers, passengers aboard and even the public eye believed and trusted in the solidarity of the Titanic’s dominance. However the common interest of the Titanic being invincible allowed for groupthink to form. According to De Dreu and Van de Vilert (1997), group member’s goals are changed from the pursuit of real problem resolution, as they are vulnerable to groupthink occurring. Generally, the group members of the Titanic were involved in group norms and patterns that took over their motivation in realistic courses of action. In detail, failure to establish clear decision-making procedures, self-appointed …show more content…
In particular, the captains of the Titanic did not provide enough life vests and lifeboats for the number of passengers aboard. “Don’t you understand? The water is freezing and there aren’t enough boats…not enough by half. Half the people on this ship are going to die” (Titanic, 1997). In this scene, Rose realizes that the Titanic is not equipped to ensure the safety of the passengers aboard. The explanation for this is the captains’ illusion of invulnerability. Instead of developing action plans and alternatives in preparation for future possibilities or difficulties, the captains were deeply involved with the Titanic being unsinkable. This caused the captains to lose touch with the reality of being on a massive ship. According to De Dreu and Van de Vilert (1997), clear decision procedures are essential, the groups are can actually generate high quality decisions but frequently fail to adopt them as the solution. Without clear decision making procedures in mind, the safety standards and procedures were not met when danger was present on the Titanic. Ultimately, groupthink affected the people aboard the Titanic as many lost their lives due to the lack of life vests, lifeboats, and most importantly, the failure of clear decision-making