Abilene-Paradox

The Abilene paradox is a paradox in which a group of people collectively decides to take an action that is contrary to the personal preference of each group member.

The paradox is based on a typical failure of the group communication, each group member mistakenly believes that his own attitude which would contradict the other people, and therefore submits any objections.

Origin

The term Abilene paradox was introduced in 1974 by Jerry B. Harvey, Professor of Business Administration at the George Washington University, in his article The Abilene Paradox and other Meditations on Management. The name refers to an anecdote by which Harvey illustrates the paradox:

" On a hot afternoon, a family plays in Coleman, Texas on a terrace Domino, as the father proposes to go to dinner at 53 miles northerly Abilene. The woman says. , That sounds like a good idea ' Although he has concerns about the long drive and the heat, the husband thinks that he must return his interests for the group and says,' Sounds good to me also. . I just hope your mother wants to ride ' The mother says,' Of course I want to go. I was long gone in Abilene '.

The journey is long, hot and dusty. When they arrive at the cafeteria, the food is just as bad as the ride. Four hours later they come back home completely exhausted.

One of them says dishonest, 'It was a great trip, or not ' The mother says she would rather have stayed in truth at home, but had to come along because the other three were so enthusiastic? . The man says, 'I was not thrilled to be doing what we were doing.. I wanted to satisfy only the rest of you ' The woman says,' I am just come along to make you happy. I would have had to have been crazy to go in the heat outside want. ' The father finally said he had made ​​the suggestion only because he thought the others were bored.

The whole group is stunned that they have decided to make a trip that was not one of them. You could have it all preferred to stay comfortably at home, but did not want to admit, when it was still time. "

Groupthink

The Abilene paradox is related to the concept of group thinking. It is explained by the social psychological theories of social conformity and perception, which suggest that people often reluctant to go against the opinion of the group. Similarly, describe psychological theories, such as hidden motives can stand behind the statements and actions of people, just because they are not able to express their feelings and wishes.

Application of the theory

The theory is often used to explain poor business decisions. Together, action taken in management seminars decisions are partly analyzed to determine whether they were so intended or just a consequence of the groupthink actually by the individual group members.